Prince Philip

When I was born in 1955, the name Philip was quite popular as an homage to Prince Philip and I was named accordingly, despite being born in the Netherlands and having a Dutch surname. It must have primarily been my British mother's influence. I wonder if the death of HRH will reignite the name's popularity.

Just before I was sent to my naval school in Plas Newydd in the late 60s, Prince Philip came to open what was called the New Block, a purpose built school to replace the ramshackle camp that had replaced the wooden vessel that was originally the school (a model is in the lower photo), but had accidentally been wrecked in the Menai Strait when returning to Liverpool for a refit.

I love this cartoon of Philip, which sums him up:

Petitions

Apparently someone started a petition to have the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol reinstated. 

It was rejected, as the government is not responsible for local statues. However, it would be like a city in Germany petitioning for a statue of Hitler to be reinstated. When all's said and done, Hitler did get the trains running on time, so he couldn't have been all bad...

It's sad state of affairs when people care more for statues than people.

Release Your Inner Garage

Seeing loads of adverts urging people to release the equity tied up in their home - equity they've slaved over for 25 years or more in order to own the damned thing; equity their kids are hoping to benefit from some day; equity that these loan companies are itching to get their grubby hands on. The best way to release equity in your house is to downsize, rather than hand a large chunk of it to loan companies.

Talking of equity, I'm at the early planning stage for the garage extension. 

The garage extension is the asymmetric bit on the left. I was going to have the workshop at the rear of the garage and the AirBnB kitchen to the rear of that, but it would have meant the AirBnB bedroom being right next to the workshop. Better to have the split at 90 degrees and have the AirBnB kitchen as a bit of soundproofing.

The workshop and kitchen would be blockwork clad in oak with a stud wall between them, whereas the garage area would be constructed of wood on a brick plinth and clad in oak. That reduces the overall cost. Probably won't have a traditional garage door, but either an open aspect with baulks of timber (oak or pine) or large, double doors with glass insets in the upper half, like you get in 1950s garages.

The AirBnB has exposed, oak toof trusses right to the top, but the extension would have a flat ceiling in way of the AirBnB kitchen and workshop, meaning I can use ordinary pine trusses to reduce the cost.

Heating in the kitchen would have to be electric, as there's no way we can extend the wet, underfloor heating to it. Domestic water heating would be with a small, 5kW geyser-type boiler, like we have in the cabins.

You might notice that all our external doors open outward, whereas the standard in UK house construction is for them to open inward. This is to save space inside the house, as inward opening doors create dead space. I've noticed most Scandinavian houses use the same outward opening design.

Going to be next year anyway, so there's plenty of time for modifications and to price the build. 

Discriminatory Passport Tools

Apparently there's growing criticism of Covid Passports, as it would be discriminatory. Would it be any less discriminatory than the vulnerable having to shield for a year, or having to have a driving licence to drive on the road, or showing evidence of your age before being able to buy a pint? 

How about designating all pubs as British Overseas Territories, requiring the presentation of a valid vaccination certificate prior to crossing the border? The only drawback would be that British alcohol duties would not be applicable. Hang on! Pub landlords would be appointed as Governors of each Territory, establish their own police force, levy an independent tax system and issue their own passports to dual nationals....

I really can't understand those who are against Covid passports - they're designed to assist in ensuring places are as Covid-free as possible and thereby opening up the economy. A bunch of Tory MPs are complaining that it's an infringement of civil liberties, but given the fact they are totally focused on rolling back civil liberties with impending legislation and embarking on a programme of authoritarianism, the idea that Tory MPs are concerned about civil liberties is, frankly, laughable. 

On another tack, I've found a new tool I want - seems to accomplish just about everything!

Brilliant piece of artwork!

Excitement

There was a bit of untoward excitement here yesterday.

I was mowing the lawn when I heard a helicopter close by. Not an unusual event in itself, as James Dyson lives nearby at Doddington House and regularly uses a helicopter to travel to and from his home (and I don't think it's for trips to Waitrose). We also occasionally have Wessex, double rotor 'copters flying low over us for some reason. However, this got closer and closer.

On looking up I saw a chopper hovering maybe a hundred feet above me and I was convinced the bugger was about to land in our garden. I wondered if, perhaps, I was mowing the lawn in an illegal manner during lockdown and the rozzers were on to me. On closer inspection I noticed it was an Air Ambulance from Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

It continued very slowly over our garden and then proceeded to touch down on the common just the other side of our hedge. On rushing out to the drive I noticed there was a kerfuffle further up the road and there appeared to be an RTA with traffic was building up and a couple of ambulances were in attendance.

The casualty, which was a biker who had been pranged by a car turning into a drive, was taken away by a road ambulance and the chopper wasn't needed, but I took the following video of it departing.

A little later I had cause to go into my work, which is only a couple of hundred yards down the road, in the direction of the RTA, and asked the guys next door at KwikFit what had caused the accident. They said a motorbike had been hit and the culprit had fled the scene in his or her car.

Now our work site has CCTV, with one camera facing along the road in the direction of the accident. I alerted my boss and he looked through the footage, discovering that not only was the accident captured (although it was quite far away), but the fleeing car went pas our premises twice - once before the accident and then again when fleeing. While I could discern the car make and model, the registration was hard to determine.

Hay then contacted the police to inform them we had evidential footage, but rather than being put through to an officer to take a statement and accept the video evidence, she was incredulously sent an on-line form to fill in. We're still waiting to hear from the police.

Serious Kono Test

We were determined to have a family BBQ yesterday, regardless of the weather, which turned out to be much warmer than expected.

Both the Neolithic and MkII Kono grills were duly lit at 1.30pm, about half an hour before the meal was to be prepared.

While the MkII proceeded to consume the charcoal as expected, the Neolithic remained smoky for rather a long time and appeared to 'catch' only a one end - the one with the ventilation holes.

The MkII, however, started performing like a professionally designed and manufactured item. The griddle did bow upward slightly due to the intense heat in the middle, but not sufficiently to cause any problems.

While the Neolithic took longer to reach the right cooking conditions, both performed admirably when the food was placed on them, but the MkII superseded all expectations to the extent that Hay wouldn't mind me making a 2nd one, but larger.

It coped well with sausages, chicken and all manner of marinaded veggies.

We reached the conclusion that the Neolithic requires some more vent holes at the other end of the unit to create a more distributed flow of air, but the lack of a damper might result in it burning too fast. Rather than trying to light it homogenously, it might be better to light it at a point furthest from the vent and allow the draught to pull the fire toward the holes. Using firelighters might be a solution too.

Both were still pumping out heat well after 6pm, when we retired indoors to hold surreal conversations with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law about things like 'wossisname and thingymajig - you know, the film stars who appeared in that film that I can't remember the name of; one of them was in that other film, which I also can't remember the name of - or was he?' They type of conversations only those over 60 have, where nothing is remembered clearly and everything is confused.

I may have a go at some different BBQ designs, but I first need to add to my saw collection - the next one is going to be a gas saw - or an oxy-acetylene torch, as we experts call it... 

Recycling Footie

While engaged in my usual morning ritual of listening to the Today Programme on Radio 4 yesterday morning, the sports news came on. It struck me that there can't be anyone, except perhaps Hay, who knows less about football than me.

I have absolutely no idea what the Premier League is, except that it's probably comprised of a number of teams with very expensive tastes when it comes to footballers.

The last time I had any interest in football there were four divisions, with teams going up or down these divisions at the boundaries, depending on how well they performed, and Liverpool won practically every cup going.

On Saturday evenings there was a reading of the score of every football match from every match, which was an institutionalised ritual before the national news and an episode of Dr Who.

Now I'm the kind of person who, on returning from the newsagent's on Sunday morning with the newspaper, first pulls out the sports pages, along with the advertising flyers, and immediately puts them in the recycling without casting a glance at what they say.

Maximum Adulthood

The relationship between parents and their children changes over the years - there comes a time when the children become the adult in the relationship; organising their activities, arranging things for them, doing all the things their parents used to do for them, etc.

When do you think maximum adulthood occurs, following which the parent slowly, but surely, reverts to becoming the child in the relationship? Is it when, for example, the child reaches a certain age; is it when the parent becomes overwhelmed by new technology or does it creep up slowly and it happens without you even realising it until, one day, it clicks and you realise you're now the parent?

It's a Wrap

Overheard when getting back into bed after a 4am fridge raid and reading the news:

Chairman: "I found a news story earlier that would interest you, but I can't find it now. It's about the role of some gene in something, but I can't remember what."

Hay: "Memory?" 

Went to collect a car yesterday at our bodyshop supplier who does all out spraying and saw this Porsche, which was in to have the wheels painted black.

Understated, or what? 

I think just because you can, it doesn't mean to say you should. Especially when it comes to doing this:

Must be a cat lover.

Not Another One?

 Guess what I found? Yes, another saw - this time a scroll saw.

£70 on Facebook Market, used only once. So, of you're counting, that's the sabre saw I already had, the sliding, double bevel, laser-guided mitre saw, the bandsaw and the scroll saw. 

All I need is a decent workshop now, but I'm working on that - a temporary one for this year and a garage extension to the house for next year, once Colin, our tame builder, is available. We've already booked him for a job in late summer and he's stacked out with work, so my garage will have to take a back seat.

I've managed to get the idea for the extension past the planning committee (Hay) by positioning it as a double garage / workshop with a galley kitchen at the back that connects to the AirBnB. It's the AirBnB connection that won the day, as it makes the AirBnB fully self-contained.

Once I have a garage, I fully intend to get a classic car to work on. Something like a Triumph GT6, perhaps. I could go back to MGBs, but I had my fill of those in my youth and they're just about the most ubiquitous classic these days. GT6s are much rarer and are faster, with a 2 litre engine in a superlight body. The forward tilting bonnet also makes working on the engine and front suspension much easier and the shape makes it a poor man's e-Type.

Who wouldn't like something like this? 1972 Triumph GT6 MkIII, which is quite sought after. It's only £5k too, but no storage space for it precludes a purchase.

Talking of classic cars, there are some strange definitions of a classic car these days. Put it into a search on Facebook Market and you come up with some cars that are only 10 years old.

Many modern 'classic' cars are not the kind of cars I'd like to work on - they're simply too complex and you have to be an electronics engineer to work on them. I prefer something basic, preferably with carburettors. Even my 1994  Mercedes SL500 is too complex for me to work on by myself, what with ECUs and all manner of electrics to go wrong. When it comes to an old MGB, I can dismantle the engine almost blindfolded and the bodywork is pure steel, not composite and plastic.