and all round the industrial estate, nothing was stirring - except for us!
So here we sit among the ruins of British industry waiting for the boss to muster a sufficiency of goodwill to let us go home.
Season's greetings to you all.
You are not alone, we are here until late tonight and probably Sunday/Monday as well.
Peter
-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk
All, I'm now feeling guilty (well, a little bit) for having finished on Wednesday with much feasting and ribaldry at the annual company bunfight.
Enjoy Christmas if you get time! Don't forget, hard work never did anyone any harm ;-).
Arthur G
Finished at about half eleven - something of a record ;-) Let the festivities commence!
At midnight plus one, a very happy Christmas to all - Wassail!!
Regards,
Kim Siddorn
I don't know what you're all so excited about. It's just a long weekend but with no shops open and loads of traffic before and after as everyone seems to hurl themselves lemming like onto the roads. The TV is mostly infantile rubbish. The weather is too cold to really enjoy working in the workshop. The TV is full of sunny holiday adverts so that I feel even more depressed. Every charity seems to want money. All of this and I'm expected to be cheerful at home and stuff myself silly with over rich food. Roll on 2005 and normality. Work! I would almost rather be there. There's no one to moan at me. The internet link is faster than here. There are some good technical books to read and I can get on with some interesting engineering stuff.
John
When one passes a certain age, the Old Greyback can only take so much food, company, booze and television. Not that there was a lot on the box, for God's sake - comes to summut when Shrek is the best thing on all Christmas Day. It *was* funny though, I only watched it out of boredom, but it had a lot of good lines for adults. like when Snow White arrives on his kitchen table the line to the dwarves was "Get the dead broad OFF the table!"
Anyway, I managed to get an engine going today on the basis I've a crank up to go to tomorrow morning & needed to make sure it started OK. I chose the little Barnard W10 as it was already in the garden in a plastic sack and didn't need to be carried so far as the T300 etc that live indoors! I put some petrol into the completely dry tank, turned the tap on, walked into the garage to get the string-and-stick, wrapped it round the pulley and it quite literally fired as it went over the first compression and continued to do so. I hadn't even put the choke on.
Not bad, it must be six months since I started it last. I lugged it into the boot of the Mazda and am so all set for the morrow. Frankly, I was hoping it would have been a BIT more of a struggle, so I could get me 'ands dirty - still, mustn't grumble ...
If anyone in the locality of the Old Down Inn at Emborough, the Wessex SEC has its annual Mince Pie Crank Up. There is usually a good turn out and the pies are hot!
Regards,
Kim Siddorn
All politicians are like nappies . . . . .
Agree about Shrek, though I had a rare treat on Christmas Morning: got up at 08:00 & checked the tape ( I have a digibox plus topupTV which shows Home & leisure from 06:00-12:00 each day & there's normally some fishing programmes to scan thro') ----- 6 whole hours of building a 4X4 caught on tape. Managed to watch a solid hour & a half before Christmas Day started in the home & thers loads left for the rest of the hol!!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- snipped-for-privacy@boltblue.com John Lloyd - Cymru/Wales
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Come on you Sad O's,
Ive just had two days being pampered by my Sister and her Family on Christmas Day and then by my Sister in Law for Boxing Day, also my wife's Birthday, the rest and not over eating has done me good. I now have a DVD Writer to install into my Computer and a Photo printer to set up and a week to get my trolley finished to mount my Lister L on. On New Years Day a mate and I are going to walk from Holt to Weybourne on the North Norfolk Railway find a Pub force a pint and a sandwich and have a steam train ride. Its not that cold, its all in the mind once your are working on a project you wont notice.
Happy New Year you cheerful Buggers :-))
Martin P
I resemble that remark ;-)
I've been wondering about your monicker for a while, is it significant?
AJH (pyromaniac)
It is significant if like me you collect containers of a flammable substance, sometimes kept under pressure, for the purposes of cooking material in a field. Other than stationary engines I have a large collection of Camping Stoves.
Martin P
I could really dislike cheerful sods like you. Yes it really is that cold. At least it is in my workshop. My wife is like you, all happy and full of festive sprit. Why she can't leave me alone I don't know. I've told her, I'm happy when I'm miserable but she won't be said. Anyway, it'll soon be over thank goodness. The only problem is that it all happens again next year. Oh joy.
John
John,
A quote on the radio on Christmas Day, "Unfortunately Christmas is compulsary and like a bad thunder storm we have to get through it together."
As for the "full of spirit bit", Ive been doing the driving so have'nt started yet :-))
Martin P
Serves me bloody right it does! All my life I've avoided hubris - the overweening pride the God's abhor. Yesterday, I dragged out my Barnard W10 & it fired and ran straightaway after being sat in the garden in a plastic sack for six months..
Today, I take it to the Wessex crank up, it would not start and when it finally spluttered into life, it then ran perfectly for about an hour as though it had absoluely nothing wrong.
Then it stopped when I turned my back - and would it start again? Would it bu**ery :o((
Never mind, I saw Arthur Griffin who was kind enough to bring my mass driver over from Wales that I bought off e-bay ages ago. Mike Hodge, Duncan Laidlaw, Mike Jennings and several others - including the redoubtable Philip T-E just as I was packing up in disgust to go home early. It was a nice little party if somewhat chilly, the icy puddles still being frozen solid at midday.
I also picked up a couple of 12V electrically-operated hydraulic rams for a fiver each and - of all things - a WW2 Wermacht 12 Volt/300 Volt rotary converter - woo-hoo!
Off to daughter's for the afternoon and so home to play with the mass driver.
Gotta take yer pleasures where you can find 'em ...
Regards,
Kim Siddorn
Saddos??
We had Xmas day off, but were back at it on Boxing Day and today/tomorrow, the main benefit being the relative lack of traffic and the phone not ringing.
Should be Edinburgh-bound Wednesday if all goes well, can't be too quick as I'll be on the tacho :-((
Peter
-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk
I think there's a castle there ;-) ttfn Roland
Give over you lot :-) I used to incline to Bah humbug but now look forward to having all my girls together for a few days regards Roland
That's what I wondered, I have an interest in stoves of a more everyday nature in some parts of the world.
AJH
Pardon my higgorance - what's a 'mass driver'?
A bit OT, but sort of on the theme of seasonal pleasures, Santa brought me an old book by Eddie Condon (US jazz musician & distillers' friend) in which he refers at one point to getting himself 'half-soled'. We have lots of euphemisms for being drunk or under the influence, I hadn't come across this before though there is a much cruder expression which sounds similar. Is this/was this a usual expression? 'half cut' is common enough, I suppose you have to have your soles 'half cut' to get your shoes half soled. Don't suppose cobblers do that any more, do they (the remaining few)?
Season's greetings
Tim
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