Evening.
A nice sunny morning but cloudy and windy afternoon. Not as warm as yesterday, but still a dry work day.
Got another few places done. I won't have to work tomorrow now. but I think I'll probably cut my own grass.

Hicky. Summer must be on the way if you are working on your watering system again.
That's good that you got all your shopping in, including the pork mince.

Because the oil price fluctuates so much it's difficult to give a cost figure.
I use just over 1000 litres a year, and at the current price that would cost about £650, but just a couple of years ago it was less than £400.
My electricity cost is about £600 a year.

The one radiator that can't be turned off is the one in my dining room. Well, you can turn it off with the thermostatic valve (the one with the 1 to 5, frost and off settings), but the one at the other end of the radiator can't be altered. Whereas all the other radiators you can turn the other valves to balance the system.
I think the thermostatic valve can sense the temp in the room, because if you leave the radiator on 1 it gets warmer on a colder day, and hardly comes on if it's a warm day.

The system was installed in 1999 by the local plumber, so is probably not very sophisticated because of that. I needed a new boiler a few years ago, but they didn't alter or modernise the rest of the system.
TBH it suits me. I know how to work it now. And the new boiler uses less oil per year than the old one.

Mollie. Yes Tim Horton seem to have 8 branches in Scotland, which is more than England, and 6 of them are in Glasgow. Wonder why they are so popular in Glasgow?
Are you going back to the auction to bid on the coat you liked?
Yes the parking restriction at the hospital would be annoying if you needed to stay for more than 4 hours. Plus the car park is always packed as well.

Watched that new game show on BBC1 'The Button'. Not all that good.
Then watched 'The City and The City'.
Then watched the Michael Portillo on CH5+1.

Evening Both.

Only just noticed the new page, not bad today, i had 23c here sunny and light winds of 5 to 10

Just had bacon and tomato sandwich for brekkie, had to test the watering system this morning at 9am, 1 timer was 5 minutes out, only using 1 spray in the greenhouse and it was blocked, so sorted that, the spray jets are cleanable.

Uncovered the swing and big benches, took some seats out, put a small table up with a parasol.

Been making Shumai (Dim Sum), got sum in the steamer now, they are pork and prawn with some chopped celery for crunch, took them out earlier but not done, probably put too much stiff in them.

Have a couple more pictures to show you of the garden, one has the swing on it in front of the utility room the other is the trees at the back of the greenhouse, 4 plum, an apple and an Olive.

Just eaten the Shumai, wow, never made those before, got loads of filling in the fridge, will have to use tomorrow as it's not cooked, got some pastry left, enough for another 8 just had 7 as i couldn't get more in the steamer.

Mollie, Have left my jumper off for a few day, will be changing to short sleeve shirts next, next comes shorts and sandals.

I will take o/h's mobile number on a piece of paper so i can always get someone to ring her.

Emptybox, You have a strange heating system, without proper control it must use more fuel because  the boiler doesn't know what is going on, different boiler systems use different methods of piping the radiators, do you have to bleed the ones upstairs to release the air trapped, the problem being water has air in it which collects at the highest point.

Yes, the oil price going up makes such a difference, maybe you need to cut down more in certain rooms.

If the price per KWH is similar to gas then for you to pay too much would mean your system is inefficient, either because the boiler is on when it needn't be or the rooms are losing too much heat, which always happens in a house, the beauty of a bungalow, with the doors shut and windows the temperature hardy changes.

Here's my Swing, back in operation, under the Utility room.

Trees behind the greenhouse, 2 apple trees at the side as well, 4 plum trees, 1 apple and an Oliver tree

both

Emptybox

glad you managed to get some work done again, so could take a day off today. HOpe the weather was ok so you could do your own garden.

Gosh I never realised how much oil had gone up. You can tell there is only you by the size of your utulity bills, as ours are over double that. But of course there are 5 of us.

We don't have thermostats on our radiators, but do have a thermoastat in the hall.

Yes does seem odd how Tom Horton are open is so few cities, but in the cities they are in they in, they have more than one of them, eg 3 in Cardiff, as well as the 6 you mention in Glasgow.

You just bid on the auction site online, which is very handy, then if you win the bid, you go and collect the items a few days later. So we will just watch and see how the price goes. If it goes too high, we won't bother.

Hicky

you are all sorted for summer now you have your watering system at the ready.

Let's hope you get good use of the summer furniture now. It is looking lovely in your garden photo. I see you have a nice 3 seater swing chair, we do too, so plenty of room for us on it. The fruit trees are looking good, you can see the blossom.

Glad you enjoyed your shumai.

It is certainly nice you have been able to take your jumper off already even though it is only April. The same for me too for the last few days, jumper off and sun dress on.

Yes I am sure someone would ring your OH for you, you could always pass the receptionist your phone and ask them to ring her for you on your own phone. When I went for x ray, the receptionist had to speak to my GP on my phone about some paperwork.

Lovely warm day here today, sat in the garden again, went to costco to get a few things. Had lunch there, jacket potato, beans and cheese.

Only had 4 washloads to do today and it all dried nicely.

Really enjoyed BGT tonight.

Goodnight both xxxx

Evening both.
Lovely sunny warm day here, but I think it is the last one for a while, and it's to be colder next week. So don't abandon your jersey just yet Hicky.

Got a lot done in the sunshine. I washed my van then planted my few potatoes out. Then I cut my own grass. Then unblocked one of my downpipes that had got filled with leaves and muck.
Then I did some more fiddling with the previous mower.

I think I've finally worked out why it's not been starting.
Now all I've got to do is work out how to fix it.
It was a process of elimination really. It was the only electrical bit that I hadn't swapped.

When the engine is running you have to keep hold of a handle. And when you want the engine to stop you let go of the handle, and that does two things.
It activates a physical brake; a pad that rubs against the turning part of the engine and slows it down. But also there is a wire that goes from the engine to the coil that shuts the engine off.
Not sure why I hadn't tried it before , but I tried disconnecting this wire from the coil, and lo and behold, the engine starts easily, every time.
Only trouble is you can't then stop the engine other than by pulling the plug lead off.
(I think I'd wrongly assumed that without this lead connected the engine wouldn't start at all, which is why I'd left it alone before)

With this lead connected the engine only starts very occasionally, but with it off it starts every time, so there must be a loose connection or something that's not allowing the engine to start properly.
I can't see where this wire connects to the engine, but it must be something to do with the handle and the brake I suppose.
I'll have to do more investigating, and maybe try to find a diagram of it.

But at least I know it works. And if I had to I could use the mower as it is, and just keep the engine running while I emptied the bag, and stopped it by pulling off the plug cap at the end of the job. But I'd be better seeing if I could find a better solution.
I suppose I could refit the original carburetor as well? Although I'm not sure I could be bothered, as it is an incredible faff to get everything lined up and fitted without any leaks.

So a couple of weeks ago I had only the spare mower working. Now I've got three mowers that work. At least I've got myself covered if one goes wrong now.

Hicky. Some more great pics of your garden there.
What's that green stuff to the side of the swing chair? It's not grass is it? Or is it some of the atificial stuff you had at the old place?
Your shumai things sound delicious.

Yes the heating system is not very efficient. But I think I make the most of it by really only heating the room I'm in at the time, and having the radiators in the hall and upstair corridor and bathroom only on low. I only put the radiator in the sitting room on in the evening after I've closed the curtains.
It would be great to have a proper thermostat that could turn the boiler on when the temp dropped to a certain point, but as it's a rented house I can't tamper with the system.
I occasionally have to bleed the radiator in the bathroom, but haven't even had to do that for a couple of years.

Mollie. Great to make the best of the warm weather while it last, by sitting out.
Hope you enjoyed your Costco lunch.

Oh I didn't realise it was an online auction as well as being able to go and look at the goods. That makes it much easier.
Hope you manage to win your coat.

Yes my bills aren't too bad I suppose, considering it's a three bedroom house.
But, as I said, I only heat the room I'm in at the time. So as there's only little me, it makes a difference.
The electricity was a lot higher when it was me and my Dad. But then he burned a lot using tools and things in his workshop.

Watched some of BGT, but I find I'm not very interested in it now. Too many of these silly dance groups.
Perhaps I'm 'over' these talent shows now?

ETA: Oh I forgot to say. Sorry to hear wee Verne Troyer has died.

Morning Both.

Not so good today, some rain, 14c with some sunny intervals, light winds of 8 to 16.

O/H wanted to go to a garden centre, Gordale, so i got some more plants, some shallots, some grafted cherry tomato plants a couple of Jalapino peppers, o/h bought a weeping plant for the front to replace what looks like a tree that didn't survive the winter.

then she wanted to call in for food on the way home so went to a Beefeater, she wasn't impressed though.

Was going to make Cheese and Onion rings today but too late now.

My B&D work bench came yesterday, built it up as well, my hand chain saw came today, would be so handy for cutting roots of trees that are hard to get at.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Htian...ywords=hand+chainsaw

Mollie, I have made a contact for o/h at the front of the list on the mobile by adding an A_Name at the start.

Lucky you getting to Costco again, don't blame you.

Only 4 washloads, wow, you do need good weather.

Emptybox, Ever since i left the jumper off it has cooled down some, was in garden earlier with my short rain jacket on, might have to revert back to jumper.

I was trying to see on the web what is causing your problem with the mower, does the stop cable need replacing, if it has stretched a bit then it isn't pulling the stop switch on the engine far enough so could be letting it think you are trying to stop the engine, you shouldn't really pull the spark plug cap off unless you have rubber gloves as it's at least 20,000 volt while the engine is running, and can give you quite a jolt.

Yes it's artificial grass, o/h didn't like seeing the concrete in front of the garage, 

Yes, BGT is a bit disappointing, with that clown Wallium or whatever and stupid acts that should never get on tv, crazy.

I always watch Life Below Zero, storage hunters, wheeler dealers, Salvage hunters, mostly watch reality as i don't watch much else, like darts, bowls.

Might have a snack, but what, have such a selection of foods all ready made.

Hi Hicky.
A cooler and cloudy day here with some spitty rain. But some sunshine this afternoon.
Watched the London marathon on the telly, then went to Sainsburys this afternoon.

I found a youtube video showing how to replace the kill switch on the mower, but it seems like quite a big job. It's hidden away under the flywheel of the engine, and looks like you need special tools to get that off. Not sure if I have those?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lMrSfzWxYk

It might be easier for me to connect a switch to the wire going to the coil, so I could connect or disconnect it at will. Would be better than pulling the spark plug cap off every time, as you say.
I'll do some more thinking on it. There might be a suitable switch lying about here somewhere.
I'll also look into adjusting the cable to see if it makes any difference.

The funny thing is that if you managed to get the engine going, it kept going. You'd think if it was the cable or the switch that the engine would cut out randomly?

Handy that your OH wanted to go to the garden centre. Allowed you to buy some more plants. Pity you weren't impressed with the Beefeater food though.
Glad your workbench came. That hand chainsaw looks like it would be useful for me as well, for jobs where there isn't room to get a bigger saw moving.

Think it'll be The Durrels and then Good Karma Hospital for me tonight.
Off downstairs to make my supper now.

both xxx

Emptybox

you did well working out what was wrong with the mower, good luck with fixing it though as it does sound complicated. Handy to have a few stand by mowers now, as it is your busy season.

That's good you got so much done on the other day as it was so sunny. At least your own garden looks nice now.

I did enjoy BGT, but do agree that there are too many dance troups now on the show.

Yes I was surprised to hear the news about Verne Troyer.

Hicky

Was it today you go to hospital? If so, hope it went ok and they have helped your vision. Good idea to put OH's contact in first in the phone to make it easer to get her number quickly.

sounds like you came away well stocked up after your visit to the garden centre. What a shame your meal at the Beefeater was not so good.

HOpe you are pleased with your workbench and hand chain saw.

Looks like you might have had to go back to the jumper today? I have had to ditch the summer clothes now and back to a lightweight jumper, as the wind was so cold today, had to wear my coat too.

Gosh your pretend grass looks just like the real stuff, I never realised. So looks good, but the obviouls advantage of no mowing now. So can't be bad.

We went with a friend for brekkie in a seafront cafe yesterday in Barry. But it was a lot more expensive from our usual Weatherspoon and not so good! Oh well it made a change and the weather was nice so we could have a walk down the seafront, and a quick look round the tourist shops.

Today we have been to Cardiff, I wanted to get some Welsh souvenirs for our lovely vet who has to go back to USA as her visa only allowed her 2 years here. Shame as she is execllent and would of liked to have stayed.

I read somewhere (think it was the Daily Mirror), that BBOT is cancelled this summer. Not surprised really, it was rubbish. However they are going to bring back the old type BBBM, no dirty jokes or swearing, as it will be broadcast earlier. Remember when Dermot used to do that all those years ago ? I wonder if they are trying to appeal to a younger audience and hope this will revive interest? I did prefer BBBM. All I hope is they don't get rid of BB altogether and this series is a sucess so they don't.

I watched the last of the Good Karma last night, I enjoyed this series. some great acting.

Tonight think I will watch Corrie, then not sure whether to watch Paddington on C4 or Camilla documentary. Probably Paddington as not keen on Camilla. Looking forward to watching Plebs on itv2 at 10pm though.

Have a good evening both. xxx

emptybox posted:

 

Think it'll be The Durrels and then Good Karma Hospital for me tonight.
Off downstairs to make my supper now.

Do you watch tv upstairs usually then?

Then just pop downstairs to get your food?

I watch tv downstairs in the lounge, but if OH wants to watch football or something I don't, then he goes upstairs as we have a little sofa in one of the bedrooms.

Evening Both.

Just cloudy mainly today, 13c with winds of 16 to 18.

Kept thinking about my eye so it seemed hard to get to sleep, then i was thinking the appointment was 10.40 and forgot to get some brekkie, then i checked and it was 11.40 so made a sandwich with bacon, then o/h dropped me off as it said it could take 3 hours, she was off to her mums as she does mondays, i was early in the clinic and they did a couple of tests then some coloured scans then said i can go, gave me a couple of pamphlets, it was only about 11.45, rang o/h and said i would get a taxi home, they said they would either ring me or send a letter when they have studied the results.

So i came home and re-potted the grafted toms as i can't put them out yet, i potted 6 baby fig cutting that seem to want to grow, they have been in water since last summer, a few roots showing.

Will plant the new tree for o/h tomorrow, have got some Shallots to plant out and the side of the garage needs scraping and painting, another job to do.

Was going to make the cheese & onion in bread crumbs, but the stirfry mixed veg in the fridge needs eating, cooked half of it and had ribeye steak sliced thin and fried, added some of the usual sesame oil etc, only ate half so can get a meal tomorrow, might have it for brekkie, o/h off work so she might want to go out for brekkie.

And we have another Royal baby Boy, Congrats to parents.

Mollie, Yes, put Jumper back on, too cold outside in short sleeve shirt.

I will look into BBots, didn't know it was cancelled, glad anyway, it was hopeless.

Yes, if you move away from home food can get dearer, pity it wasn't as nice, real shame.

Emptybox, I was looking at the video you posted on replacing the stop switch, why do you think that is the problem, it is a swith, it looks like a micro switch to me and they eith work or they are bust, not the problem you have, if it was bust the mower would either never start or never stop, don't you have a steel cable that runs from the stop handle to the engine, you lift it to start and let go to stop, that cable is the stop cable, i think that is the problem, i think the cable has stretched and i don't think they are adjustable so may have to be replaced, pretty simple.

Could be wrong of course as i don't know exactly what model you have.

I think the stop switch either shorts the primary of the ignition to earth or breaks the earth connection as it only had 1 wire terminal so it connects to earth through the fixing bolt.

I'm pleased with the hand chainsaw, i bought it for the gardener really as he gets some hard jobs to do, i want to test it but don't have any spare trees.

I looked at the gardeners mower while he was cutting next doors grass the other day, it's a Mac Allister.

Yay!!

Just heard OH got my new coat for £10 in the auction plus 40% auction fee.

Well worth it for a full length light weight coat, similiar to this it is, but dark geen colour and longer.

https://www.blacks.co.uk/women...il-jacket-black.html

Hi both.
Not as nice today. Very windy and cold in the wind. A little sunshine at times, then rain at 5pm. About 12 degrees in the sunshine, but only 8 at 5pm in the rain.

I got the last two jobs done up in the hill farms. One place had hardly started growing yet, but it looked tidier after it had been cut, and the Farmer's wife seemed pleased that it had been done.

Mollie. Well done at winning that coat at a bargain price. Looks like it will be warm.
Oh well, at least you had brekkie out with a friend, even if it was a bit disappointing?
That was nice of you, getting some souvenirs for your vet. I suppose she has treated your doggie over the years?

No I watch TV in the lounge downstairs. It was just that I was upstairs at my business computer when I replied to Hicky.
I think it is BBLB (Big Brother's Little Brother) that is supposed to be being brought back, rather than BBBM (Big Brother's Big Mouth).
BBBM was the horrible one that Russel Brand used to present. BBLB was the Dermot one.

Hicky. Bit of an anticlimax with the eye appointment, but I suppose they needed you there to do the tests so they can work out how to proceed.
Pity you had to get a taxi home.
Gave you more time to do some potting anyway.
Always plenty to do in the garden.

It could be the stop cable that's the problem with my Mouintfield mower, but it does two things. It works a physical brake on the flywheel to slow the engine down and stop the blades spinning, and it works the stop switch that grounds the spark and stops the engine. And the physical brake part is working fine, which leads me to think that the cable is working as it should and that the stop switch is the problem. Could be wrong?

I think the cable operates a plunger thing which releases a springy bit of metal that grounds itself against the engine body. It could be this plunger is all gunged up, so not working properly? (can't remember where I read that though)
All I know so far is that disconnecting the stop switch allows the engine to start. But I'll definitely be doing more investigating when I get time.

I see your gardener buys B&Q mowers if he's got a MacAllister, as that is the same as my new one; B&Q's own brand.
He must be price conscious, the same as me.

Watched Police Interceptors, then The Island, then 'Kiss Me First' (the sci-fi thriller thing). Then I watched my recording of the Camilla doc.
I like her. I think she came over well.

Evening Emptybox, :

It rained all day so have been stuck in the house.

Used the rice paper type blue dragon wrappers to make some spring rolls to use up the stirfry i had last night.

Had scrambled egg on toast with some beans for brekkie.

Have been puzzling over why one of my timer computers was coming on at the wrong time, one comes on at 9am and the other is supposed to come on at 9.15, but each time i set it then went to see it come on at 9.15 it had been on and stopped so looking at the timer i was thinking, oh dear, it is push button controlled and i had been telling it the time was 9am and to start wen i pressed the start button, of course it was telling it to start at 9am, silly me, i should have waited till 9.15 to tell it to start., the other one is digital so you just propgram what you want.

I was going to make cheese and onion rings today but o/h was making a Lamb roast dinner so put off the baking.

Can you tell me the exact model of the mower that gives the starting problems so i can look into the working and try to work out what is causing the problem, o need the exact model because some types and models could be slightly different, the symptoms of a fault usually lead you to the problem as long as you can understand the working of the machine.

  both xxx

Emptybox

glad you managed to get a few jobs done and the farmer's wife was pleased with you.  Hope you had better weather there today than we had, else you won't of got a thing done today! We had real heavy rain on and off most of the day. 

That does sound dead posh that you have your business computer upstairs, and your tv in the lounge room downstairs. But of course I know other wise in that you don't really live in a manor house.  

Oh yes you are ded right it was BBLB that was a nice show with Dermot, and that is the show coming back.

Yes the vet has looked after doggie for years now and then bunny too. So we will miss her.

Being a guitarist ,have you heard of Nashville? Son's uni are doing a trip there next year, and he is tempted to go, so we have to go and see his tutor tomorrow to see what it involves. The tutor told us it will cost around £1000, and they are doing a lot of things, but the college is using fund raising eg concerts the students put on, to raise money for the trip. So it would normall cost around £2500 to do the equivalent on your own. The recent shooting there has put some of them off now though. I told son it would be a good opportunity to do something of interest whilst he has chance. I think the tutor is taking them round some recording studios as part of their studies are within recording studios. 

HIcky

oh dear, I see you too had the awful weather we have had here too...rain, rain and more rain! Cool too.

What a shame you didn't get any answers from your eye hospital visit, then to add to it, you had to get a taxi home. Let's hope they don't take too long to get back to you with results and some help to ease it.

Good job you managed to work out what was going on with your timer computer.

Went to collect our stuff from the auction room today, we were dead pleased with what we got. The coat is lovely, and when I checked online is an expensive make, so can't complain. OH also got a lovely jacket for £10, and a steamer for £10 too, that actually works!

Couldn't hang the washing out, so it is drying indoors on the airer.

Watched the C4 with the parents at school, then the new drama series on bbc1. Not sure if it will be any good though.

We went for tea at Toby carvary tonight as we had a 50% voucher off main meals. So very good value for a good help yourself meal.

Goodnight both xxx

Evening both.
Had better weather than either of you it seems. A couple of times there was a few rain drops but it didn't come to anything, and didn't stop me working.
Another cold windy day though. I had to wear my woolly hat because the sun hat was hopeless, and kept getting blown off by the wind.
Not very nice, but I got quite a few jobs done anyway.

I also was in town to get my prescription and pay my paper bill, and get some stuff from the garden centre, including a growbag for my tomatoes.
(I have one left over from last year, but I need two for the four tomato plants that I grow)
I made the decision to cancel the papers while I was in the newsagents, so that'll save me £25 or £30 a month. I might still pop in and buy the local paper once a week though, as that's quite useful. But I'll save on the delivery charge which had crept up to over £10 a month for all the daily papers.

Hicky. That's good that you worked out why the timer computer wasn't coming on as you wanted.
A lamb roast dinner probably beats cheese and onion rings any day?

My mower is a Mountfield SP535 HW. (the HW just stands for high wheel, meaning it's got large rear wheels)
It's the single speed model. You can get a variable speed model that has 'V' at the end of the model name. But don't think that would make a difference to the stop mechanism.
The engine is a Honda GCV160. It's the same engine as in the video that I posted a few posts back, so the stop switch should look the same as in that video.
I had a quick look at the stop cable, and it's fitted exactly the same as the one in the video you posted, so would be easy to replace if necessary.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/MOUNTFIELD-SP535-BRAKE-STOP-CABLE-181030056-/152305552547
Thanks for taking the time to look into it.

Mollie. Pity you had the rain too, and had to dry indoors.
No there's nothing posh about my house. I just have the business computer in the small bedroom (that used to be my bedroom), and doubles as my office and music room. Well it's where I keep all my LPs and CDs and my guitars and amplifier etc.

Glad you are pleased with your auction purchases.
50% off the Toby meal sounds great.

Nashville Tennessee? The home of Country music and the Grand Ol' Opry. Yes I've heard of it.
Can't say I'm a fan of Country music, but if you are then it's a Mecca.
I think £1000 sounds a very reasonable price, presuming it includes air fares and accommodation? Probably a great experience for your son.

Evening Both.

A cloudy morning and wet afternoon mostly, 12c so cooler as well, winds up at 17 to 20.

For brekkie i had 1 of my burgers and a couple of small hash browns, add some fried mushrooms.

O/H went to her sisters so set about planting the new tree for her, also she had bought boxes of flower seeds and wild flower seeds as well as a box of mixed perennials so that took some time.

Decided to make the cheese and onion rings, oh dear, wish i hadn't, for a start you need lots of bowls and plates, with the breadcrumbs i thought they needed to be crisper so put thyem on a tray in the oven, but the oven was on 200c for the baked potatoes, but i left them in too long, luckily i had a packet of other ones.

Slicing the onions was dreadful, slicing the cheese was impossible, getting the cheese to stay inside the onion rings was awful, holding it together while you dip them in flour egg and breadcrumbs was a joke, what a mess, flour egg and breadcrumbs everywhere, o/h came in the kitchen to butter her potato, she never mentioned the mess as i look after the kitchen anyway, i managed to make a few and fried them in thew Wok, won't be making them again, thats for sure, and there was no real taste, very disappointing, but i had to try.

I sorted the problem with the water time, it was my fault, the timer i was messing with was supposed to start at 9am, it was the other one that started at 9.15, i thought one seemed to be struggling to close the valve the other day so have ordered all new 'C' batteries for them, they take 2 each and didn't replace them last year.

Have ordered more ink for the printer, i get the XL ones although they are re-manufactured ones they are a lot cheaper.

I miss my colour A2 laser printer we had at work, but the cartridges were £300 each 4 of them but we used to get compatible ones for £300 the set.

One of the relations is coming in the morning to start the work on the front damp problem, but my computer will have to be all covered up.

My Lad in Oz has been promoted to Senior Estimator with a big pay-rise, it was a bank holiday in Oz so they went to Bondi Beach for Fish and Chips.

 Mollie, I'm hoping no quick response from the hospital could be good news for now.

You did well in the auction, i like the Toby Carvery but o/h is so fussy.

Emptybox, I stopped using grow bags as i couldn't control the watering and the roots can't go down so they have to go sideways, also if they get dry wou can't wet them again, they may be better if you roll it into a tube, round so the plants have more depth for the roots, garden centres advise against putting grafted plants in grow bags.

I'll have a think about the stop start problem and see what makes more sense, i will try and see what type of switch it is and if it could cause a problem, i used to deal with thousands of micro switches etc and they usually work unless broken but not work sometimes but i don't know what current flow is passing through the contacts assuming it has contacts and isn't an electronic switch.

The cable could of course stretch, and i would expect it too, but the brake operation wouldn't be as critical as the stop operation.

Emptybox.

Been looking into the starting problems, very hard to get much info on that mower, there is a little info, couldn't even find the kill switch, but looking at how it all works.

Not sure if the kill switch is a click/click switch or whether it is just a pressure operated one, but the switch is the connection from the magneto to the ground/ earth of the frame.

When the handle is lifted on the mower to start the switch contacts have to open, to take the earth off the magneto, when you let go for it to stop the switch earths the magneto primary coil so the system is dead.

Is the cable that you disconnected for it to start, did you take it off the magneto or off the kill switch?

If the wear on the cable from the handle is too much it might not open the contacts of the kill switch, when you take the wire off it runs because the magneto is not earthed, if the wire you took off came from the kill switch then you can just earth it to stop the mower, if it came off the magneto you need to plug a new piece of wire onto the magneto so you can earth it to stop the mower. 

To find out if the problem is the cable or switch replace the cable, if the problem still exists after that then it's the switch, what some do is connect a switch between the magneto and earth, any toggle switch will do, it will only be low voltage probably 6 or 12 volt like a battery voltage, the same as the primary voltage on a motorcycle ignition, say 6 volt.

both

Emptybox

that is good your weather was not too bad so you managed to get some work done. Real chilly here too today, dry but a very cold wind. My new warm coat came in very useful.

Good for you cancelling the papers. Money well saved imo, after all you can get most stuff online now. But good idea to keep up the local paper. You will have to treat yourself to something nice with the money you save.

Your house does sound nicely organsied and cutesey.... ours is just organised chaous no matter how much I tidy with the pets and 5 of us there is always someone around to untidy!

I thought you'd of heard of Nashville. And you even know of the Grand ol Oprey. I met with the tutor today and it sounds real interesting, and good value. So I think son will go. The Grand ol Oprey is one of the excursions they will do. Yes the £1000 includes air fare and accomodation is motel/hotel and excursions.

Hicky

that's nice of your OH to go to your sister's to help with her garden things.

Oh dear such a shame your cheese and onion rings didn't turn out good, never mind at least you had a go, and on the whole most of your attempts do turn out well.

Gosh £300 for a printer cartridge, no wonder the printing was good!

HOpe your relative can sort out the damp problem free.

Nice photo of your lad's bank hol lunch there. I forgot they get ANZAC day as bank hol day there.

Yes fingers crossed as you say that no quick response means no immediate worries from your hospital tests.

Took dog to vets today as she has ongoing dry eye problem and arthtritus. So she gave me suitable meds and checked her over. She was thrilled with her pressies, luckily she doesn't have to go back to the US till August, but I gave her the gifts to make sure I dont' forget.

Then in the afternoon, went to Uni to see tutor about Nashville. He is so enthusiastic about the trip, so that is nice for the students. He will drive the students to London to catch the plane in the mini bus he said. He showed me the Uni's recording studios that son was working in. It cost them £350,000! 

Goodnight both xxx

Evening.
Sunshine and showers today. Managed to get a couple of jobs done in between the showers, but not ideal. High of only about 9 degrees.

Hicky. I saw that Fish and Chip pic on twitter, but thought it was from your time across there. The fish looks nice, but pretty puny chips?
That would have been a nice surprise for your OH, to come back from her sister's and find her tree and seeds planted.
Good on you, sorting the problem with your watering computers.

Oh dear, sounds like the cheese and onion rings weren't a total success. At least you'll know not to make them again.
at your OH coming into the kitchen to get her baked potato, and ignoring your mess.
Hope that doesn't mean you'll be incommunicado while your computer is covered up for the damp work?

I set a big bottomless pot into the growbags, filled with John Innes No.1, to give the tomatos more root room. Seems to work fine.
The watering of them is tricky though. You have to give them enough so they never dry out, but too much can cause problems as well.

Thanks for looking into the mower prob.
Yes, it's good that i can get that cable from ebay at a reasonable price if i need to.
The wire I took off attaches to the coil/magneto with a spade connector. I can't reach the kill switch itself, as it is under the flywheel.
I was thinking of trying to insert a wire and switch inbetween the kill switch and coil, and mounting it on the handles somewhere, so I can swich the engine off without having to go round the front of the mower. Similar to your last suggestion.
I'll need to wait for a nice day though, as it is easiest to work on it outside, as the garage is full of stuff, so not much room to work.
No hurry, as the new mower is doing a good job so far.

Mollie. Pity you had colder weather, but good that your new coat came in handy. I was very glad of my padded gillet and woolly hat today.

Not sure I'll be treating myself to anything, as I have had a small rent rise that more or less cancels out any saving from stopping the papers.
At least I'm not worse off anyway.
Yes the local paper is useful to see which of my customers have popped their clogs this week.

Pity your dog needed to see the vet, but gave you an opportunity to give the vet her pressies.
Sounds like your son will benefit from the trip to Nashville, especially if he has an enthusiastic tutor.

Watched The Secret Life of the Zoo then Benidorm. Then went on Netflix to watch an episode of the remake of 'Lost in Space'.

Evening Both.

Not a bad day really, dry so far sunny 12c with strongish winds of 23 to 28.

Relatives Lad arrived as his dad is on Holiday, covered the room up with dust sheets so i couldn't go in all day till about 3pm, it's all ready for the plaster skim now, the damp didn't come through the bricks as they are all dry, it must be condensation, maybe because it's a solid outside wall.

Had bacon and tomato sandwiches for brekkie, than a piece of cake o/h left me from her sister.

Then o/h fancied going to Parkgate for Fish and Chips and ice cream, could only eat half the chips and a third of the fish so had that for tea, was going to have spring rolls as i have quite a few.

Planted a tray of spring onions but forgot i had 2, so that will have to wait.

The Hospital rang, next Wednesday, could take a few hours for more tests, she said. 

Mollie, No, O/h went to her sisters, i set about planting the tree and flower seeds for her.

The Mozzarella cheese is very difficult to handles, well mine was, not like on the video, also think my onions were too small, anyway, thats over now, all the onion that was left over that i could use has been put through the chipper and is now in the freezer, not wasting that.

Yes, the Laser printer had 4 cartridges at £300 each, but we didn't want to spend all that so compatibles did us, i do like the Laser printer though, beats inkjet any time.

Think the printer cost £5,000 but we only rented it, we had a few printers, one was so big the paper was 3 foot wide and it came on a roll, it could print full colour as well, it could print a sheet that wrapped all around the walls in the office, a bit like what they use for printing the adverts on big sheets.

I bet the vet was shocked to be getting a leaving pressies.

Yes, it will be lovely for your son to go to Nashville, a fantastic opportunity.

Emptybox, It sounds rather miserable there, cold wet, not really ideal for you.

Most of the chips will be under the fish, you get plenty, we went to the same chippy when i was in Oz, it's very popular, in fact i think it's the only one, it mimics the UK fish and chip shop, it doesn't sell Oz stuff.

I have got 4 different watering computers, 3 in use just now, but you have to control each one different of course, one has a display and of course is most expensive, i keep the books handy so i can read up how to change them.

I remember many years ago experimenting with grow bags raised 1 ft above ground in a greenhouse supported on electrical tray, 3 m long and about 14" wide, under the tray was water trays, like window boxes, each one was about 30" long, they were full of water, i cut slots in the bottom of the front of the grow bag and put water matting strips from the bags into the water, the principle being, if you run water down a capillary matting when the water stops running down it turns round and runs back up, it worked fantastic really but i couldn't control the flow of water up and i couldn't control the amount of roots that followed the water down, it ended up with all the water troughs solid with roots, you couldn't see the matting any longer, i have been experimenting with auto watering for a long time, i even started with a gravity auto system but there's too much air in water and it stopped the system working as it needed a way of letting the air out of the micro pipes.

If you fit a makeshift switch for the mower it goes between the magneto and ground (the motor case) keep away from the old kill switch because you don't really know what that is doing, (magneto)--------[on/off switch __/ __ ] -----( case)

If you cut the wire as long as you can with the bring lug on and join it to another wire that connects to the new switch then connect the other wire from the switch to the case somewhere, when the switch is on the magneto is grounded so kills the motor, when the switch is open the engine can start.

Evening Both.

Not a bad day really, dry so far sunny 12c with strongish winds of 23 to 28.

Relatives Lad arrived as his dad is on Holiday, covered the room up with dust sheets so i couldn't go in all day till about 3pm, it's all ready for the plaster skim now, the damp didn't come through the bricks as they are all dry, it must be condensation, maybe because it's a solid outside wall.

Had bacon and tomato sandwiches for brekkie, than a piece of cake o/h left me from her sister.

Then o/h fancied going to Parkgate for Fish and Chips and ice cream, could only eat half the chips and a third of the fish so had that for tea, was going to have spring rolls as i have quite a few.

Planted a tray of spring onions but forgot i had 2, so that will have to wait.

The Hospital rang, next Wednesday, could take a few hours for more tests, she said. 

Mollie, No, O/h went to her sisters, i set about planting the tree and flower seeds for her.

The Mozzarella cheese is very difficult to handles, well mine was, not like on the video, also think my onions were too small, anyway, thats over now, all the onion that was left over that i could use has been put through the chipper and is now in the freezer, not wasting that.

Yes, the Laser printer had 4 cartridges at £300 each, but we didn't want to spend all that so compatibles did us, i do like the Laser printer though, beats inkjet any time.

Think the printer cost £5,000 but we only rented it, we had a few printers, one was so big the paper was 3 foot wide and it came on a roll, it could print full colour as well, it could print a sheet that wrapped all around the walls in the office, a bit like what they use for printing the adverts on big sheets.

I bet the vet was shocked to be getting a leaving pressies.

Yes, it will be lovely for your son to go to Nashville, a fantastic opportunity.

Emptybox, It sounds rather miserable there, cold wet, not really ideal for you.

Most of the chips will be under the fish, you get plenty, we went to the same chippy when i was in Oz, it's very popular, in fact i think it's the only one, it mimics the UK fish and chip shop, it doesn't sell Oz stuff.

I have got 4 different watering computers, 3 in use just now, but you have to control each one different of course, one has a display and of course is most expensive, i keep the books handy so i can read up how to change them.

I remember many years ago experimenting with grow bags raised 1 ft above ground in a greenhouse supported on electrical tray, 3 m long and about 14" wide, under the tray was water trays, like window boxes, each one was about 30" long, they were full of water, i cut slots in the bottom of the front of the grow bag and put water matting strips from the bags into the water, the principle being, if you run water down a capillary matting when the water stops running down it turns round and runs back up, it worked fantastic really but i couldn't control the flow of water up and i couldn't control the amount of roots that followed the water down, it ended up with all the water troughs solid with roots, you couldn't see the matting any longer, i have been experimenting with auto watering for a long time, i even started with a gravity auto system but there's too much air in water and it stopped the system working as it needed a way of letting the air out of the micro pipes.

If you fit a makeshift switch for the mower it goes between the magneto and ground (the motor case) keep away from the old kill switch because you don't really know what that is doing, (magneto)--------[on/off switch __/ __ ] -----( case)

If you cut the wire as long as you can with the bring lug on and join it to another wire that connects to the new switch then connect the other wire from the switch to the case somewhere, when the switch is on the magneto is grounded so kills the motor, when the switch is open the engine can start.

both xxx

Emptybox

glad you managed to get a few jobs done, despite the cold weather. Definately wooly hat and thick fleece still today for you I reckon?  I wore my new coat as the wind was still so cold.

HOpe you get some decent weather soon, so you can have a go at fixing the mower.

Oh no, not a damn rent rise! These private landlords are certainly greedy. Shame that cancels out your newspaper savings.

Hicky

that is good your relative was able to check the damp and could see the damp didn't go through to the bricks.

What a nice treat to go to Parkgate for fish and chips. How come you couldn't eat them all? Was it beause you had a big brekkie?

No wonder the printer was good quality at those prices.

I thought your son's chippy meal looked British type. Not surprised he went there, I bet he enjoyed it. I remember it was difficult to get a decent chippy meal in Oz when we were there.

Son and daughter went to see the new Marvel film today. They really enjoyed it. Daugher wanted to go last night to the midnight release, but no one wanted to pick her up at 3am in the morning, so she had to wait till 10.30 am to see it this morning. Whilst they were there I met 2 of my mum's ex carers. Lovely ladies, it was nice to meet up with them again as I do miss their company. We had coffee and cake in Sainsburys cafe.

Not keen on tv tonight but settled for "Can't Win, take it away", now watching Michael Portillo about housing.

Goodnight both. It is so cold here the heating is back on and I am back to wearing the wooly onesie!

Hi both.
Sunshine and showers again, but more sunshine and less showers than yesterday. Still windy though. A little warmer in the sun; up to about 11 degrees.

I got a big grass cutting job done.
I also called in on the place that I was having to compete with another gardener to cut the grass. The grass hadn't been done since the last time, and it was needing done again.
I knocked on the door but only the wife was home. She pretended ignorance and said she didn't know what arrangements her husband had made, and that he'd have to ring me. So I left my card and said if they want the grass cut to ring.
So I've left the ball in their court.

Hicky. That's good that there isn't a big damp problem, only condensation.
Is that just more tests next Wednesday? No word of when you get the injections?

TBH I quite like going out every morning to water the toms myself. Don't think I could be bothered with a complicated automatic system? But then you do grow a lot more things than me.
You've certainly tried a lot of methods in your time.

Mollie. Is there another Marvel film out? They seem to be never ending?
( I don't mind them really)

That was nice for you, seeing the carers again.
Pity you are having to go back to the woollens again as well. It's supposed to be very cold by the weekend. Just hope it starts to heat up again after that.
I want to be able to plant my tomatoes out in the greenhouse soon.

I can't really complain about the rent rise, as it's the first for 4 years. And I have just put my own hourly price up as well (first time for 5 years). Inflation is starting to bite again, all over.

Watched Location, then I thought I was watching 999 Emergency on CH4, but turns out I was actually watching 'Ambulance' on BBC1. I couldn't tell the difference.
Then I watched an episode of Game of Thrones on Amazon.

P.S. I see GaGa is 9 years old today.

Evening Both.

Been light rain all day except for a few minutes, 9c with light winds.

Good Job F1 practice was on, would really have been bored.

Had bacon, egg, sausage, mushrooms for brekkie.

The sun has come out now, bit late.

Changed the batteries in the watering computers, well have done 2 of the 3, might leave the other if it seems ok, i took the batteries out of the spare watering computer yesterday and the battery voltage was 1.49v, they are 'C' batteries, the ones today read 1.45v, the other pair were 1.33v, not sure what the voltage reads on the new ones but it must be over 1.5v will test that tomorrow, but with the timers having a built in water valve (solenoid controlled) then it need more power than a torch say.

Was going to make Nachos for tea but though i should use some of the frozen spring rolls as i have a bag full.

My shopping arrived ok even though o/h is off this week, made a dip to go with the spring rolls.

My printer cartridges came this morning with the batteries.

Mollie, I couldn't eat all the fish and chips from Parkgate because i had had brekkie plus a piece of cake o/h had brought from her sisters for me, the fish and chips i love but didn't want to throw away what was left, which was quite a lot, i usually get a small chips but it's easier for the staff if i don't mess around with the order.

Your daughter shouldn't really be coming out of a show at 3am, even if someone is picking her up, they could be late, it's just not safe.

That was nice, seeing the carers again, plenty to catch up on.

I've had to put my jumper back on as well, crazy weather.

I watch Life below Zero each night, it's on for 2 hours a night on the Travel channel 42 Freeview. I also watch all the Antiques Road Shows.

Emptybox, I wonder if that customer will ring you, you would think his wife would have some idea, but some couples just don't discuss matters, he probably keeps garden things to himself.

I think the tests could involve injecting something into the blood to show up the eye blood vessels, could be iodine or something, had that before, it says again i could be 3 hours, will get a taxi as it's at 8.30 am.

I originally made the plants automatic because of the hours i worked, also so i could go away working for a week or two, or to go on holiday.

I see BB is doubtful at the mo, it will be different if it does come back.

Did you see what i was saying in my last post about the mower kill switch and bypass you could do.

both xxx

Emptybox

that's good you got a big job done yesterday. HOpe the weather was ok again today so you could get some work done.

It'll be interesting now to see if you get a call from that customer, or if they take the easy option and just let the other guy get on with it when he turns up again.

Yes yet another Marvel film, my family love them though, and daughter collects some of their comic books.

Yes as you say, I guess inflation is hitting everywhere again, so you need need to put your hourly rate up, especially now your rent is going up.

I too couldn't work out the difference between those 2 shows last night...999, or Ambulance??? Didn't watch either in the end though. Watched "Can't Pay" instead.

Oh I see 9 years old here, that explains the decorative pretty background.

Hicky

No wonder you couldn't eat all your fish and chips if you had cooked brekkie and a cake after, but didn't matter as you didn't waste it at all.

We too had rain right till the end of the day, so no washing on the line today.

yes good idea to finish a few spring rolls before you tackle the nachos.

Shame you have to get a taxi again to the hospital, let's hope you dont have to go back too many times now before they can sort you out.

I certainly hope they don't get rid of BB at all!

Went to view the auction again as we got some lovely stuff from there last time. Now we have to watch the bids and see if anything is worth bidding on. OH is well pleased with the steam cleaner he got for £14!

Went shopping in asda and they have a half price clothes sale ,so got a couple of nice blouses. I was only supposed to be food shopping too. Now all I have to do now is wait for the weather to warm up so i can wear them.

Watched double Corrie, now watching Gogglebox. And recording Have I got News for You.

Goodnight both xxx

Evening both.
Was quite a nice morning here, sunny and quite warm. Cloudier this afternoon, and then the rain came on at about 3.30pm.
Got a couple of jobs done anyway.
Cold this evening, down to about 3 degrees. Have had to put my electric fire on for a little while in the sitting room.

Hicky. You are a genius, so you are.
Had another look at the mower, and it was the stop cable that was at fault all along. It must of got stretched, as you thought.
With the handle pulled up the cable was pulling the lever far enough to release the brake, but not quite far enough to open the stop switch.
Just pushing the lever a little further, or pulling the cable a little with my finger, and there was a click, which was the switch, and the mower started. The switch doesn't turn off again until you release the handle.
So I won't need to mess around bypassing the switch after all.
I might buy a new cable, but just pulling the cable with my finger seems enough to open the switch at the moment, so that should be easy enough.

It's probably my own fault that the cable got stretched. To get the mower into the van I have to fold the handles, and instead of folding them towards the front of the mower as you are supposed to do, I have always folded them back. It's easier to lift the mower that way, but of course the cables could well get stretched doing it that way. I never even thought of that before.
I'll do it the other way from now on, and do the same with the new mower to stop the cables on that getting stretched the same way.
Thanks again. I probably wouldn't have thought of that if you hadn't suggested it.

Good job you had the F1 practise on telly to keep you occupied today.
Good idea to change the batteries on your watering computers before they let you down.

Haven't heard from that customer yet, presuming the wife remembered to pass the message on.
He probably is quite happy with the other guy doing it. But you never know, he could ring yet.

At least your tests will be injections into the bloodstream, rather than injections into the eyeball. (although they might come later?)
Yes, I'd heard that this summer's BB may be the last.

Mollie. I quite like watching 'Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away' as well. For some reason I always say it in my head in Scottish dialect (even though I don't speak in dialect) - 
"Cannae Piy? Oo'll Tak Hit Awa".
(don't know why I shared that? )

Pity it was too wet to dry washing today.
That's good that you found some clothes bargains in Asda.
Yes I really hope they don't cancel BB entirely. But it might be nice if it went back to a simpler format. Perhaps online only, with 24hr live feed?

Tonight I watched 'Our Wildest Dreams' about a woman and her daughter going to live with a tribe in Ecuador, then I watch the last episode of The City and The City.

Evening Both.

Not so bad today weatherwise, but 11c light cloud and snipits of sun between clouds, winds light at 5 -9 again.

Had Tinned Toms and sausages for brekki.

Planted the strip of veg i forgot the other day, i said the last strip was spring onions as i could think what they were, well they were Shallots the same as the one i planted today.

Got a letter back from DVLA ref the Log book/leaflet i sent them back, it just said that was the address given to them, and if i get any fines etc relating to the vehicle sent whoever sends it a letter and a copy of this letter.

All they really have to do is stop the vehicle on the road and get the drivers details, it's not rocket science, there can't be that many old blue vans with that reg plate. and with almost all police cars and road camera's having vehicle recognition then it should only take a few days to sort the problem, but whoever has the vehicle they are going to run into trouble soon as they won't be able to tax it, will they?

I was going to make Nachos for tea, but with the sun out and F1 practice and grid position today i ran out of time, so made a tomato salsa and a chilli dip for Spring Rolls, did 6 of them in the oven for 30 mins from frozen, very tasty, will be looking into which is the best method to make the next batch as they are so yummy.

It looks like i could have some nice figs this year, i think the smaller fig trees might produce some as well, the big tree is looking good anyway.

Mollie, I was only going to get a taxi to the hospital to save o/h getting up early as she doesn't work on a Wednesday and she like a lie in, she was only going to drop me off anyway.

Don't know what will happen to BB, they mess around too much, they thought it was clever but it really spoilt it, the stupid secret tasks on the first night, crazy, they shouldn't mess about, they need to take a step back, a big one.

Emptybox, You are having pretty cold nights still up there, not good.

On the mower, i noticed that a lot or mowers have separate cables for brake and kill switch so they wouldn't get that problem really, i was thinking that with the cable stretching it would let the brake work but i couldn't find out what type of switch the kill switch is or i could have solved the problem earlier.

The lack of info relating to that mower and the lack of drawing, lack of parts listing, lack of spares, and 1 cable to do 2 jobs is because B&Q forced the makers to cut the costs, will think twice or more about buying any electrical equipment from the again, i really think it's a con trick.

I checked the voltage on the new 'C' battery and it's 1.61v, i find it incredible that you can get a Duracell 1.5v battery and it is good to be used for 10 years, the timer computer book does say replace every year, these did 2 years, mind you they only operate a couple of times a day at most.

I can't count how many needles/injections i have had so a few more doesn't matter too much, but they did say when they inject the eye you can't see the needle or feel it, that makes me feel so much better, as it would.

Hi Hicky.
Cloudy morning here, but some quite nice sunshine here this afternoon.
Cold again tonight, only 3 or 4 degrees.

That's good that you got the last strip of veg planted.
Hope you do get a good crop of figs this year.

I should think that driver could tax their van with the V5 doc and MoT etc, unless they've given the wrong address deliberately as part of a scam.
As you say, it shouldn't be down to you to contact DVLA if you wrongly get any fines etc, they should be doing something about it themselves.

The Mountfield mower with the cable problem isn't the one I got from B&Q. I got that one from the local dealer Lloyds Tractors (they do horticultural stuff as well).
The Honda mowers that I bought at the beginning of my 'career' (before they priced themselves out of my range), used to have a separate blade brake clutch, so you could start and stop the blades without stopping the engine. But the Mountfield just has the one lever, so the engine stops at the same time as the blades, if the cables working properly.

Yes, that's good that you won't see the eye needle coming.

Watched a bit of BGT again, then watched Alice Roberts in her Historic Towns series. This week talking about Norwich, near where I was born.

Evening Emptybox.

Not a very good day, very little sun. light winds, 11c but dry.

The V5 document is the V5C Log book which was sent to me so the owner hasn't got anything, don't know whats going on, no idea how my address has got on the logbook, it's a very old van hard to believe it's still on the road.

Had fried eggs on toast for brekkie, had some spare stirfry veg so not wanting to waste it i added some sliced mushrooms, onions, prawns etc with the usual additives, cooked it up and made more spring rolls, made 9 then froze them, very partial to spring rolls.

Was thinking of having some for tea but o/h made a rather yummy roast dinner.

Been watching F1 a lot today so didn't have a lot of free time, i spend a lot of the day eating.

So the Mountfield SP535 mower isn't a B&Q one, isn't that strange or is it just Mountfileld that use one cable instead of 2 for the brake/kill switch then.

We won't mention the eye hospital. it's one of a couple of rather delicate area's.

I saw some of BGT but not sure how some isiots get on really, unless it's to fill in time between adverts.

Hi Hicky.
Rainy here this morning, but a nice sunny afternoon. Not warm though.
Just got back from my Lidl shop.

Oh yes of course. I'd forgotten that it was the V5C that had been sent to you.
Probably a complete mess up by DVLA then.
Yes, you do seem partial to a spring roll or several.

The B&Q MacAllister brand mower has a similar system to the Mountfield I think, with just the one handle for brake/kill switch, and another handle for the back wheel drive.
Obviously I haven't had to have it to pieces yet, so I don't know exactly what the arrangement is.
The only upside of having to fix these mowers myself is that I am slowly learning how they work.
By the time I get the hang of them it'll be time to retire.

Unfortunately the Good Karma Hospital has finished now, so I'm not sure what to watch tonight.

both

Emptybox

well how amazing is that?? Someone you never even met other than on an online BB forum, manages to work out what your mower problem was, and then even how to fix it.   Well done to HIcky,   what a genius.

Glad you have had a bit of sunshine, even though it was still cold.

Really cold here too for the time of year, but at least it is dry today, and was mainly dry yesterday.

I like to see your Scottish dialect now and again. Can you speak it yourself and do you often hear it used in every day language where you are?

Hicky

glad you managed to get the rest of the veg planting done, but I reckon like me and Emptybox you are still back in the winter clothing. Last night it seemed even colder and must of only just been above freezing here.

That is good it sounds like you are to get some nice figs..., they are really good for you too.

That must be a bit of relief that they say you can't feel or see eye injections. Yes I can see why you chose a taxi as it would be a shame to disturb your OH early on her day off as the hospital is not far away.

DVLA have got a cheek expecting you to sort out fines etc for someone else, You'd of htought you'd done enough already for them to sort this out!

I agree with both of you, BB needs to take a step back to what it was before they interferred with it. Hopefully bringing BBLB back again is a start to them doing that.

Yesterday my neighbour had to go out for the day so I looked after her elderly dog as she was worried about leaving him alone all day. He was really sweet, he sat right by my feet to try and stop me leaving him, and I took him in the garden a few times.

Have a good day both xxx

Oooppss did my post above this morning and only just noticed I hadn't pressed "Post Reply"....good job I noticed before I turned my lappy off tonight.

emptybox

hope they hadn't changed Lidl layout again so you got your shop done easy. Did you get your beer from there?

We find their wine good and a lot cheaper than most places.

Have you heard how your nephew is getting on in Liverpool?

And when is the one at sea due back here?

Hicky

that's good you are stacked up again on your fave spring rolls now.

Yes I guess we have to have a mix of good and bad to fill in a whole series of BGT. but overall I do enjoy it.

Ended up going to costco and ikea today. Son needs a new desk in his room for studies. Found a nice one, but as there were 4 of us in car,OH has to go back for it when there is more room in car. 

Goodnight both xxx

Hi Mollie.
That was nice of you looking after your neighbour's old dog.
Presumably he gets on OK with your own old dog?
Maybe you shouldn't have all piled into the car, if you were wanting to buy a desk?

I could speak Scottish dialect if I wanted, but most people round here know i was born in England, so would think I was just putting it on (which would be true).
People nowadays tend to speak English with a Scottish accent, with a few dialect words thrown in, rather than speaking with a pure dialect. But older people probably use more dialect words than young.

Yes it's great that Hicky was able to come up with the solution for my mower.
He's obviously got a engineering mind that can grasp mechanical problems, where I struggle.

I bought a couple of bottles of beer from Lidl today, and a nice bottle of red wine. Cheaper than Sainsburys as you say.
They haven't changed the layout again, but it was a bit smelly in there again. I was followed round by a smell of cigarettes (which I hate), and there was a nasty smell coming from one of the cabinets, not sure what it was.
I'm probably sensitive to smells for some reason, but it doesn't make you want to linger.

My Brother and wife are going to spend next weekend in Liverpool seeing how their youngest is getting on, so I'll probably get a report after that.  

Evening Both.

11c here, sunny spells, dry but cold winds of 13 to 18.

Had a lazy day, didn't o a lot, watched some tv, had bacon and egg for brekkie, was going to make the Nachos but need more tomatoes for the Salsa so decided on eating the half chicken left from yesterday, the recipe calls for Rice Flour as 1 ingredient and i only have Wholemeal, Cornmeal course, Cornmeal fine, Cornflour, Plain Flour, Wheat Flour and self raising flour, i used the course cornmeal, with the cornflour, big mistake, it was like bread crumbs, ate what i could and dumped the rest.

Mollie, Yes, putting my jumper on again, mainly for outside of course, not in the house.

I suppose the DVLA can't stop post coming to my place if it has my address on it.

No idea what will happen to BB next year, think this year is ok.

I see you are a dog minder now, more than i would do, can't stand dogs, or cats.

Think you need a roof rack for the car, nothing worse than trying to get stuff in the car full of people.

Emptybox, The DVLA couldn't do anything because the address they had been given to them was mine, now whoever has the vehicle is rather stuck.

It's ok taking these mowers to pieces if they are all the same make and model, but when they are different you don't really have spares to put on another one to make a good one.

I see Sainsbury's are trying to merge with Asda, if they are allowed to.

Smells can emanate from say a broken pack of seafood and some liquid of shellfish falls out into a cabinet, that can take a lot of getting rid of, or some nasty smelling liquid had been spilt.

I wonder how you could get a smell of cigarettes, strange.

both xxx

Emptybox

that is quite odd how your Lidl was a bit smelly again. We have a £ shop in a town close to us that is always smelly, but the £ shop in the next town is fine. Wonder if it has anything to do with the materials they used when they did it up? And as Hicky says, the cigarette smell is odd, but again I have come across that in eg Tescos, and I think it may be to do with where staff are smoking, and if the air con is sucking it inside the store.

I went into my neighours house to look afer her house as we decided that was easier with me having the bunny and dog here and the old dog is used to his home comforts. So she just lent me her keys.

Was the weather ok for you to get and do some gardens today?

It was nice and dry with quite  a bit of sun here, but the wind was still quite cool. Good day for drying all my washing though.

I am not surprised it is mainly the eldery still using the dialect. I have noticed how younger people seem to be picking up Americanisms lately! (too many for my liking!)...eg it always seems to be the "movies" now instead of films, some commentators say "soccer" instead of football, and I have even heard "elevator" instead of lift.

HIcky

good for you having a lazy day for a change,  which of course you are allowed to do now you have reached retirement age.

What a shame you had to dump your recipe.

Yes we could do with a roof rack, OH fancies a trailer, said he could load it easily with stuff for the tip amongst other things.

Caught up with paperwork and washing, and sorting some of my clothes out that I don't wear to go in the charity collector's bag today.

Not much on tv tonight so watched my recording of GP show.

Goodnight both xxx

Hi both.
Cloudy this morning, but a nice sunny afternoon again. No heat in it though, only 9 or 10 degrees at best. And a very cold evening tonight.

Got one of my big grass cutting jobs done with the old Mountfield mower. It didn't give me any trouble at all. I didn't even need to keep pulling the cable to get it to start for some reason, although i did have to the first time I started it.

The fact that it's got a manual choke carburetor fitted now, rather than the autochoke one is a bit of a nuisance, as I have a wire fitted to the butterfly valve that I pull to put the choke on. Then I have to release that to take the choke off again, which requires going to the front of the mower. But it's not too bad.
If I decide I'm mostly going to use that mower rather than the B&Q one, I'll probably put the autochoke carburetor back on. But that would require me to buy a new gasket set for it.

HIcky. Pity your recipe didn't turn out too well because you didn't have the right flour.

I saw that about the Sainsburys and Asda merger. Not sure if it would affect my local Sainsburys store, as there isn't an Asda nearby. The nearest one is in Galashiels which is about 20 miles away.
As Asda prices are often cheaper than Sainsburys, maybe the prices in Sainsburys might come down to match? They did used to price match with Asda up until a few years ago.

The smelly cabinet in Lidl was indeed a seafood one, so might well have been a broken packet. I didn't linger near it long enough to have a proper look.
I think the cigarette smell was from the clothes of a heavy smoker who was probably following me round the aisles. It's only a smallish shop, so difficult to get away.

Mollie. That was good you got caught up on paperwork and washing.
Yes, there are a lot of Americanisms creeping into the youngsters' speech.

Ah, good idea to look after neighbours dog in his own surroundings. Less hassle for all that way.

I think the fact that Lidl is more like a warehouse store and less like a normal supermarket, might be why these smells aren't dealt with quickly.
The likes of Sainsburys want you to stick around and shop longer, so you might pick up things you hadn't thought of, so they want a nice clean inviting environment. But Lidl's more about low prices and goods stacked high, and getting you round as quick as possible.

Watched Polce Interceptors then The Island then Kiss Me First. The last one started off as quite a promising sci-fi thing, but I'm not enjoying it as much now. Only one more episode to go though, so I think I'll stick with it till the end.

Evening Both. :

Not a bad day, 13c sunny spells, winds of 11 to 18.

Planted some of the tomato plants in the greenhouse in one of the big tubs, should be ok.

Had the relative in skimming under the bay window, thats sorted now.

Had a new 6 drawer chest delivered but it has damage now we have taken the rather elaborate packing off, it took half an hour to unpack, the damage looks as though it was there before they even started to wrap in in it's many skins.

Have sent pictures of the damage.

This is one of the damages.

Had bacon and egg for brekkie, am making Crispy Cauliflower Pakora for tea, i didn't use the Rice Flour last night as i didn't realise i had any, had put it on a different shelf, my bad, so am trying again.

Got the eye hospital in the morning, o/h is going to take me anyway.

Mollie, A trailer is good but you really need a lockable one and spare wheels etc.

Yes, you need to keep up with the paperwork for accounts, we get so many bags for old clothes through the door, i use them for my rubbish bin liners.

Emptybox, That was handy getting one of your big grass jobs done, auto chokes are ok if they are working right.

I heard that Sainsbury's want to get the food prices down by 10% if they merge which would be nice.

Off to make some grub, watching Antiques Road Show.

  both

Emptybox

that's great you got the big job done with no problem with the good old mower now.   All you have to do now is decide whether its worth you getting the new gasket now.

Not pleasant if you have a heavy smoking smell trailing around after you. Perhaps you should of skipped an aisle and fooled him to stop following you?

I too don't like the stale smell of tobacco on people, but also hate it when people stink of stale garlic...eg in a lift!

I am wondering how your brother and wife will get on when they go to see their son? Do you think he will get his vacuum and duster out beforehand?   (that is if  he doesn't forget they are visiting!).

Hicky

Glad the relative sorted out the skimming for you.

What a shame about the damage on the chest, it is quite obvious too. Are you going to ask for a replacement due to damage?

Hope the hospital help sort your eyes out ok tomorrow, that is good your OH can take you.

Glad OH didn't buy the trailer then, as never thought about the expense of the spare tyre and lock etc.

Yes we got lots of those bags for clothes but we can't use them as bin bags, as here we are only allowed to put out 2 special council blue bags a fortnight of household rubbish, and that is real tight as we, as a family of 5, are only allowed to put out the same amount of bags as a person on their own.

Not a bad today in that it was dry, still chilly though, and it started raining around 8pm. HOpe they are right in that bank hol weekend is due to be nice and warm.

Got my washing dry and joined son for lunch in his lunch break at tescos. I had vegetable soup and he had sausages on a bread roll.

Watching the drama on bbc1 now.

Goodnight both xx

Hi both.
Frosty this morning, but a sunny morning. Windy and cloudy this afternoon with rain later.
Got a couple of jobs done anyway.

Hicky. Brave of you to plant out your tomato plants. Hopefully no more frosts.
That's good that your OH's relative was able to do the walls.
Good luck at the eye hospital tomorrow.

I saw your damage photos earlier on twitter and thought you must have gone doolally with the Dyson.
That's bad them delivering new furniture to you with that damage.
It would be good if Sainsburys brought their prices down by 10%.

Mollie. Not sure I've ever noticed a garlic smell on people? Perhaps I eat too much myself?
That was nice that you were able to join your sone for lunch in Tescos.

Brother and wife are staying in a hotel in Liverpool, but they'll probably be visiting the flat my Nephew is staying in. Doubt he has any idea about how to operate a vacuum cleaner though.

Looking at my weather apps they seem to be downplaying the promised good weather over the weekend (for me at least). Looks like it's going to be cloudy and 16 degrees at best up here.

Watched Yorkshire Vet this evening.

Evening Both.

Raining this morning as i was going to the hospital for 8.30, 11c rain in the morning and sunny in the afternoon, winds of 17 to 20.

Was so long at the hospital one of the staff got me a pack of ham and cheese sandwiches and a cup of tea, had so many tests, one was with the liquid to show up the blood vessels, but 1 girl couldn't find the vein or whatever she was looking for, i think when you body knows they are looking to put a needle in they all disappear, i think i was the last one before they closed the place for the day.

Will have to see if there is any improvement but it's basically to stop it getting worse for a start.

O/H made a roast dinner for tea so not having any of my home made foods today, was going to have some more of the spring rolls as i have quite a stock.

Turned the watering system off before i went to the hospital as it had been raining in the night anyway.

Mollie, They are going to replace the chest next Wednesday, so thats sorted, pity, but strange.

A lot of people have open type trailers, but only for carrying materials from 1 place to another not for carrying any sort of valuable goods to be left in the trailer, also you need a wiring loom for connecting from car to trailer don't you as it needs the brake lights and rear lights etc doesn't it.

We have a wheelie bin, we just put the rubbish in bags inside that, we have a recycle wheelie bin as well, also a garden rubbish one but you have to pay to get that emptied.

Yes, it should be nice at the weekend.

I rang the Burley Dam garden centre to ask about the grafted veg plants, oh dear, they aren't getting any this year, so it's whether to get online or check other garden centres.

Emptybox, I'm hoping i won't get frost in the greenhouse, i could put a heater or even a fan heater inside, but when i checked the forecast for frost in this area it said end of April for last frost.

Can't understand them even wrapping the chest with some damage, surely they check the stuff, the amount of protection and packaging would make the chest impossible to damage when packed, even the thickness of the final cardboard, it's so think i had a problem getting it off, it must be about 7mm thick.

For Monday it says 20c with sunny intervals.

Got the Dentist tomorrow afternoon.

both xxx

Emptybox

Gosh frost and it is supposed to be May! It was cold here too in the wind, but not too bad a day after the rain showers had gone. That is good you managed to get some work done though.

That should be interesting for your brother and wife visiting their son's flat! Perhaps your SIL will take her own vacuum and duster with her?

Yes wouldn't be at all surprised if this heatwave fades downwards for us, or it only hits London. (because in the mainstream media, only London counts most of the time anyway!).

HIcky

sorry to hear you were stuck in hospital all day like that. Good job they did supply a drink and sarnie. Let's hope it helps improve your sight now. I bet you were glad to get home and tuck into that roast.

Never thought of the trailer needed a lighting system too, sounds like if OH had bid on this trailer it would of ended up costing a lot more than we had thought!

Glad to hear they are to replace the chest, very odd how damage that bad happened.

Wish we had a wheelie bin...., we only have these council supplied bin blue bags for household rubbish, couciil supplied lilac plastic bags for nappies and kitchen roll, (one a week allowed) then a little plastic brown food bin, a small black one for glass, a blue cloth bag for plastics, a white cloth bag for paper, an orange cloth bag for cardboard, and a green cloth bag if you pay an extra £30 a year for garden rubbish. So very complicated.

What a shame your garden centre aren't getting your grafted veg plants.

Hope the dentist goes ok tomorrow, and they don't leave you hanging around too long.

Done some paperwork and a quick tidy today.

Not much on tv tonight, but watched Corrie.

Goodnight both xxx