Back on track

 Yesterday I had a sports physio appointment.

Nothing bad, just, as he put it, "getting you back on track"!  Not just the 800 miles driving ( in seven of the 17 days away) but six different beds and pillows!!

I celebrated that with a coffee and Morning Bun ( a baked cross between a  pain au canelle and a doughnut!!) then a wander around the back streets that are between the sea and the Sandgate street.

found a bit of history

more chimneys!

Home, then out the washing on the line..and discovered two scallies ( 14 years old?)climbing over the rotten fence from nextdoor, behind the kiln shed!!

I asked them if they'd like me to come and climb into their garden?! Flea in ear duly given...the one who had to come out through my garden did ask if he could..and apologised...and shut the gate after himself. So I thanked him for that. 

Half the runner bean crop has dried enough to pick.

and the sunflower head that I left out has been picked clean

Beautiful patterns.

I had intended to go for a walk after lunch ..but it was "Baltic" out there....so I stayed indoors, getting things a bit tidier ..and increasing the contents of the recycling bin for paper!!

Then half an hour on the trainer, to counteract all that sitting down.

Now what can I have for dinner.....

Home again, home again

 A fairly good night's sleep in Oswestry last night.

I delayed starting this morning as the route map said fog!!! Leaving at 8.15 it was just mist..borderline in some places as fog is technically less than 1 km visibility. 

A stop at Wrecsam Sainsbugs for fuel...a bit confusing despite checking the map and streetview..getting out was worse than getting in, but I managed!!

A good smooth run, averaging 55mph ..the car is being nicely economical too after its dose of tlc.

The "fog" lasted all the way to Junction 36 of the M6 where you turn off for "South Lakes" and Barrow in Furness...then a nice but of sunshine for an early lunch hour at Tebay services

It was a bit brighter than those photos show.

Then, refreshed, on again.

At Gretna I went off past the outlet village and onto the old road through Annan. I usually do, but today the A75 was shut at Annan...resurfacing?

It is a nice road and makes a change from busy main roads.

A stop at Thornhill on the A76 after leaving the A75 at Dumfries for a break and a co-op shop...it is an hour from there to home.

And home before dark!

The garden had been blown about a bit in the storms a fortnight ago...my stock of spare beansticks was spread by the wind!!

Some of the baskets and trays had been moved too!

I harvested the beans that were dry enough, and brought in the squash in case we get frost...the leaves on the plant had started turning so hopefully it isn't too soon. The stalk is greener than I'd like on one...and the other had fallen off!

Now I've been back for just over two hours...

Dealt with a parking fine from parking at Cherwell Travelodge...the computer wasn't working when I ( and 50+ others) was there...apparently it still isn't working and the hotel group has been having stern words with the parking company....I've appealed and sent a copy of the hotel invoice...parking comes free with your stay there...so hopefully it will be ok.

It was good to arrive to a lettercard and prints all the way from blogger  Fresca in Minneapolis..posted on 21 October...

but it feels odd to be alone here again.

ok....time to prepare a meal....

nearly halfway

 After a bit more car tlc....and a two mile walk to the end of the trading estate and back....keeping the exercise going...

a tiling and roofing company's brick built office...with dragon!

fire hydrant

not a real tyre

a real tyre with a real Oily One!!

I was off at midday....missed the exit at the far end...he did say that someone had wiped out the sign last week! so had to come back down again to the exit/entry I knew!!

An uneventful drive up through countryside after leaving the M4 by Tongwynlais with a view of Castell Coch...all the way up the A470 to Llanfair ym Muallt (Builth Wells) then up the wiggly A483 all the way to Croesoswallt (Oswestry) yes...in England...just...from after Llanymynech...borders move....

Yes, I did have a break about halfway!! 

134 miles done today....

TLC....

 Another hundred miles this morning...bringing the total to 800 so far!

500 to Kent, 200 from there to Somerset, now 100 to South Wales)

I arrived chez the Oily One as he finished work....he lives in a caravan by the side of the factory where he works

 This is a good thing both ways...they had a fire a few years ago and he spotted it beginning one evening as he arrived home at 10pm...so it was caught in time. 

He has a safe (and affordable) home in the compound...which also backs onto the main police HQ!!!

The main tlc to the car was service and replace a faulty brake sensor.

Two problems....the thread on the aluminium sump stripped....it had been hanging on by two threads....steel bolt and aluminium sump, the threads wear...

Round the corner to the car supplies...he finds a set of taps and various sized bolts...new "toy" !! The car now has a re tapped thread and bigger bolt.

Then one wheelstud broke off...they'd been done up too tight with a "rattlegun" and with no lube....so rusted in....(it wasn't my garage man himself who'd done those tyres, but a mechanic helping him...)

That got drilled out and all the threads checked and cleaned out with the correct size tap....

So far so good....a relief..I'm not sure what he has planned tomorrow morning!!

being useful

 I weeded the paviour drive today..just getting rid of the worst and giving it a brisk sweep! Now the house looks a bit less neglected!

Time to sort everything ready to pack tonight as I'll be on my way in the morning.

After lunch we had a walk to the local garden centre...plenty if things that I'd love to have, but I limited it to two bags of red onion sets!!

We saw Honey fungus fruiting bodies on our way back.

Now I'm comfortably next to a radiator in a large hall in Sherbourne, as Bro helps his friend give two Tai Chi lessons...with free Wifi as well!!

trains, blog and a night out

 Bro. has made this layout with a friend ...they both have 00 gauge (18 mm) track layouts themselves, this trackbed stays at the village hall where the club meets.

I helped clean engine wheels ready for a show in Wincanton next weekend

Then film night at the Swan theatre.

Eagles of the Republic . Interesting. How people can be manipulated

We decided that the easiest way to go with my blog was Blogbooker.   There is a free version, but I've paid for the higher quality..

Now I have a huge amount of pdf files ready to print.

Trees and blog

 the first is through the village hall window where bro goes to a tai chi class, looking out at trees on the edge of Yeovil...hardly any leaves left...the other in the estate near him, far more sheltered.

It has been a sunny day until 3pm, but quickly turned much colder...and started fine rain...just showers so far.

Computer work continues. This blog has been downloaded to the laptop..all 40 gigabytes !! 17 years ....Now that is safe I need to see what it looks like and what editing will need doing before printing, if it looks exactly like the web version of the blog with the sidebar etc.

This is not easy.....we may have to pay and go down the Blog Booker route....

IT

 I thought IT was supposed  to be easy....

Computer shop didn't do all of the job as requested...and in the process cleared all the content on the laptop AND installed windoze instead of upgrading the linux...boss is to blame there as the latter was his job....

However...all my photos etc are mostly on my external hard drive...which I forgot to bring with me....and bro managed to download linux onto a memory stick...Discovering that this worked best on a machine already using linux.....

Then uploaded it onto the laptop.

Then the next step was Bitwarden....a password saving app.....we got back into that in the end when he realised that it was ".eu"

and we had a break after lunch for a walk at the warmest part of the  day...just into double figures C...if you were out if the breeze!!!

I'm not sure what this tree is

but half of it is dead

It is still dry, but getting colder still..I've got two more days here....I may do some drive (block paviours) weeding using a heavy duty hoe that I brought down for him!!

Between being a webmaster for quite a number and travelling, gardening has a low priority for him!!

Misty

 

Today's washing was hung up on a line in the carport!

This afternoon was a visit to a fellow potter, Eddie Daughton. 

His work is beautiful.

It was a great afternoon of blether and discussion with him and his wife, myself and my brother. 

Then kiln firing and building advice!!

Felix...I was surprised that nobody picked up on the reference a couple of posts ago !!

Gone West

 Another day with no photos!!

Off at 9.15, as usual I don't go straight on the motorway..Just as at the end of a journey it is good to have a quieter finish, a settling in on ordinary roads gets it started nicely.

Although I might have been quicker staying on ordinary A roads. 

The traffic report on the radio said "M25 anticlockwise, congestion between junctions 8 and 9 due to an accident....they didn't say anything about the one on the clockwise side..two junctions tailback going between creep and stop...The M25 orbital motorway around London is busy!! I was glad to turn off on the M3 to head West just before the warnings of more congestion!!

This meant that the first stop at 100 miles, Fleet services, was done in three hours.

Time for a break and a sandwich. Then the last 87 miles took 2 hours. 

Going past Stonehenge was clear going West...but the other way was jammed with people slowing to catch a view of the stones with a consequent miles long tailback of traffic. 

It was a clear fresh sunny day to start with, and gradually turned misty over the hills.

We are certainly into Autumn and with Samhain tonight, heading towards Winter.

I'd just finished unloading my car when my brother arrived with friends from his day out! After a cuppa one was dropped at the station to catch a train home and we went for suppa with the other friend and his wife.

Good to not have to cook after travelling..and to have good food, company and conversation.  Although my brain was a little frazzled after a long day "in the saddle"!!

Visiting

 No walking today..Pirate's great niece did the washing and we set out to see her uncle, Pirate's nephew after getting it on the line.

Just a short drive to Ashford.

Tea and chat for the afternoon! 

It was good to see him and his wife. He has Myeloma and is on groundbreaking treatment...and now has developed Prostate cancer. Discussing that we worked out that he has a family tendency for the latter...

Despite all the publicity...plus the fact that he is on a special project for the other...he had never had his PSA checked.....and he is in his  late 60s....

It was great to catch up with all his grandkids' news....I've met all but the newest in person...who I met as a "bump". !!

Then fuel up and head back here...ready for off in the morning.

Bigbury Camp

 This afternoon's two hour (!!) walk went through. No Man's Orchard on the North Downs Way and on in the direction of Harbledon and the A2, stopping at Bigbury Camp...a steady reasonably steep climb up from the Way.

This is the information board

and our walk...

This level ground at the camp was cleared of chestnut coppice...which at one time was grown to produce riven fence posts like this

On the gatepost was a sticker....myst investigate....

Rellies meeting

 I went with Pirate's great niece to meet a cousin..both on the Possee half of his family and we had a grand afternoon out wandering around Canterbury....Starting with coffee (or tea) and cake and ending with hot chocolate four hours later!!

We couldn't find the Green Man on the wooden doors to the Cathedral close...I must look through old photos from visits.

We didn't go in...at £18 each unless you were a National Trust member !! About ten years or so ago we went in without payment, and there was noone gatekeeping...

I did make one purchase...a small solid stainless steel saucepan with a lid, and a pouring lip both sides from a very posh cook shop..£25 well spent. 

You try finding one....without non-stick coating....with a lid...and without having to buy a set of pans.....

It was great having a good catch up, plus all of us getting to know each other better. Sadly another  cousin has just died, which is a great pity as we were all beginning to get on really well.

of course..pictures in reverse order....

cleaning job...before, during and after

The house from which the assassins of Thomas à Beckett left to do the deed

Kings College

Georgian houses with wheel thrown not moulded chimneypots we

A French chocolatière...

the crooked bookshop