Yesterday Hay pulled out something I'd never seen before, despite it having been nestled between some books on the bookshelf for years - a radio her dad had made when an apprentice electrician.
There are connections for two batteries, one of which was used to warm the valves. We want him to update it with connectors for modern batteries, rather than accumulators.
Not satisfied with closing branches, banks are now reducing the number of ATMs available to their customers. It's almost as if they don't consider their customers.
Both of these ATMs in Yate used to be double up, but have been reduced to singles. The lower one (Tesco) was actually out of service. It's obvious on the NatWest one that there used to be another, and the give-away on the Tesco one is the plural ' Cash Machines'.
One wonders why?
Approaching Bristol from the south on the M5 there are two places where 3 lanes become 4 and then narrow back to 3 again.
Without fail, someone will race up the outer lane and, with less than 100 yards to go, try to push in at the last possible moment to gain an advantage.
I'm not sure why, but the self-entitlement of these drivers makes me incandescent with rage. I'm certain that the Venn diagram of those who engage in this activity and those who support Brexit is a perfect circle.
Last time this happened to me, the car that was trying to push in had no success with me and transferred his attention to the car ahead of me. He got in but, when another car tried to push in ahead of him, he wouldn't allow it in.
The other day I was listening to Sweet Home Alabama on the radio while driving a car. It made me think about other such American songs, like Wichita Lineman, Walking in Memphis, By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Hotel California and many others.
However, they just don't work for British locations.
Old bloke rant alert!
For years I've been going to the same place in Tesco to obtain what they call World Foods - foods associated with foreign countries. Invariably I'm after Eastern European pickled vegetables, which come in a startling array of varieties that Brits don't seem to have cottoned on to. They were conveniently placed near to the Brit varieties - beetroot in a hideously acidic vinegar and pickled onions. "Sensible," you may conclude, as did I.
Last week I searched high and low for the World Foods aisle - it had been moved. I finally located it sandwiched between Biscuits and Cereals, which defies logic. Perhaps they want to isolate foreign muck from pure British pickles.
World Foods is a bit of a misnomer - it's all food. Apparently the World Foods aisle is one of the most popular in Tesco, according to The Grocer - even more popular than the Wine aisles, especially among younger shoppers - but shoppers are confused by the category.
The reason World Foods is more popular among younger shoppers could be because of the Eastern Europeans, which are a younger cohort - coming over here, taking our jobs while simultaneously, and mysteriously, claiming benefits and eating all our World Foods.
Using solely the homemade box filter and the 110W UV-C steriliser, the pond is now almost crystal clear and I can actually see the bottom. It's a massive difference from the green miasma from just over a month ago where you couldn't see deeper than a couple of inches.
However, it's so clear that I managed to see 8 small koi shoaling in the shallow end. I always thought Hay was spinning me a yarn when she swore she's seen 2, but she was right. Two of the 3 adults have managed to reproduce. I also saw one koi that was clearly a new resident, but about 6 inches in length, so that must have hatched last year and remained hidden in the green goo.
You can just see the tiddlers in this video:
Now a pond the size of ours can only support 7 or 8 adult koi (30cm each) that feed off whatever is in there, without adding fish food. We already have 3 that size and it will be a while before the rest get to that size, a couple of years probably, but a bit of culling will be required at some stage.
I may have to issue fishing licences to keep stock levels at a reasonable level, or introduce a pike. Medieval monks kept pike, trout, bream and carp in their fishponds to eat. Koi are not generally considered edible as they have a muddy taste, although if carp were considered edible, I can't see why anyone would balk at koi - they're the same family.
The box filter is no longer getting clogged with green algae and I've removed the fleece media, allowing the more porous stuff to take over and become colonised with beneficial bacteria. I've also bought some alfagrog, which is a pumice-like material that the beneficial bacteria can also colonise as the water runs over it. The stuff sounds like an alcoholic drink for The Hulk.
I may not even need to use the large filters I bought, but we have nevertheless taken the decision to build an 8 foot x 10 foot shed next to the pond to house whatever I do decide to use. It will also be a useful store for the various bikes we have scattered around the premises. This is the one we've ordered for arrival by the end of July. Colin, our tame builder and neighbour has been charged with making a suitable sized concrete pad and erecting the shed.
Hay wants to create some areas where she can grow watercress, which will require unfiltered water running through a gravel bed in which the watercress can thrive. The watercress roots will also assist in keeping the ecosystem sweet, obtaining nutrients from the unfiltered water, although that will require a separate pump from the filter pumps. Using filtered water would strip any nutrients from the water that the watercress roots would be in.
It's looking good, but there are still a lot of weeds around the pond that Hay has to cull. Not my job!
We went to Hay on Wye in the motorhome again last Friday, simply to stay one night and visit a very good tapas restaurant we ate at a few weeks ago. Long wat to go for a meal, but we thought it worthwhile. It's an old pub which has discovered it can make more money from serving reasonably priced tapas than beer. A meal for two, including drinks, came to no more than £70. Tapas are hideously expensive anywhere else.
We took advantage of the fact motorhomes and campers can stay for free overnight (6pm to 8am - one night in seven) in Powys council car parks. It was quite busy in the car park when we arrived, but by 6pm it was quiet as a grave and we had a good sleep. This is something we're going to take more advantage of in future. Quite enterprising of the council, as it brings tourist money to the town from infrastructure which is not used at night.
Near the car park is a post box with one of those knitted covers that have become popular.
It's a seagull and, if you look closely, the chips are knitted too. Neat!
Parked next to us in the was a camper, owned by a Dutch couple, that really intrigued me. It's based on a Land Rover Defender, but is kitted out for safaris and the like. The living accommodation is a self-contained pod with no access to the cab.
There's a garden in a housing estate that we walk past on the way to a favourite swimming spot that Hay enjoys.
Totally out of place with its surroundings, but a joy to behold.
Going back to the free, motorhome car parking, there's a trial of a similar scheme going on in Pembrokeshire called Pemb Stops, but it's facing opposition from local traders. One of the objections is that motorhome users will empty their toilet cassettes into the local sewerage system. I can't really see the logic of this objection, as if the tourists stayed in an AirBnB or caravan park, where would they go to the toilet? Would they not have a pee or a poo while they're staying there?
Another argument is that it takes business from local hotels and caravan parks, but it could just as easily encourage more money to be spent locally by people who would not normally go there.
Rather than object on the basis of what could happen, surely they'd be better off making evidence-based objections on the basis of what's happening in Powys and at the end of the 18 month Pembrokeshire trial. The objectors are sounding like the Tory press when they comment on Labour's new policies - this could happen and that could happen, no matter the probability being next to zero. The whole purpose of a trial is to monitor results and see what DOES happen.
Guess what I've gone and bought?
I found it on Facebook Market in Dursley, which is some 30 minutes away from us. Been after one for a while.
As it happened, I had a customer car to drop off in Dursley and arranged for Hay to pick me up in the Galaxy, without telling her that I was collecting a tandem on the way home. I just managed to get it into the back of the car with the front wheel removed. Hay was actually quite pleased with it.
The chap who sold it to me has a tandem hire business and hires them out to disabled people. How the hell disabled people ride a tandem is beyond me, unless the front rider is fully abled, which is probably the case. He sells off old ones for £100, which I think is a bargain. This one's a Dawes, which is a decent make. Hay, however, wants to replace the drop handlebars with something more upright. Might be a bit difficult, given the brakes and Tiptronic gear changer are integral to the drop handlebars.
Riding a tandem is not straightforward. The front rider is termed the pilot and the rear rider the stoker. The pilot performs all the control with the stoker being passive. Problems occur when the stoker tries to control the bike.
Those who cycle competitively have the seat really high in order to maximise leg leverage and come off the seat before stopping. I'm not used to that and would simply fall off, as I prefer to be able to touch the floor while seated. The pilot's seat therefore had to be lowered substantially, which was only enabled by cutting about 4 inches off the seat post, as it wouldn't go down any further than in the photo before coming to a stop.
It will join us on trips in the motorhome when taking the Mobylette is not practical. Now for figuring out how to mount it on the bike carrier. I seem to spend half my life trying to fix things to the bike carrier.
I ordered a pair of rail extensions for mounting tandems on bike racks, as seen in the publicity photo below, for £43.
However, I'm not sure I actually need the extensions. I can rest the lower frame bar on the existing rail and a few straps can easily secure it, as you can see from my photo below.
As luck would have it, I received an email from the extension rail seller the same day saying they'd sold out and they were refunding me. I actually think they realised they were £20 cheaper than all the other sellers on e-Bay and had underpriced it.
Oh my God - yet another serious post. This is getting boring.
The government banning zero hours contracts smacks a little of ideology, if you ask me.
I have a compromise whereby the risk, rather than being solely on the employee, is shared. 50% hours contracts. I'd say that was fair. Another suggestion would be to allow them in industries where they're much needed - such as hospitality.
Now for the American Secret Service not being in the roof of the shooter because of Health and Safety concerns. It strikes me that throwing yourself in front of a current or ex-President to shield him isn't too safe either. I wonder what the H&S people have to say about thet?
In another story, scientists have identified an ageing gene in mice which, if blocked, results in the mice living 25% longer. The drawback in humans would be having to work 25% longer, possibly on zero hours contracts.
