Had a couple neigbours round yesterday for lunch. He's a fisherman as well. Carp though, not trout and salmon. Got to talking about heating and lighting. Between us we're fine if we go to rolling blackouts. He has small gas stoves, we have a couple 2.5kW petrol generators, and the ace in the pack, I have a couple kelly kettles. Wondrous things. Use a pinch of cotton wool and a Swedish fire steel to get it started, a bit of paper and a few twigs and 1.5 litres of water boiled in under 5 mins. Not used it for a while, but I can see it getting some use this winter.
Not just joking about this this energy thing guys - taking both crisis and cost seriously. Been busy taking other measures to reduce consumption. About a fortnight back I counted up the number of ceiling downlighters around the house and we've got 36 of the buggers, all 50 watt dichroic halogen lamps - that's 1.8 KW stuck in the bloody ceilings. I installed them probably 15/20 years ago now, good lighting but they always get left on on. Shopped around and bought 40 LED replacements each giving the equivelent (or more) light output - and they're only 4 watts each. Had to be mindful that the hole diameter requirement was the same as the ones coming out but most are pretty compatible. Fitted most of them now over the past week and the difference in light quality as well as the cost saving is phenominal. Cool white versions I bought are far and away better than the warm white halogens they replaced. Initial outlay was about £140 all in for the lot, but I'll get that back in no time, reduce arguments in the house, and help save the planet at the same time - but the beer fridge is staying on.....
Been having a minor problem with the pick up hitch on the tractor which has got progressively worse. A couple days ago it packed in. Took a while to get round to it, but started trying to sort it yesterday. Made an initial diagnosis and identified next steps. Started stripping it down today which involved dismantling some pretty big lifting arms just so I could get at the offending item. It looks as if a single bolt has come lose. As a result a retaining cap came off so the bar that works the mechanism has slipped sideways. This has left a retaining key fall out of the key-way so the catch doesn't disengage. In summary, a couple 50p items have got lost. The full replacemant pack is £120 quid. Know what needs doing. Know how to do it. Dont have the bits. Off to see a local tractor mechanic in the morning to see if he has the necessary bits in a goody box somewhere.
Still not fixed the tractor. Today's crisis was sheep with acorn poisoning. Who'd have thought? Apparently they cause liver damage and is often fatal. Plenty grass on the field they're in and we've not had issues before. Its often the horses that snaffle them late in the year when the grass has stopped growing. Can kill them as well. So, the treatment? Strong black coffee. No sugar. Quite amusing watching our daughter trying to grab a ewe and pour coffee down its throat. She doesn't seem to see the funny side though. 3 or 4 wired ewes striding about now. Fenced off the areas under the oak trees, there's 6 or 7 of them, so hopefully, tomorrow, I can get back to mechanical matters.
Not many on here like 15 man egg. Cant imagine anyone watching the 13 man (or woman) version. They're WC starts tomorrow.
I'll watch just about any sport, men's, women's, age grade. Wont go out of my way for some things but will watch it if it's on. The only issue is that some RL WC games are very one sided. It's not played seriously in enough countries. Will give many of the early games a miss and wait for the pointy end of the tournament.
It's most team sports for me. Though also will watch certain individuals. Can't stand tennis though. Just personal taste.
On the subject of birds.....first cranes returning to France. Autumn is truly here. These noisy gits went East early this year....February......maybe a bit early to return...but not by much.
I should say France and Northern Spain.......Spain is the ultimate destination but many stop in France
