The one pan man

The One Pan Man is a friend of mine who I see at local markets who sells candles. His other claim to fame is he likes to cook all in one pan hence the One Pan Man name. He makes videos to help people who want to cook using just one pan. The link under my picture in the front page is a link to his YouTube page he uses. 

Please take the time to have a look at his video and if you are in the region of Portugal around Arganil/ Coja why not go to the markets at Barril de Alva or George and Dragon on the N17 and meet him his candles are well worth a look. 

More about weight

Since I got of the plane at Liverpool airport shocked at the narrow size of the toilets on the last flight I took. I remembered back to when I started working in the butchers where I learnt my trade. People then or so I remember where not overweight the opposite was true or seemed to be. However we had one customer who was so overweight due to I was later told to be a thyroid problem. This lady we would bring out a chair for her to sit on while we served her.

Today over fifty years later I am in Liverpool and it is very common to see people very overweight. If is becoming common for weight to be a problem then why does a company decide to have the plane manufacturer make smaller toilets on there planes. Overweight has been a reported problem for years so Ryanair if you read this why did you make the toilets so small.

When I return back home to Portugal I am going to make a point of taking a photo, so watch this space.

Woodworking workshop

I had three things to do on my trip to Liverpool to see my Mum, see my new granddaughter and go along to one of only a few Wood turners clubs in the UK and it's in Liverpool. The wood turners is held in an old boat house in a famous park. Silly me went to the wrong lake in the wrong park  looking for the boat house anyway enough of that. When I got to the correct place I must say I was given such a warm welcome but what do you expect from fellow Scousers. I met Eric, Paul, Liz and Sue and many more but I can't remember all there names.
The main reason was I wanted to learn how to sharpen the tools and I was shown a number of ways to sharpen the gouges and it was so valuable what I was able to see and how easy it seems to do.

Watching Liz was so enjoyable because of what she was doing with a piece of wood others may shy away from. There where plenty of people around to offer advice and help when needed but it was Sue I watched most. As the bottom picture shows Sue is in a wheelchair but that doesn't seem to hamper her in her work and I must say Sue seems such a happy person. Sue was making the cylinders that you put the parts for pens into and I stood to watch the whole process. Although I have put a picture of Sue at work I did ask permission to take a picture and that I would put the picture her for everybody to see.

 This is Sue making the bodies for Pens  and the end product was perfect.













I must say I have pinched a few ideas from some of the things saw being made. Remarkably some of the newer members where doing amazing pieces of work and I learnt quite a lot from them. Next time I go to Liverpool and have time to spend I certainly will visit the climb again but next time I will go to the correct boat house.

A long time ago I got myself a Lathe when I saw them on promotion in a store in a place called Coimbra. Over a period of time I have enjoyed making table lamps but I knew my lathe was going to provide me with more pleasure than just table lamps.

I didn't want to cut this picture just to show what I can now make on my lathe. I also make cutting boards as the picture show because i love to see just what I am able to do now I have retired. The reason I want to make things is because I have lots of Olive, Cherry and Sycamore to make things from.






The Cherry is from two trees close to me that have just been cut down and they now need to dry out.
Eucalyptus where I live is a cash crop and used to make Pellets for heating and I have a Pellet burner. I also have a quantity of Eucalyptus that I had wanted to use for the two main uprights for my veranda some time ago. The reason I didn't use it was it was to heavy to lift into position so I used other timbers but the Eucalyptus is cut down into manageable pieces so one day it will get used on my Lathe.

Toilets

When I fly I make sure I have used the Loo before I fly until today. I noticed in front of me a lady who was having trouble getting into the Loo that someone had just vacated. It was sad to see someone having such trouble getting into a Loo.

Well it came time for me to go to the Loo and what a shock I got since I last used a Loo on a plane. I am sure Ryanair had the toilets made as small as they could to get another row of seats on the plane. The space to sit was not much wider than my hips and I found it uncomfortable to turn in such a small space but I am sure the extra income from the extra seats will certainly help Ryanair.

The cure for this is to go to the Loo before the flight.

Using the Internet

I have been using the Internet since before windooooows when it was just menu driven. One time I was on a forum and someone asked who was online. I then typed with one finger Me and I got a reply from some called Mudman. Madman asked who is Me and I gave a name and Mudman asked where I was and of course I replied Liverpool, liverpool, Liverpool in the UK and then a few others welcomed me. That was just to give an idea of how long ago I have been using the Internet.

I have been intrigued by a reader from unknown region. We I figured it out today or I did try a little while ago at home but I couldn't get it to run on my Linix machine. I had trouble coping and pasting from the page I got the information from and then using a terminal.

Now today I found doing a search on my IPad I found it was in the Applestore so I just download it from the Istore. The reason this all started was I like to download TVprograms to watch later than when they're on TV. The site I did use was closed by the FBI so I can now at least find what I want to download and not be traced. All I will say is Unknown region i can now be apart of.

I still have the problem when I get home of downloading it to my Ubuntu system

The UK stinks

Th UK stinks and i mean it, there are times i am ashamed to have come from the UK.

The story my Cousin like all here family are from the Midlands as is my Mum. My Cousins son moved to Mozambique many years ago to be a teacher and settled down. In time he married and had a family BUT yes a big BUT. This year it was planned to spend Christmas in the UK, a chance for Simon and his family to spend time with his family.

Portugal is the oldest friend the UK has had going back to  the earliest treaty dating back to the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1373. This is about 400/500 before America was found.

In the 1950s, the Portuguese overseas colony was rebranded an overseas province of Portugal, and by the early 1970s it was officially upgraded to the status of Portuguese non-sovereign state, by which it would remain a Portuguese territory but with a wider administrative autonomy. From Wikipedia Also from, Wikipedia In the last decade of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century, integration of Mozambique into the structure of the Portuguese nation was begun. After all of the area of the present province had been recognized by other European powers as belonging to Portugal,

So if other  European nations recognise Portugal/  Mozambique Why can't the UK after all Portugal is the UK's oldest friend.

I can only hope my cousin and Simon's family get to spend Christmas together.

Bang and crash UPDATE

I have been driving now for over 50 years and I had my first crash. I know last year I changed the shape of my front wing on a direction sign in a big car park. But today this was a crash with another car or rather the car crashed into me.

I was on a road where overtaking was not allowed. Well I was about to slow down and indicate to turn into a driveway when a car decided to to overtake and hit the front drivers side wing. The driver stopped but due to her speed yes it was a lady driver and I know her. The driver admitted it was her fault for overtaking in the wrong place and she asked for my phone details and would arrange to have my van repaired. But yes a big BUT.

I have used a garage now from since I arrived her some years ago. This garage I have found to be honest and reliable so I went of to get a quote and the price I got was less than I expected. I don't know what the other driver will say about me finding another garage but I am the injured party and I think my view is the most important.

I have nothing wrong with the other garages more it's about me being happy with the work to be done and who does the work to my van.                                                

I dropped my van off today mid morning and by mid afternoon i had a call to say my van was ready and looking so good.

Now the update part.

I had a call from the other driver to say that she now wants to involve the insurance company. Oh dear i have now had the damage repaired because the other driver said she would pay for the repair. I arrived for a meeting she planned to give her my insurance details. After taking all the details a comment about she was 50% to blame and that i was also 50% at fault. i slowed to make a turn into a driveway when i was overtaken and my front bumper was almost ripped of my van. At the time of the incident she did admit it was her fault but now she is only 50%. For now i will let the insurance companies do what they do. I couldn't say anything before now with the other driver because when i picked my van up the office was closed and the owner gave me my keys and said to come back in a day or two to pay when the office was open.

My poor granddaughter

My new granddaughter had to have her injections and I was sad to her how she cried when crying is something she doesn't do. This isn't about her but me, well I had to take someone to the doctors today and I asked about a flu jab. I have never had a flu jab because I hate injections I can't even watch an injection in a TVs program. When I asked I was asked to come back at 2 pm to see the nurse and get my jab.

Two o'clock came and I sat and waited my turn a when ready I went in to see the nurse, I must admit I was  terrified. After a few questions I uncovered my arm for the nurse who then used a swab before she gave me the injection. It was when she put the needle into a container when I realised she had finished. I genuinely never felt the needle go into my arm.

OK the swab must have had some kind of pain relief. If that is the case how come a nurse in the UK when giving a baby a jab made the baby cry??

Being a Scouser

Being a  Scouser i like to think i have a sense of humour. I have just found a Father Christmas cartoon that i would like to share and hope it brings a smile to someone at this time of year.

Well it's now December time has flown by

Well it's now December and another year has passed by so quickly. It's this time of year i look after another old person, but this one is the fairy on my Christmas tree.

Here is this years picture i would like to share at this time of year.

A very clever baby

I am lucky to have a new granddaughter and with Facetime and Whatsapp i get to see her often. I was surprised when i received a picture of my granddaughter holding an Ipad. She is used to seeing me on her Mum's phone but today she was using my other granddaughers Ipad.

I know she loves Peppa Pig and could that be what she is watching but to me a great picture.

Just a fish tank update

It's been a while since i mentioned about my fish tank. Because i don't want to have any problems with leaks i coated the tank with Four coats of sealer. OK i know a bit over the top but i want it right. I was lucky to find a company who sell the Epoxy Resin to do my final coat and i wanted a blue for the sides.

Today i did the first of two coats of my blue Epoxy Resin. I asked the company if the Resin was fish safe and they answered that they had recently supplied a UK public aquarium so it must be OK. This is the side wall and when finished the tank will be about 5,000lt.

I couldn't get an angle to take in the whole of the back wall. The Epoxy Resin was wet when i took these pictures and it may look blotchy but it's dried out OK.

Summer has come and gone

I have seen many pictures of countryside where as Autumn comes the leaves on the trees turn brown and then die and fall of the trees.

Looking from my veanda i can see my pear tree and in the distance a couple of cherry trees loosing there leaves as winter approaches.











All that you can see as far as you can see is trees that are grown for money, a product. Nothing like you see in other countries where you see the season changes but I'm stuck with green all year round.

Down in the valley there are a few fruit trees where the leaves are also dying till next year.

The Council like everywhere tidy

At this time due to high winds and the drains at the side of the road getting blocked the local Camara ( Council ) send groups of workers out to clear the detritus.

It was easy to take pictures from my house. On the right at the bottom of the wall this a drain that is being cleared. 


















Not just the villages but also all the lanes are cleared.

Here is a worker strimming up the lane from my house. After they have done there job they then clean up after themselves.

Log burner replaced

A long time ago while building my bathroom I built up the floor to the height of the loung floor. My idea was as years go by I didn't want to have to step up by one step from the bathroom to the lounge.

After last years rainy winter and have to walk down the lane to get my firewood I couldn't go through that again. I looked to what life would be like as years go back after all I am not as young as I was so I had to do something.

Friends have a house with two pellet burners installed when there house renovation was complete and ready for when they moved in. I spent time watching how there burner works but what put me off was the noise while it starts. Since these where installed the new generation of pellet burners I was told where very quiet but I was not able to see one in operation and to listen to it.

I went off the a store who had a large selection on show and I saw three in my price bracket but how to decide the one for me. One had a red door and edged in black with grey side another not quite as fancy. But I didn't want a feature I picked a nice black one it just had the look I liked so that was it and of I went to buy it.

Keep with me it's a long story

I needed all the chimney pipes but I would go elsewhere because from my previous log burner I knew that this supplier was expensive. Near me there is a cross between a B&Q type shop but also a garden centre come builders merchant. When I got my pellet burner I made a note of the chimney prices and I was glad. At the place near me I got everything I need for a saving of about a 33% saving. That wasn't all I needed skirting boards but I wanted something special so it was of to Chicco's. But after a short time I found what I wanted but the wood was to thick but that's not a problem for Chicco.

Wonderful hardwood skirting boards. As you can see i have some cables to tidy up. 

 I got my new skirting home but now I needed to round over one side but the biggest part was in this environment damp and windy so of I went to my mate Robin. Robin soon got my skirting varnished because it was important for me to show of not just my burner but also my great skirting.

If only it was that simple

I needed a granite hearth for the burner to stand on. So off I go again this time I went to a granite workshop and it didn't take long to make my choice of type of granite. This was cut and ready for me to collect the next day so the next day I collected it and of I went home but still another problem to fix.

The last problem was I had four double sockets and a computer point that was going to be hidden away in the corner. I removed all four double sockets and fitted two new double sockets to the right of the pellet burner where I can get at them.

Everything now in place

First I had to cut a hole in the wall to have the chimney go from the pellet burner to the outside. With the hole cut the skirting  boards in place, granite put down and levelled, sockets moved. Now it was time to put the pellet burner in place and connect the chimney inside and then the outside. After this was all done I should have stopped for a cup of tea because I did need a break but I just had to get the burner started. So I just carried on, I had been reading the book that came with the burner and found the setup really simple. The longest part was the burners pipe work had to load up for the first time and that done it was simple.

 Well that's the story of my new pellet burner and I must say I am glad I didn't get one when I first saw them a few years ago. Now they almost silent pellet burners are now just a pleasure and mine is not the focal point of the room as a traditional fire would be.

Late out on a rotten night

it was a long time ago my Friend who lived in my village returned home late one windswept rainy night. Like myself my friend drove down a dark silent lane that we both use when we leave the village. This night what my friend didn't see in a open drain at the side of the road was an adult and three young wild Boar. The adult Boar jumped out in front of my friends car and did some really serious damage to his car.

Going forward to last night I came down the same lane at about 10.30 pm it was raining and very windy. About the same as on the night my friend had his accident with a wild Boar. The lane is over a mile long and as soon as I entered the lane I saw a huge wild Boar and slowed down straight away. I only passed the Boar by about a couple of hundred years when I saw another and the another. That was three in about three to four hundred yards but as I came towards the end of the lane I saw another what looked a monster wind Boar.

By the time I came to the exit off the lane I was more than glad to have got through without any problem. Should I come home late at night again I will avoid this little lane.

It's that time of year again

There is nothing better than waking in the morning and just laying in bed before you have to move and start the day. But what can ruin the day or at least to me it's what i dislike most. It all started over about 45 years ago in the winter i was with my first wife.

The one thing my wife hated was to get dressed and put cold clothes onto a warm body. My wife put her clothes into the warm bed so that when she was ready to get dressed she had warm clothes to put on.

This time of year i have a nice electric blanket so i switch it on when i get out of bed and put my clothes in the bed to warm. Imagine getting out of a shower all nice and warm and putting nice warm clothes on Oh it feels so good.

Moral of the story if you don't like putting cold clothes on a warm body then warm them in a nice warm bed before you get dressed.

A shock on a tiny lane

As I leave my village and at the bottom of the lane I turn to go to the main road. As I turn onto the lane that is only as wide as a car but there are a number of parts where the lane is cut back where is possible to pass another car if you are brave. OK I may have exaggerated a bit but it really is narrow but as I drove along to get to the main road I turned a bend. Just around the bend came three 4X4 cars  and as they saw me they pulled over into a narrow ditch but not a deep one.

Ok a bad picture but i didn't get out of my van to take the picture.













Further down the lane I came upon a place that you can see a little stream  but not today. Today a number of 4X4's where driving down from the lane onto the bed of the stream. Along the lane where what looked like ribbons hanging as markers these ribbons where red and white but could be easily seen by those in the 4X4's.

Here is the exit from the stream that only runs after the rains come.













On my return much later I saw where the drivers exited the stream bed and back onto the lane. From the lane they then went up into the forest, well it's somebodies idea of fun.

This is the marker for the turn into the forest. A steep turn between the trees.

What a start to a day

Today like most days I wake and before I open my eyes I lay in the warmth of my bed. Laying in my bed I often think of what I have planned for the day or even what happened the day before. It's nice laying comfortable in my world safe in my own little world.

Today like many others I lay in bed and when I opened my eyes the room was dark. The light is kept out because I have blackout blinds to keep out the light of day. When I opened my eyes I looked at my clock and it said 10.30 wow that was a great nights sleep. I had the day planned and before I get up to start my day I reach for my IPad to check for emails and to check the news.

What comes next was a shock not the news not an email But the time. I suddenly lost an hour it was really only 9.30am Oh it turns out that last night the clocks went back. This hour going back ruined the start of what should have been a great day. All for an hour but who's fault was it mine!!!!!because I should have known.

I had so many offcuts

It can't be helped but working with wood in my house i find i had a vast amount of off cuts. During the time i was cutting them up for firewood for a friend i saw a Youtube video about bread/ cheese boards.

This is my seat i have just made from strips of off cuts i had lying around my workshop.

The one in the middle is an off cut from the seat/ storage seat i have just made in my lounge. Once complete these will be going to my next market at Miranda do Corvo and hopefully i will get to sell some. Because these are for bread/ cheese i have used food grade mineral oil so with a little care they will last a long time.

I have mentioned before about Lichen

Looking at the photo below you can't really see that the tree is damaged. Sadly during the recent Hurricane the tree was badly damaged and part of it was blown down. What i can see is the amount of Lichen fallen branches and it reassures me as to why my health is better than during my working life.

 

 My advice to anybody looking to move to another country is to look for signs

that show like the Lichen that the environment  is going to give you a better quality of life. On this part of the lane there are many trees so the loss of one won't have much impact but it shows use how good this area is. You can't see the Pollution in the UK but here nature shows just how clean places are.

Well teacher what do you think of this?

I remember at school we had woodwork on a Friday last two lessons every week. Room for improvement on my school report was the best i ever got from my teacher wood work i was not good at.

I remember the teacher saying i should have gone to metal work instead.

This is what's called a dry fit because it's all in position but i have the floor to clean and varnish. But it does look good if i may say so myself.  All this to make more storage.

Stupid woman

I am not sexist but sometimes something happens that really is silly and you think stupid woman. I arrived at a market I go to and notice a large area has been cordoned off. During the recent hurricane we had thanks to the USA sending it to us after they finished with it. If it wasn't from them sorry.

Due to the high winds a number of trees fell but at the market the problem was with huge branches. Branches had fallen from the trunk of the tree but had not fallen to the ground and where just hanging ready to fall. I was told by a local that so many trees came down that the where not enough people to remove all the fallen trees so these had to wait.

After you see the pictures you will under stand why I said stupid woman. Where I always pitch up there was more that enough room for anybody else to pitch up and sell whatever they had to sell.








This woman had so much stuff she moved one of the barriers to the cordoned off area to spread her stuff out further. Stupid but once it's done that's where the stupidity came in because the area was cordoned off for reasons of safety not for the the fun of it. However when other people came to set up they just went into the dangerous area underneath huge branches that could fall at any time.

A mistake was made a while ago

It is now quite a while since I started work on my bedroom up now in what was the loft. For light one of the first jobs was to fit a window in the gable end of the room overlooking the valley. I am proud of the job I did in what is my master bedroom but there was one thing that was wrong.

At the time of starting the work I did I left one thing that I didn't do and it could have been a disaster. What I didn't do was to fit the beading round the window, this was left of because I couldn't understand how to fit the beading and the seals.

Last night the area I live was hit by a hurricane with winds of over 100 mph. Instead of the Windows being finished with the correct beading I used wood jammed into Reg corners to secure the glass. Imagine how I felt last night with the house being pounded by very high winds but by 3am the winds finished and I was able to finally got to sleep.

Today I started to to put the beading into my windows along with the bedroom window there was also the bathroom window to seal. It took a while to complete both windows but I am glad to say that my windows are now secure and the job is done and finished.

Here is the window finished and ready for any more high winds.

I drive down a tiny lane everyday

Every day when i go out i travel down a very little lane. The lane is only as wide as a car but has places for passing.The first time i came down the lane since my recent trip to Liverpool i came across a bench seat at the side of the road.

This lane is used by ladies from one village to walk to the next village or just for exercise.

I don't know who put this here for the ladies to perhaps take a break on there walk but i thing it's going to be well used.

The next two pictures show just how narrow the lane is 

Oh it's good to be back

Coming back is always tinged with sadness I don't get to see as much of my Mum as I would like and at 93 years of age time is not on our side. The airport and flight went as expected but leaving the airport the Metro was already in the station at Porto airport. The time I would have to wait to get a ticket I could have missed the Metro to Campanha station. I not wanting to miss the Metro I didn't get a ticket I took a chance but I am glad to say I got away with it.

The train from Campanha left at 8.40 pm and if I had missed the Metro I would not have got the train. The next train would have been at 10.05 pm.  By the time I got of the train it would have been after midnight before I got home instead of 10.46 PM.

Getting home at the time I did gave me the chance to put all my washing in my washing machine so it would be done for when I get up next morning. Next I had to make bread but using the timer I was able to have fresh hot bread when I got up. Next thing I had to do was switch the hot water on and it was hot for when I needed a shower before I went to bed.

All in all it was not a bad day.

Now on a lighter note

I was presented with a new granddaughter on the 8th May and I am having a great time with my new granddaughter. If my IPad allowed me to post pictures I have a couple of Jems to share with my readers but I will have to wait till I get home on the 8th October.

I treated myself to a Kit Kat and forgot to eat it till I got back to my daughters. My new granddaughter was wide awake and I felt guilty eating a Kit Kat and not letting her have any. OK I know she could only lick the Kit Kat but by the time it was taken of her she was covered in chocolate.

The thing I am most pleased about is my granddaughter doesn't have a dummy stuck in her mouth.

Back up Breck Road again

Again I am in Liverpool and saddened by what I see but what I was to see is common all over the UK. I traveled up Breck road from my Mums and it still looks like a Ghost town as does Prescot Road, Tuebrook, West Derby Road and Stanley Road. All these great shopping areas have been Blighted by the onslaught of the Supermarkets.

From personal experience I can best talk about Breck Road, Breck Road now is full of second hand goods shops, charity shops and fast food outlets. From the Dockers club till the shops end about a mile in distance I saw One pub a garage car sales dating from 1965 still doing well. The only shop I remember from my time in late 1964 that is still trading after all this time is a Pet shop.

Although it was good something has lasted all this time, the shop still looks untidy now as it did over 50 years ago. But it did bring a smile to my face to see at least something left after all these years. The banks have gone Roselind a high end dress shop long gone now a sandwich bar.

At one point I had a butchers shop on Stanely road Bootle but the whole block of shops has gone now just grass like parkland is left.

Pilots yes Pilots no

I read on the BBC news that Ryanair Pilots where to have another strike. This time it included Pilots and cabin crew from Portugal where involved as well as other countries. The first report was for 190 flights then it came down to 150 flights but after going to bed the next dat it was 250 flights involved.

My Mum is now 93 and not in the best of health and this news was most worrying to me. I left Thursday night to get the Train and Metro up to Porto ready for my flight at 9.15am the next morning. At 9.15am the flight I was due on was coming in with passengers on to disembark and reload for its next flight up to Liverpool.

I sat watching the information displays and at the first flights taking of at 5am, on the list was Ryanair and of all the flights up to 7.20 half where cancelled. I sat waiting until the Liverpool flight was displayed and then watch half expecting it to change to cancelled and it was not until it said go to gate 12 I knew the flight must be on. Because I had flown so often I was already at gate 12 when it was announced, it was only then I relaxed and knew that I would get back to see my Mum and my new grandchild.

No plans for this job

Since i got myself a large wooden box from my friend nearby i have been busy. It's only now i have a photo to show for all the work i have been doing. I have made a seat for my lounge with storage inside.
It started when i saw video on Youtube where someone made up a work surface in a style called Butcher block. As the title says i used no plans, i started by stripping down a plank of wood into strips and using different shades of wood i made a Butcher block. At this stage i had no idea where this was going to lead until i had an idea to make a seat.  

Where is the seat ready for final assembly and a couple of coats of varnish. The varnish will really bring out the true character of the wood and yes again my favourite Chestnut timber.









The stripes you can see in the seating area is made up from timber that's been exposed to the air. The lighter timber was from the inside of the box, below the seating you can see two different shades.   

Complete memory loss

Some time ago i rescued my Orange, Lemon and Lime tree from my bit of land across the lane from my house. Passing the land today i looked up for no reason at all but i noticed my Plum tree was laden with Plums, happy days.

Sadly this branch broke under the weight of fruit i had to hold the branch up for the picture.

Not a huge tree but i have hope for the coming years for more fruit.

Just a small bunch but my bunches and they won't be wasted.

I moved in 7 years ago this month

Seven years ago i moved into my house and at the time at the top of the lane a house was being built. The owner is a German lady called Madeline and we have over the years become good friends. But this is about my Mums 93 birthday where i took some pictures of Mum blowing out her candles.

When i returned back home i met Madeline where she asked for a picture of my Mum so she could do a portrait picture of Mum.

Once when i put the picture on the wall i will change this picture.
I am going to put the picture in my TV room close to me.

Glad i drive here

Driving has been a big part of my life since i passed my test 50 years ago. Going from the days when there was room on the roads to drive without fear of something happening.

Ok this may be extreme but thankfully nothing like this happens here in Portugal. Portugal where you can safely drive to your destination at a comfortably speed. Driving in the UK is not for me now the pleasure has gone from driving there.

Doesn't that child ever play

About 40 years ago i would take my first daughter round to see my Mum and Dad. One day my Dad said " doesn't that child ever play " my reply was yes all of the time. My Dad explained that every time he saw Sarah she was always clean. I have looked back so many times over the years and i could understand just what my Dad had said and why.

Now forward 40 years today i received some pictures of my new granddaughter Bronx.

I know i can post pictures of my Little granddaughter on my Blog but today i felt i had to ask. Reason you can't see but she does have a nappy on but that's not how the picture looks. That's the reason i asked before i posted the picture. What a happy little girl but thinking back i don't remember Sarah looking like this covered in breakfast and looking happy.

The hot weather was hot But

The how weather was hot and uncomfortable But there is always an answer. I could have switched on the aircon but i didn't because i had lots to do. I have a nice cool workshop under my house where i work now on table lamps.
I now have a good selection of Walnut and Chestnut and i am going to be making Unique mirrors.

These are the last that needs to be got ready for finishing with varnish and then ready for sale.












If you look at the one on the left you will see it's made out of strips of wood glued together for a totally unique look.

Unknown Region 174

Most days i have a look to see how many people have viewed my Blog and where they are looking from. Over a third of the countries on the planet at some time have read my Blog but today. A new country has arrived i haven't checked the news yet but i can see they are using Firefox for the browser. Also they are using Linux as there operating system both just like me.

If this is not a new country could it be that the hidden place refereed to in the media as the Dark Net could this be the answer?

Unknown Region     174

Portugal                     26

Firefox 185 (86%)

	Linux   174 (80%

I Have moaned before about ingredients

It's been a while since i commented about the ingredients on the label of a sandwich on a British Airways flight.

Today  with temperature at a possible all time high i had 2 bottles of ices tea with me at the market i went to. I started to read the label on the back of the ices tea because the iced tea was not as good as i normally have. These ices teas where Peach flavour but there was little flavour. First was Aqua, Water and that was no surprise and then from concentrate Peach flavor 0.25% a quarter of 1% no wonder it was weak. Then i came to the tea flavour 0.14% the tea flavour was just so weak it had no flavour.

This is one brand i won't have this again.

On Saturday while catching up on some emails

Saturday i was looking out of my window next to my chair when i noticed a lady looking at my house as she walked by. As she walked down the lane she was looking back at the house and veranda. When down at the bottom of the lane she was met by another lady who got out of a car along with the cars driver. I was standing on my veranda looking down the lane when i heard the word veranda. With this i went down the lane to greet them as they where paying attention to my house.

As soon as i asked if they spoke English the driver said yes in very good English. He then explained that the ladies where the ladies i brought my house from Seven years ago. I am sorry but i didn't recognise them  i invited them to come in and see the house. There reaction to all i have done was beyond what i could have expected they where genuinely   pleased for what i have done to there former home.  The home that held many memories both good and bad. One sister refused to go upstairs to see how i changed my loft to a bedroom.

The visit was not a long one but long enough for them to see all i had done. My pride and joy is my Laundry chute to my washing machines in the downstairs. The other mistake i made was that i didn't think to ask to take a picture of use all but it was a memorable meeting.

Seven years today

As the title says it's now Seven since I left Liverpool, actually it's today seven years ago I started my journey down to the ferry and the drive down to what has become my home.

Much has happened over the years mainly to overhauling my house I feel the word renovating is wrong. The reason for this is i am not renovating my house it just needs a timely overhaul to bring it up to date. 

 I will come back to this over the next few days.

Looking through my window

As i sit in my chair watching TV i can see through my window by my front door friends who come to visit. But what i can see and look at often is my dream catcher hanging from the gutter outside. This dream catcher was a present but with the weather the way it have been you can see it was quality because nothing the weather has done has damaged the Dream catcher.

Sadly the wind chimes didn't last like the Dream Catcher the weather rotted the cord that held the Chimes together and it just broke up and the parts of the chimes just dropped and rolled down the hill and where lost. The friend who gave me the Chimes and Dream catcher sadly is no more.

I was a butcher many years ago

A long time ago i was a butcher and i must admit times then where happy. I enjoyed Thursdays and Friday morning most. These days where the preparation for the weekend trade. My job was to split the lambs for display in the windows and the occasional Pig but this would just be for joints and Chops ect.

For the Pigs we had a special double hook to hold the Pig for cutting, well look at the picture below at what i found today.

Here where i live this would be used to hang the Pig from it's legs i used a stainless steel double hook but i can see this would work just the same. I found this in the cellar of the house being renovated close to my house. Seeing this did bring back lots of memories and good memories.

Even the veranda has been set in

I went down today to see a house lower down the village from my to see how the renovating was coming on. As the outside wall was taken down and a new floor was to be built. Before the new outside wall was to be built but not before the base for the veranda was installed at the same time.

The steel cage in the middle is for a concrete pillar to be built in the corner 

Here we are a few hours later and nearly half the beams are in place. Where they look to be to long they are in fact the veranda. The veranda will be 1.3 metres or about 4 and a half feet wide.

The blocks are in place to space out the floor beams before they are filled in. On top will be 50mm of  a cement screed to level the floor.

The steels have to be shaped

I am helping to get a house renovated and take regular pictures for the owners and here are just a couple i would like to share with you. A wall that was in a bad condition has been taken down to be rebuilt. Before it's built it has to have steel rebar put in for strength

This is after the wall was taken down ready to be rebuilt.The far corner that is black has now been taken down ready for building. What a stunning view from what will be the bedrooms.

This may look strange but what it is for is to bend all the angles for the reinforcing steels for the wall.

What a waste of time

There is a house in my village that is being renovated. The top of the wall in the picture below has a mains electric cable attached that needs to be removed by the electric company EDP.
I started by going to an Office in Arganil because it's closer to my home. Even though the lady doesn't.speak English we seemed to have got the request to have the cable taken down. This was a waste of time because nobody came to remove the cable and the job stopped.

Next I went to Lousa because I know the lady in the EDP office speaks English. This time I was given between 10 and 20 days well guess what 20 days passed without anybody coming near. This time I went online and filled the complaints book in and visited the office in Lousa again not once but twice.

I made one last visit this week and after a long phone call from the lady in the office to whoever she spoke to she said they will contact me next week. Before she finished the call she checked my phone numbers so I have hope but after what has happened up to now I will just have to wait and see.