Day at the lake,27.3.2017.

It was a beautiful sunny day at the lake today, plenty of visitors!.

One of our members Eric from the Model Boat Club turned up with this nice Scratchbuilt schooner.

Also a Scratchbuilt tug he had built a few years earlier!

So after a chat and the usual photo take it was off home.

On the way home was going to call at "The Windmill" for dinner but then realised it would be too hot in the car to leave Pepe!, so it was carry on to McDonalds and sit in the park car park opposite with the doors open whilst we had dinner.

Then it was home and out to the garden with the boat, masking tape and paper to prepare for spraying with the nice warm sunny weather.

It was the Green on the hull today, if you have been following the build you will remember I sprayed the bottom of the hull Black a few weeks ago!

Then it was on to the Superstructure, rear cabin!, undercoating.

Getting carried away now, 

You might be wondering what I'm using to stand the items on?, I've found that the wheely bin is ideal! a plastic cover on and off you go!, you can get all round and even move it about whilst your at it.

Bob the Builder has fitted the smoke unit into the larger of the two chimney's he's made me, and what a beautiful job he's made of them, as usual I might add.

And with those famous Blue Peter words, Here is one he made earlier and I finished painting!.

A friend asked me at the lake what I used to paint with other than spray paint?,

Here are a couple of garden ornaments I did a few years ago, and they are still looking alright aren't they, all done in acrylic paints bought from a craft shop., then sprayed with acrylic Lacquer to seal it. You can get that in Matt, Satin and Gloss!.

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My Green Goddess from my days in the Auxiliary Fire Service. 

and I just had to have this one didn't I.

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Fred had a stereo system in his car, 

His wife in the front and her mother in the back!

Do you know why Turtle Wax is so expensive?.

Because Turtles have really tiny ears.

Charlie's wife tried a mud pack to make herself more attractive,

It worked for a while, then it fell off!.

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Still out and about, June 2015.

Still out and about, June 2015.

Even though the weather is more like March than June!, Marjorie and I have still been getting out and about, shopping, dining out and picking up bargains at the various nurseries and Garden Centres in our area. 

Here is my garden at the present time, had plenty of help and expert advice from Marjorie who has been an avid gardener for years and has a beautiful garden of her own!.

This basket finally taking off, been very slow with the cold weather lately!.

Round the park (Etherow, where else) there is still an explosion of baby duckling hatching out.

Mallards 

Mandarins

Even spotted these tadpoles in the dipping pond!.

 Even the rats are breeding well, enjoying the food thrown down for these female mandarins.

 Round the edge of the lake where all the children feed the ducks there are always queues for the free bread and corn bought from the education centre.

Fancy pigeon, not even ringed!. 

The more shy ones are round the lakes

Little and large couple.

This one isn't shy, he is always cadging from people at the cafe 

Can't wait to get back to the Cafe in case anyone is having a sausage sandwich!

I think he is a Longhaired Chihuahua crossed with a Gannet!.

On the home front finally filled in my new Microwave, though its a higher power, it's much smaller than the old one, can't keep up with technology these days hey!.

Done with offcuts from John's beautiful new kitchen worktops, turned out well!.

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How any punk rockers does it take to change a light bulb?.

Two.

One to change the bulb and another one to eat to old one!.

Why did the Doctor fail when he turned kidnapper?. 

No one could read his ransom notes!.

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Well that's it for now folks.

Snow AGHH.

On Monday (26th) I was at Etherow with Pepe and happened to see that the river was in full flow and then some!.

I thought that it was probably due to the snow on the hills the previous week, why did I have to open my big mouth!, look at it today!.

This is my back garden today and the snow makes my Magnolia colour on the garage look dirty doesn't it.

My fire engine still looking colourful though.

and also my tug boat

My garden ladies with their crowns of snow.

Hope the pack leader remembers his roots and the outside loo's in his day!, get that camera out of my face and give me some privacy Please!.

Remember this stuff from a few years ago, nice to play in

Cold on the feet though!.

Had enough now thanks.

At the lake on Monday, saw these beautiful birds.

On Tuesday evening Marjorie and I went to the George Lawton Hall in Moseley to see the Youth Players doing.

It was very good and showed you that all teens are not tearaways, it must take a lot of dedication to put on a show to this standard, the music, costumes, scenery and Children were all wonderful.

Marjorie's Grandchildren were both in the production and were both voice and step perfect!.

Further to my previous post with my Bargain of the week with the Arachnid Cactus, went to Homebase on the way home and found this other Bargain, a pot to put it in.

£5.99 reduced to £2.25, further reduced to £1.55, you can't buy a pot for that!.

To top it off I think I might be Abell to save the plant as well.

Talking of Abell's my good mate Bob the Abell planted a seed for some Mistletoe quite a few years ago and this year its finally showed up, which Bob tells me is unusual in this area, the only trouble is it was that long ago he's forgotten what it was for when he planted it.

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"You can't resign" said the circus manager to the human cannonball,

"Where will I get another man of your Calibre".

His mother would be most upset if she knew he was an actor.

She still thinks he is running dope from Bangkok!.

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That's all folks

New Boat Stand

As some of you will remember a couple of months ago I bought another yacht for my boat yard.

I thought at the time the stand looked a bit rough, so it was down to the local wood shop for some bits of ply It was a little bowed so I stuck two pieces together which made the right thickness and cures the bowing. 

                                                                               Weighed down                                                                                              

The ends given a few curves

 

    

A couple of large holes in the ends to lighten them.

They blew the fuse in my mate's lathe as they are quite large holes. 

Then threaded rods and aluminum tubs to cover them and the job is nearly finished, or so I thought 

 Then rubber feet added.

 The ends varnished, masking the aluminium rods first of course.

Then thought the big holes looked looked a bit like eyes so added a nose and mouth, just my quirky sense of humour!.

Then painted the raw edges of the plywood.

Then the foam added so the boat doesn't get scratched

There you have it a bit lighter than the old one.

The old one, on this picture looks better than it is really. 

On a more serious note, here is my Grandson Jake with the two family dogs, Jessie and Max the two cockapoos, just before he went on his mission for the next two years, had his A Level results last week 

3 A*'s, Physics, Chemistry, Maths and one A in higher Math's 

Then this week granddaughter, Ruth got her GCSE results and  gained 8 A* and 3A's

What a family hey!

On the gardening front the Boat and Green Goddess garden planters are doing well 

Went to the local Post Office on Tuesday and saw this, someone had pinched the door off the post box, what is the world coming too, and would you believe it, people were still posting letters in it, instead of taking them into the Post Office!

That's it for now folks