Apologies for my absence

Apologies-I've been very busy since last August when I wrote my last blog. I spent one year on a CLAiT 2006/2007 course and gained five Certificates for each subject I took, plus one Certificate for having passed the first 3 exams and my Diploma for completing my course and passing all 5 exams. I am now a qualified Geek. You may have noticed my hair has turned grey! This (I suspect) is the result of the stress of it all.
And, for those of you who remember The Shed Saga, I have an update: The Lodge (summerhouse) was delivered and erected last November, before the first snow of winter-just as I predicted! My friend took up residence after it was officially opened by the local Undertaker (minus his top hat and somber expression.) I was invited to her "Welcome to my new Shed" celebration party, a late night affair full of dancing, singing, swearing and mayhem, enjoyed by her 30 friends and their guests. Until a miserable, cantankerous, stroppy neighbour knocked on the door to complain-and half the guests fell out into a heap in the garden. They looked exactly like the bit in The Chicken Run where the trainee-escapees jump off a roof onto a huge pile of other chickens. And that neighbour was the one at the bottom of this heap! Hooray! My friend's mother now sleeps in total silence but people over a mile away are still scratching their heads wondering 'What the hell was that noise?' I am considering buying my friend "A permanent cure for snoring" for Xmas.

bye for now.

ROVER METRO 1994

Yet another of my classic cars was this Metro 5-door in BR(metallic) green as it was easy to drive and park and, back then, metros had many followers; road-racers, families, trendy young-people, older generations. For its size it had a cavenous boot, plenty legroom for rear-seat passengers and good visibility all round. BUT it did have one problem, the remote locking system went haywire! One hot day I'd left the driver's window open as I went to lock my house door when, to my horror, all the doors locked themselves. I hadn't touched the remote button which hung on the car keys and were still in the ignition! Luckily I managed to reach thro the window and got my keys out, then rang my garage. We tried to lock the doors with the remote but they all opened instead; we opened both doors, closed them and they locked by themselves. In the end I had the remote locking disconnected for safety's sake and I refuse to own any car with central remote locking. I sold the Metro soon afterwards.

canal holidays

30 years ago Britain's canal system lay hidden from view by neglect, overgrown banking, damaged infrastructure and no-one saw the potential. British Waterways eventually saw there could be an untapped leisure facility in our canals and waterways so invested hundreds of man-hours and financial investment to provide an escape from the rat-race for everyone to use. This photo shows a view of the Leeds/Liverpool Canal in rural West Yorkshire. There are hundreds of miles of navigable canals which now provide an idyllic retreat from daily life, a valuable habitat for wildlife and unique views of our cities and countryside. Barges carrying coal, cotton, wool, wood, building materials and other trade goods no longer haul their cargoes throughout Britain and the families which lived on those barges no longer exist. Nowadays families can use these waterways and canals for holidays, fishing trips and relaxation. They can travel round Britain's towns, cities and through the landscape seeing a different and unique picture of scenes they thought they knew well. Enjoy them-canals and waterways provide an antidote to our hectic lives!

Snowy Special Stage 1967 RAC Rally

This photo was taken on the same 1967 RAC Rally and shows a muddy track through a forest in North Yorkshire, England. We saw plenty snow on some of the Special Stages in areas North of this Stage and kept awake with drinks of hot tea. Rallying created a following of people who braved all weathers to stand in the middle of forests to watch the entrants speed passed. The RAC became THE rally to enter and was only one of many social events which were organised by motor clubs. I had joined the motor club at York, where I made many new and lasting friends. I wonder where they all are now?

This photo shows two ladies who (foolishly?) entered the 1967 RAC Rally in England. One of them threw up more than once during one of the Special Stages during that Rally while the other kept hurtling the Ford Cortina 2000 along the route without assistance from the Navigator. This photo was taken BEFORE that incident! A bottle of Brandy was thrust in the Navigator's hand for a quick swig which revived her; I should know about this episode as I was the Navigator and my friend Margaret was the driver. It was unusual for ladies to enter this Rally in those days and I am proud we actually finished though we were in the last ten cars to finish. But it was an achievement of which we're both proud. Rallying was primarily the domain of Mini Coopers although Cortinas were worthy contenders along with cut-and-shut cars and souped-up family cars. Big money hadn't entered into the rallying days of the 60s and 70s so even the last car to finish was welcomed and cheered. I would like now to publically thank the spectator who thrust that bottle of Brandy into my quivering hand - You saved the day for us!!! For the rest of the Rally, any food and cups of tea stayed in my stomach because of that gesture. Thank You.

13/60 Triumph Herald - A Classic Car from the 60s.

This was one of my favourite cars, the Triumph Herald Saloon, 13/60. It's was a 1969 model in Valencia Blue with tan interior which I bought in 1995 and, after alot of elbow-grease and hard work, I showed the car at Classic Car Shows in the North of England in 1996. Sadly I hooked one of its front wheels round a post when I was reversing and ripped the D-panel and lower wing-panel. The steering was so good that the wheel extended outside the body and it came to grief that day when I put on full left lock! It was over 27 years old and I loved the sporty feel, acceleration, low seating and it also had rear suspension similar to the front wheel tuck-under of the Hillman/Sunbeam Imp. If you drove over a hump in the road it took off and tucked its rear wheels under which then straightened out on landing. With practice I quickly learned to dab the brakes just before the brow of the road and the dampers absorbed the lift-off so the car stayed on the road. After the incident with the post, I sold the Herald for peanuts as I couldn't afford repairs.

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Freeview pictures breaking up again

I've lost count of the times ITV2 and ITV3 appear garbled with thin rectangles of multi-coloured bars and incoherent voices in the background. Must be the freak storms! Or I've pressed the wrong button again? I only watch specific programmes like Poirot on ITV3 so I've spent more time than usual on this PC since my 'breakups' began afew weeks ago. Save for climbing up onto the roof to check my aerial, I can't cure the terrestial problems by digital means. I'm tempted to give it a two-fingered digital response (though that would be out of character!) Anyway I'm practicing Powerpoint for a fast-approaching Exam so I need to stay focused - which leads me to a Shed Update. The suppliers turned up on Monday to construct my friend's 8'x8' Summerhouse (The Lodge) only to go away again. The concrete base isn't level! Looks like she'll have to cancel the official opening, due this Friday, as there's nothing to officially open. When the thing is finally built I'll nip round with my camera and post the resulting photo, hopefully before the first snow of Winter.