At home today as I didn't think it fair to inflict this cold on my workmates (at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). So, having read my email, checked this news group and otherwise fiddled about on the computer for a while, I found myself casting about for something to do.
I really can't be all that well as tinkering in the workshop did not appeal despite the nice spring weather. Then I remembered Edgar Westbury's comment on the suitability of hot air engines as a modelling subject due to their "exemplary parlour habits" - that was it, an indoor crank-up! Down off the shelf came the Anderson and Ericksson (a 40'th birthday present from my wife), the micro-stirling from Germany, and a low temperature differential model from Sterling Stirling. After cleaning the dust off and filling up, the first two ran for only 15-20 mins on the thimble full of meths that the burners hold, but the LTD is still ticking away as I write and should continue to do so for a couple of hours on a kettle full of hot water.
I know it's not quite the same as a thumping great noisy oily IC engine, nothing to twiddle and tweak for a kick off - they just run, but it kept me pleasurably occupied for an hour or two.