Crazy weather

As I prepare to go home for a few days I have looked at the weather. It's crazy the results I got from the App I use. The distance from the two places is less than 10 miles so home come the forecast is so wrong.

About 5/ 6 miles away from me is a small town called Arganil and the weather is today sunny and warm  and I know it's correct because I have been speaking to a friend as I started to write this.










The next picture is of the weather forecast for Gois. Gois is the nearest town to where I live and it's where I spend lots of my time shopping going to local bars ect.

My best yet

I sent the picture below to my son and said " who's a clever boy " my son replied and i thought i would share the picture on my Blog.

This started of as a little bowl and it is the best thing i have made using a Lathe. The difference being i have been shown what tools to use and how to use them. When i go home i will be taking the knowledge i have learnt from my time at the Lathe club.
Today i went to the club again and did a bit more as you can see but it is not what you think.



On my window sills in my lounge i have ornaments like lots of people have but not me. I have made quite a few things that sit nicely on my window sills and that's all this is.

I'm coming home

Well as the England football goes "I'm coming home". I have been here to long far to long but now i can say i have a date to come home and see my house. I have been in Liverpool from the 1st of March and it's already the 18th April. I have a few filghts back again in May but this one is the best one for two reasons.

I leave late afternoon on the 17th of June. But that's not all of my news my granddaughter who will be 16 at the end of May is coming over for the summer.

So all is well and i am looking forward to a great summer.

Someone i don't see often

As the title says the person in the picture i don't see often but that's because of his type of work he does. This picture shows him dressed for one of the martial arts that my three children took part in.
For Judo they where all trained by Dave Rodgers from the England team in Wallasey and Merseyside.
For Karate they all trained with Andy Sherry and Frank Brennan. Andy Sherry was or still is the highest Dan grade in the UK and he now holds a 9th Dan. Also Andy is  Chairman & Chief Instructor of the KUGB.

For Jujitsu they all trained with Soke Robert Clark (1946-2012) Bob Clark was also the highest Dan grade in the UK. He was the only person allowed in the UK to wear what looked like a skirt. This was to note his ranking  as the very top in his art in the UK.
All these arts my children did was not one after the other. They would do two arts in a week but this is not the end. I forgot when they did Kick boxing being taught by Gary Grogan and Kevin Poole.
My son in the picture seemed to really excel at Kick Boxing but ultimately he wanted to concentrate at Karate.





So you can see that i took my role as a parent very seriously and i was lucky that on Merseyside we had the best trainers. I am so very proud of my three children and of what they have became.

I have been away to long

A very dear friend who was a customer in my previous business in Liverpool had seen a picture of my new house on the computer i had on when she came into my shop.
I was asked to put a picture of my house onto a disk for her. I didn't expect what i received carefully packed for me some weeks later.

The green tree in the front of the house is now an Acer tree.








I am in Liverpool till who knows when and i miss my house and finding this picture really helps at the moment.

From start to finish

For a long time i was pleased with myself by how i had learnt how to use a Lathe. But it was all a load of crap. It turns out that going to a club run by people who have been wood turners for 20, 20 and some 40 years made me see i needed help.
First i went for help in sharpening my tools i was finding i couldn't get my tools sharp properly. I have been to the club now for only a few weeks and i have learnt more that i had found on Youtube.

First i started with a piece of wood that i made into the basic shape of a bowl.

Next i started by marking what was to be the inside to make the cuts to get the shape of the bowl i wanted.

Next using a special jig to hold the bowl so i could work on finishing the bottom.

Now here is the finished bowl waxed and ready for use.

A gift from my friend Paul

A couple of years ago my friend Paul had planted some Black Cardamom seeds. From those that grew Paul gave me a pot with two seeds in. After i read that Black Cardamom needs even better conditions than we enjoy in Portugal.

Before i left for my trip to Liverpool the top light green leaves had only just started to grow but not open. Now as you can see they have opened and are looking great.
On the left there is one lone leaf that is growing on a side shoot. I have two side shoot on the plant on the left.
However i do think that i need to move the plants to a bigger pot but not till much later in the year.

Today was a great day at the Lathe club

Another surprise today when i went to the Lathe club was another lady wood worker, the lady's name was Helen. I did ask for permission to take the picture and post on my Blog. Helen is making a chair and what you see is Helen making a spindle and this is the second of three Helen made today.

Today there where two Lathes for sale and a Spindle cutter. Helen got herself her first Lathe and good luck Helen.











Today i was able to buy a Lathe and the one i got was so much better than the one i have at home in Portugal.

Only if you have a lathe would you perhaps understand the picture. I will be able yo make bowls 30cm or 12 inches in diameter. Or work to be turned up to over a metre.

Here is the scroll cutter o got, i don't have a use for it but at the price i paid it was a bargain i couldn't let someone else have.  It's like a big fret saw that can be used on work up to 16 inches or 40 cm. To be honest i have looked on Youtube and i know just what i can do with this new addition in my workshop.

Don't get to close

Sunday was  mothers day and a visitor to see Mum was one of the younger Great Grandchildren. We where entertained my this little boy playing with my Mum's budgie. I don't know who had the most fun the bird or the Little boy but we got to see something that you could not setup.