G is for Great Eastern

G in the A_Z challenge is for "Great Eastern" the ship that made history with its revolutionary design it was never a Great commercial success and was plagued with mishaps.

Eventually, it ended its days as a tourist attraction, before being broken up for scrap. 

A sad end for a Great "Wonder of the Industrial World"

Did you know that Isambard Kingdom Brunel's "Great Eastern" was the ship that laid the cable for the first transatlantic telegraph cable!

For more info on this great achievement, click here

The main part of to-days blog is to tell you of the model that my Great friend Bob (the builder) constructed:

Its a 7ft plank on frame boat that last August he took to Hoylake for the BBC to film laying the cable from one side of the lake to the other, to represent the ship doing it at the time, this is to be on the television program "Coast" this year.
Bob even took out one of the funnels to fit the cable drum in, same as the real ship.

Bob in his element and the water!

Choppy seas

Mark Horton one of the presenters

The Hoylake members helped out with this JAW'S

Jonathan Hare of the Coast team watches GE make an impressive sail pass 

Bob and his twin brother even got dressed up for the occasion.

Great shame I couldn't be there on the day to make a video, I'll have to wait same as everyone else for the Television program. 

Bob the Builder doing his thing!.

We had a stand at the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum at the beginning of March and there was Great interest  from the other modellers at the show.

Bob with a fellow photographer.

On the stand as well, copies of the three magazines featuring the model.

Pepe there as well on Guard!, "Does he bite? was asked "Only if you touch the model" says I.

Me explaining something, I've learnt a lot myself about the subject.

Ready for the crowds

Duckie the teacher!

See how close to the original he made it!

The masts were named after the days of the week! resting on Sunday of course.

Once the telegraph link had been established, Queen Victoria exchanged congratulations with President Andrew Johnson.

The messages took several hours to cross the ocean. But without the cable, a despatch going in one direction alone would have taken up to 12 days by inland telegraph and steamer.

Click to find out more

http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConNarrative.62/chapterId/1296/The-Great-Eastern-as-a-cable-laying-ship.html

Should have been saved same as the Cutty Sark and the other legends of shipping perhaps!, still Bob's got his splendid model to remind us.

That's all folks a Great ship and Great model

F is for Fiesta

F is for Fiesta 

No! this is not about the Spanish and Latin American religious festival or carnival.

Its about the small yacht's that the club I am a member of race.

The fiesta is one of the best small yacht's in the UK and probably the world, it is quick,easily the quickest of the small yacht's,responsive and yet forgiving.
It can sail in almost any wind with just the one suit of sails and will fit into the smallest of cars without de-rigging, (even my little Kia) what more could you ask for.

This is my Fiesta, its one of the early ones and as you can see its decorated, as I only sail it for fun and not into competitive sailing!. 

 They all have their own unique sail number registered by the manufacturer, any registered before Number 250 are know as Classic's as after that number the company was sold to someone else.

http://fiestayachts.wikispaces.com/Contacts+Page

The hulls are fibre glass and are available in various colours, though not Yellow any more! I was told it took too much pigment to get a solid colour and added to the weight, its that competitive!. 

Enough of the advertising, which I don't get anything for Honest.

 I also have a smaller yacht, a Micro Magic supplied by the German company Graupner. These smaller yacht's have Plastic hulls and are built very similar to the Fiesta's though the price is cheaper, plastic against fibre glass I suppose

Here are my two small yachts, both very good on the water, I built the micro magic but bought the Fiesta second-hand, it didn't have a stand so bought a small stool, (£1 from a Pound shop!) and cut a hole for the keel and there it is, it also doubles as a seat if the ground is wet and there is no seating where you sail.

We are lucky in that respect as our club has seating and benches to work on your boats  

The Landing stage with rescue boat on the left in its own boathouse.

View across the water to the Cafe, information centre and toilets

So all in all a nice place to sail any boat, and its in a country park so some very nice walks thrown in.

Visit the Pages down the side of the blog

Click here for more info about the club

That's all for to-day folks, hope you enjoyed it.

E in the A-Z Challenge

E to-day is for the Elizabeth Svendsen Trust.

I was a volunteer at the EST Centre in Manchester  for the first three years from its opening, I started a couple of days a week but it was so rewarding it progressed to the point where I was putting in more hours than the paid staff I think.

I helped Neil the handyman put up all these paddocks so the donkeys could enjoy the fresh air, beautiful aren't they! 

Click here for a view of the centre

http://www.elisabethsvendsentrust.org.uk/view/manchester

At Play 

Contentment

Its mine!

The aim of the centre is to get special needs children riding, and they get certificates at various stages in their training.

For children who couldn't ride!

Ready for work

Checking out new arrivals

New arrivals, Mother and son.

At Christmas time we put on a theme for the children.

This one was the three little Pigs, the ones that built their houses with straw,brick and wood.

We built the straw house out of bales as you can see, the red brick and the wooden house were just fronts on the right there.

Inside there was a Father Christmas giving out presents to all the children that came though on the carts.

We all dressed up in fancy dress costumes 

That's me as Princess Fiona.

Give us a hug

Ready for Christmas rides

Sorry about the Christmas scenes, but it is snowing outside here at the moment.

The EST Centre is part of the Donkey Sanctuary in Sidmouth, Devon, and you can see live webcam pictures by clicking here 

http://drupal.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/mainbarnwebcam2

Well as you will have realised I'm not much of a writer, amend that to read a rubbish writer, but I hope if you take the time to read this blog you enjoy the pictures, as that's one of my main hobbies, nothing brilliant there either, just for fun.

F what to do for that???

Dogs we have met

D is for Dogs we have met.

Dogs are wonderful aren't they, mine knows every word I say, and I don't know what he say's at all. When my wife passed away I'm sure he looked at me and was thinking "Another one to train now"and he can tell which of the 14 doors in the kitchen has his food or my biscuits in, no matter how quiet I try to be.

They come in all sorts of makes and sizes don't they

I'll bet the little one is the boss.

Wife in the cap

Not sure.

My mates Dog "Rosie" in the snow.

Our previous Dog was a wonderful, gentle Whippet and when she passed away we said never again, we can't stand the grief, but there we were 10 month's later with this cheeky boy.

Unfortunately he didn't pass for the police dog training school, too aggressive! Only kidding!

A friend of mine at the lake said the same thing when her "Laddie" passed on "never again" 

Here is her latest addition, another "Molly" a bit timid at the moment as she's a rescue Dog.

All sizes hey

This 13 week old St Bernard with my Pepe's water dish, a coffee jar lid

I'd rather clean up after something like this cute Chihuahua cross Pug wouldn't you.

Yes I like all Dogs but I think I draw the line with this Mexican hairless though, it was like stroking a rubber one!.

  

Last one honest!, 

A bit like my Pepe but I know it's not him because he wouldn't get that close, he's al-right barking at them from a hundred yards away, or chasing them but if they turn round, he's gone.

They say dogs and their owners look the same,check out my wife and Pepe with pony tails! 

That's all for to-day folks

Canal Art

C is for Canal Art

My current project in model boat building is a Narrow Boat, or in my area known as a "Narra Boat"

There are still quite a lot of people keeping this form of transport alive in this country.

Some boats coming back into their own for transportation, some for holiday homes and some are for permanent homes , though I guess you have to be quite strict with yourself on hoarding stuff if used to live on.

You tend to research  things you wouldn't normally read up on when starting a new project, just to get it looking right, or someone at the lake is going to pull you up about it and tell you where you have gone wrong!

I have nearly finished my present project and here it is as it stands at the moment

There is a lot of items to go on the top, ie flower tubs, air vents and lights. Then there are the doors at both ends and sliding hatch at the back. Then the last thing the name and roses on the side where I've missed cutting out a window ready for it.

As you can see the stand is also decorated 

Before and after

The tie up weight decorated as well, this is an old weight bought from an industrial second hand shop.

Watering cans bought from a florist and painted by me as per the canal art way.

Must be honest the flowers are transfers!

My friend Bob the builder and I had a stand at the Ellesmere Port Boat museum last month with his 7 foot model paddler of the "Great Eastern", the one that laid the first telegraph cable across "The pond". Last August the BBC filmed it ready for the new series of "Coast" this year!

Some of the items on permanent show at the museum.

So as you can see still plenty of interest on the subject, on a walk near son's (RJR) the other day spotted this Boat, in Uppermill!

And some more off the net to gain inspiration.

A guys model at St Annes Model Boat Club.

He's real, had his leg operated on in this picture, not by a modeller I hasten to add!

Click here for more info

Another way of looking at real boats, is to just throw your money into the water and have done with it!

That's all folks 

Because

Because I am so pleased with my new car and the deal I got I felt it was only right that I gave you some more information on this great little/big car.

Because I build and sail model boats, the main concern was will the Boats fit into the car?, you may think this is a weird main reason when picking a car But its what ever floats your Boat isn't it.

Because the old car it was big enough to fit fridges and freezers and things like that, its not really a big concern as most of my electrical equipment has Blown up in the last couple of months, its Been my horribis  year the last 12 months, (well if the Queen can have one why not us!).

The only thing that's not Blown is the Micro wave oven, OOPs perhaps I shouldn't have said that, But there again they are only small and if that Blows I would starve anyway.

Because I live on my own these days, with my little long haired chihuahua Pepe, I am continually covered in hairs , I think I will enter him in the next Olympics as he moults for England, But he is good company so I have to forgive him, there again perhaps its my fault and don't Brush him enough hey!

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Business.

"How's Business?", he said 

"Looking up"

"You mean its flat on its back.

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That's all folks

   

A New Car

Yesterday I picked up my new car!

I've been thinking of changing for a while now, where as there was nothing wrong mechanically with the old one, the road tax of £210 a year for a 1.4 engine as always bugged me and the 40mpg if you were lucky with the price of fuel these days didn't help.

The advert above helped me to decide on my new vehicle.

My only concern was can I fit my boats in to it, then thought, my old friend Charlie Ricardo used to have one like this and he fitted all his boats in to his!.

The new car is zero rated for road tax, Yes ! never have to pay road tax again!, at 60 Mpg its also ticked my box and 7 years warranty was another  box ticked.

At £299 extra I got the next 3 years service and the first MOT, it was that much for the next service on the Citroen which was due in June as was the road tax again!

So all in all I got a good deal and a very good P/X for the old car.

It was a lump in the throat moment again to see "The Van" go as I used to call it, I knew it used to wind Velda up when I called it that,  as we had had many happy times in it, but when I asked the sales lady Tina  for a look at the new registration numbers availabell there were two columns of numbers with the first column mostly taken and the next one down which I would have been given had I not asked anyway was LPP ! the last three letters of my Citroen, is that an omen or what!

The oldie number

The new car and number.

Found its own way to Etherow unless Pepe told it!.

Met John there and though it was quite cold had a sail of our Jet ski's which John will no doubt put a video of on his modelling blog.

So there you have it, a new car and perhaps a good omen for the future.

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Used cars are al-right , as far as they go!

He had a stereo system in his car for years. His wife in the front and her mother in the back

Fred got behind in his car repayments and in an effort to try and shame him into paying the hire purchase company wrote "What would your neighbours think if we came and repossessed your car , to which he replied "Dear Sir's, I took the matter up with my neighbours and they reckon it would be a lousy trick"

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That's all folks