Tiling in Progress

The floor is 3 sq meters so tiling the bulk of it was quite quick. Filling all those gaps at the edges will take some time though.

Three Days of Bathroom Contruction

Here the bathroom is ready for tiling. The floor has been rasied about 50mm to accommodate the drain and then waterproofed to prevent any leaks.

New toilet in place and the plumbing prepared for the basin.

The toilet has to be replaced because I overtightened one of the nuts holding it on the wall and it has cracked. Curses!

Three days of bathroom destruction.

I've spent three days stripping out the downstairs bathroom. Above is where the shower used to be.

Greenwich Peninsula

I've moved to an office in North Greenwich, on the Greenwich peninsula. It used to be a vast chemical works, cleaned up for the millennium dome and now site of a huge urban renewal scheme. From the office I can see river traffic and walking at lunch times I can see some of the wierd and wonderful things left over from the millennium.
River traffic:










Millennium sculptures:

Quantum cloud by Antony Gormley











If you look carefully you can make out a human figure at the centre of the cloud.


Slice of Reality by Richard Wilson

These Are Not Tractor Seats

We went to Honiton Hill Rally. It's an annual meeting of steam and agricultural machinery enthusiasts and much more. Oddly, for such a large event it lacks its own web site. There were dozens of working traction engines, steam rollers, classic cars, motorcycles, military vehicles and marquees containing everything from corgi model cars to a bar.

Quite a few exhibitors turned up with their collections, from the man with hundreds of Dinky cars (all in Post Office livery) to the collection of tractor agricultural machinery seats. The collector in question was quite particular that these are not tractor seats.

The best moment was, I think, when all 40 or 50 steam traction engines all blew their whistles at the same time.





A Burrell showman's engine.









A Fowler ploughing engine, built 1872. These used to be used in pairs and would winch the agricultural implement across the field between them.






Sentinel steam lorry.









White steam car disappears into the mist.

Home Again

We arrived back at the mooring in Blisworth at about 11 AM and were back at home sorting washing by 12:30. A brilliant fortnight. We seem to have caught up with the cleaning and polishing just as the holiday finished!

To Stoke Bruerne

We made a fairly late start, passing though over the new (1991) aqueduct over Grafton Street and then over the Wolverton aqueduct. We stopped at Cosgrove for lunch and a play at the park. As we passed Yardley Gobion I saw Kingfisher, the Grand Junction Canal Company inspection launch, built 1928. This is what all those inspection launch narrowboats are trying to emulate.










Kingfisher at Yardley Gobion










Wolverton Aqueduct









Cosgrove Bridge












Total distance is 9 miles, 5 flg and 7 locks.

Moored at Stoke Bruerne.