Norm's Diary

Dangerous Tree

2012-01-19T13:38:00.002+01:00

A birch tree was just inches from my barn roof and leaning towards it!

I put a loop of rope around a big pine tree about 70 feet away and attached a hand winch.

The rope was also looped high up in the birch tree and some tension was winched onto it.

I made the cuts into the tree just leaving a half inch or so hinge.

Winched in and it came down sweet as anything and no damage to the barn roof.

A couple more years and the growth of the tree would have had it touching the roof tiles but the main reason for taking it down was to open up more light for the veggy plots. Now it will take me a day or two to cut it up, split and stack then chip the twigs for the paths.

2012-01-03T13:41:00.002+01:00

One of the garden projects I hadn't got around to until now was a cold frame. Not sure exactly how this will progress, but I decided it will go adjacent to my home made mini-greenhouse which is attached to the back of my shed. My shed has power and it will be easy to cable into it a small heater. Anyway today, even though it was only 2 degrees and very wet I scraped away the wood chip mulch and turned over the ground where the cold frame will be situated. Watch this space!

The square foot garden beds need clearing of weeds and new compost adding. This time last year they were covered with a meter of snow!

This is the state of the strawberry bed which started as a square foot garden but I have removed the string and will confine runners to the bed but let it do its own thing. Hoping for a good crop this year.

2011-12-29T21:58:00.000+01:00

I needed a more secure way of holding logs whilst I cut them with the chainsaw. Previously I had used an old folding workmate which wasn't very secure and was quite frankly dangerous! I thought about buying a metal sawhorse but was talked out of it by some members of the Powerswitch forum. I searched the internet and found this one on Sketchup.

I used some decking planks that my brother-in-law had left over from his deck construction and built it almost exactly to the dimensions in the sketchup plans.

The only thing I had to buy were 3 x 70mm coach bolts, washers and nuts. The sawhorse is sturdy and as it folds flat, is easily moved.

One Bee

2010-10-01T11:09:00.001+01:00

It has been a while since I last wrote on this blog and that is because there is not very much for me to write about. The six bait hives I set out in different locations were not successful in catching any swarms this last season and there seems to be a distinct lack of honeybees hereabouts. I don't attribute this to anything sinister, just the previous long hard winter which had snow from October 2009 until April 2010 with temperatures going down to minus 35 degrees celsius. I despaired at not seeing any honeybees at all until I saw activity of bees coming and going at one of my bait hives at a neighbors farm. Turns out they were robbing out some old crystalysed honey in the comb of the bait hive. Well at least they cleaned the comb up for me. What made it really bad was that I had not seen one honeybee all year in my garden, not one! Then one sunny day, I was admiring the peacock butterflies on my aster flowers when I spotted a ragged wing old worker foraging on the asters. That sight lifted my spirits and gives me hope for next season. My six bait hives will be waiting to go out again and I am confident of success next year.

Anna's Birthday

2008-09-15T18:08:00.000+02:00

Happy 40th Anna. I wish I could be there with you.

Talk with Mam 1 March 2006

2008-08-28T19:25:00.002+02:00

I asked her did she know her Grandmother Sarah Annie Tilley, she said yes, they lived in Douglas St Hanky Park and she was very little. Her Grandad Thomas Bettles had a handlebar moustache.
I asked her how she met my Dad, she said she was 14 and she met him at Lizetta's house when they went back there with Uncle Tommy who was a good friend of Uncle Norman. Tommy and Norman were in the same regiment and they were together when Norman was killed in Tunisia. He was shot by a snipers bullet. Mam went to the cinema with Dad on Langworthy road and they used to listen to the Inkspots. Dad bought a radiogram. Dad worked for British Tarmac before he was called up. Mam left school at 14 and she left on the Friday and started in the spinning room Of Elkaners mill on Broughton road on the Monday. Mam lived in Earl street then.
When we visited Agecroft cemetary today we looked at Lizettas Grave, not only is she and grandad in there but also Roy and his 2 children Andrew (Andy) AND julie.

Wildlife in Dalsland

2008-08-13T19:34:00.004+02:00

It is difficult to describe the overwhelming beauty of Sweden with all the forests and lakes and wildlife. Just take a look at a glimpse of we have seen in just the last two days from our house. The deer was in our garden and the elk were in the field opposite. There were actually 3 elk but by the time I got my camera, two of them had gone behind the trees.

Tony Doherty

2008-07-10T20:32:00.002+02:00

If you read this Tony, please email me as I don't have your email address here in Sweden. Also if you have an email address for Freddie who was looking really good, considering ha ha! .............
I would appreciate that too.

2008-07-10T20:21:00.001+02:00

click on photo to enlarge.

Took this from the edge of the forest showing the back of the house. We saw a fully grown Elk here the other day. Wow it was massive!

Goodbye Mam

2008-06-12T15:14:00.003+02:00

Mam said goodbye to us on the 27th May having lived a good and full life. Thanks to the heroic efforts of my sisters, she was able to squeeze the last quality of life she had left, out to the end. The stroke she had nearly four years ago would have put most people in a home but they put their lives on hold to care for you every day.
Mam, you will be forever remembered by us all and although we are all still sad, we are happy you are now re-united with Dad. The fond memories endure.

2008-04-22T13:02:00.002+02:00

Two days to go before our dog Frank has his next rabies blood test. We are sending the blood sample to Scotland for analysis as they can give the results in just a few days. These results will determine if we go to Sweden for 6 months or just a few weeks. If he is under the threshhold again, we may leave him with family or else kennels for about 3 weeks. That will give us time to get there with the van and trailer with all our spare furniture and effects. We will probably leave the van in Sweden and fly back to Spain. That way, if we get chance again in the summer we can return by air and have the car already there. Our whole itinery for the year is hanging on these blood tests. Some may say he is only a dog but to us he is part of the family. I hope he can come with us and share in our next big adventure.

2008-02-27T06:55:00.001+01:00

I bit the bullet and bought 10 fully stocked Layens Hives for my new home apiary. The Spanish beekeeper I bought them from opened them to inspect. They were bursting at the seems with bees. They bees are the local dark Apis Mellifera Iberiensis which are known to be a bit defensive. No bare skin beekeeping with these girls! I had two stings to prove it. They need a week to settle in my new apiary before I start to transition them into Top Bee Hives. They were treated for Varroa by the previous owner (Formic Acid) and previously by who knows what, so the wax is going to be rendered into candles as I dont want to contaminate my other wax stock.

The Busby Babes

2008-02-21T18:07:00.002+01:00

When I was eight years old, I remember walking home from school and
noticing all the curtains in all the houses were closed. Women were
hurrying by with tears in their eyes. When I asked Mam what was
happening, she told me about the plane crash that had killed some of
the young players of Manchester United.

Recently the Manchester Evening News ran a tribute to the 50 year
memorial of the Busby Babes, part of which was a letter from my cousin
Freddie Doherty.

Here is his letter and his poem as printed:-

Docker's Poem

I was a 22 year old Salford docker at the time and knew some of the players personally.
I'd supported Manchester United since I was 13 and in those days, when they were playing away, I used to go to Maine Road and cheer on Manchester City.

I wrote this poem almost 50 years ago.

They threw snowballs in Munich
And behaved like boys of 10.
Returning from the battle
Red Star knew that they were men.

Then... In slush and snow,
A broken plane lay still
And atheletes were dead
No more to grace the pitch of green
Nor wear the shirt of red.

Our city was in mourning
World over that applied
People sat quiet on buses
And a Salford docker cried.

Belgrade had been their venue
Football was their game
The Busby Babes we were proud of
Man United was their name.

Fred Doherty, Macclesfield

--------------------------------------------

Nice one Fred.

First visit to our house in Sweden

2008-02-10T22:46:00.000+01:00

Norman, Per, Diane and Allison go for a walk in the forest. Brrrrrrrrrr!

Norm's Bees, Naturally

2008-01-26T23:42:00.000+01:00

I thought some of you may like to take a look at the start of my new beekeeping website. It's not a conventional beekeeping website more like an organic website if you like.

http://normanweston.com/BEES/index.htm
It's a work in progress and who knows when or if it will get finished!

Don't just Chuck it, Give it!

2007-12-05T16:27:00.000+01:00

The Salford Freecycle® group is open to all residents of the Salford area who want to "recycle" that special something rather than throw it away.
One main rule: everything posted must be free. This group is part of The Freecycle Network, a nonprofit organization and a movement of people interested in keeping good stuff out of landfills.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cityofsalfordfreecycle

Oh! and there is one for Preston too at:-

http://www.freecycle.org/group/United%20Kingdom/North%20West/Preston

and Nottingham

http://www.freecycle.org/group/United%20Kingdom/East%20Midlands/Nottingham

It's Ours!

2007-11-30T18:10:00.000+01:00

Well the contract for the house in Sweden was signed today. Not by us of course as we are back in Spain but by our sister Allison as proxy. All we have to do now is wait until May before we get to visit again. Can we wait that long? Hmmm!!!! Di's already talking about January sales for some of the furnishings. We have plenty of time to pack up stuff we think we will need.
We'll be taking the van up with a very large trailer, so we wont have to buy too much. At least Kenneth the previous owner left us the ride on mower which I am thankful for as its about an acre of grass to cut! Excited!

Winter snow in Dalsland

2007-11-19T23:48:00.000+01:00

Sustainability

2007-11-07T12:13:00.000+01:00

Sustainability is becoming a bit of a buzz word these days. Lots of people saying we can't go on living the way we do as we are running out of fossil fuels and trashing the planet to boot! Oil prices are now on the cusp of 100 dollars a barrel, a far cry from the 20 dollars it was when I worked in Saudi. I have heard that petrol price could jump to 2:50 pounds per litre in a very short space of time. How would that affect most commuters! As the poulation increases past 6.6 billion people on a world only able to support a couple of billion at best, demand for energy will only increase as the supply runs out. This means only one thing, massive price increases. I can see a day not too far away when most ordinary folk will not be able to run their cars, air travel will be only for the mega rich, food becoming really expensive and a worldwide recession which we may never recover from. When I say never recover, I mean in the world as we know it today. When fossil fuels have all but gone, a new reality will have come about, a much lower population living in a much more localised world. Working locally within biking distance, buying only locally grown food, only travelling by train as that would be the only option for long distance. If we are really lucky, electric vehicles will get better and be charged by solar panels. What wories me most are the possibilities of societal breakdown between the here and the now and the future sustanable world. There are a few steps we can take to make the transition easier for us. Reduce our need for energy by living near where we work and look at energy saving in the home. Reduce debt of all kinds. Grow some of your own food. Stockpile enough food and water to last you at least a month. I would like to recommend you read a novel called Last Light by Alex Scarrow. It explains this much better than I and is a good read too.

More photoo's of the Summer House

2007-10-17T19:24:00.000+02:00

Here are more photo's of our summer house in Sweden. We plan to live there from May through to October each year and then live for six months in Spain during the winter months.

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/1857/jarb4yr0.jpg
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7356/jarb5xo2.jpg
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6335/jarb3ac5.jpg
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/589/jarbo15nd1.jpg
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/364/jarbo13zq4.jpg
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/2246/jarbo9gj4.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/7997/jarbo8lr2.jpg
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6684/jarbo3er4.jpg
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/238/jarbo2nf5.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5379/jarbo21nj0.jpg
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/9523/jarbo19dx3.jpg
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/5885/jarbo18ir2.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/4672/jarbo16ob9.jpg

2007-10-15T18:38:00.001+02:00

More images of Summer House
Barn http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/7066/jarb6vk2.jpg
Porch http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/7356/jarb5xo2.jpg
View from Drive http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6335/jarb3ac5.jpg
Adjacent Field http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/6881/jarb1oi9.jpg
View at rear showing Well http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/4688/jarb7se2.jpg

Jarbo near Hogsater Vastra Gotland Sweden

2007-10-15T17:32:00.000+02:00

(Click on image to enlarge)

We finally managed to buy our summer home in Sweden! A big thankyou must go to Per for finding it and also to Allison who helped with negotiations. It is wonderfully situated amidst the forests of Dalsland and has everything we need to escape the Summer heat of Spain.

Philosophy

2007-07-28T19:05:00.000+02:00

Here is a snippet I found on a forum I belong to. I thought it was worthy to put up here.

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2" in diameter.He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was.So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded witha unanimous - yes.The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed."Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children --things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full."The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff."If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued "there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix your bike."Take care of the rocks first -- the things that really matter.Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."

Mam & Me

2007-07-15T19:19:00.000+02:00

80, in a wheelchair and having had two strokes, she still manages to visit me in Spain.

Bless her! Love you Mam.

The Queen

2007-06-17T10:00:00.000+02:00

Here is the queen circled in red.

Bees and Sustainability

2007-05-25T12:36:00.000+02:00

My preparations for being self sustainable are coming along now. I have more or less finished the fruit and vegetable garden, just need to keep it watered which is a lengthy process twice weekly and the pots need to be watered daily.

I have at last acquired some bees! I have put down about a dozen bait hives using lemongrass oil as a swarm attractant. One of them at my land in Urracal now has a healthy looking colony of bees. The neighbor up there said he saw where the swarm came from, a hole at the base of a tree, and I am also trying to get those too. I am using what they call Kenyan Top Bar Hives and I am using organic beekeeping methods, i.e. no chemicals! Here I am transferring the combs from the bait hive to a Top Bar Hive.

Doherty Grave

2007-05-04T22:32:00.000+02:00

Mam mentioned recently that she remembered going to her Dad's funeral when she was 12. She said it was in Moston but she thought there was no headstone. First time she had ever mentioned this! Went off to Moston with her the next day, Saturday, asked someone at a bus stop if they knew of a Roman Catholic cemetery nearby. They pointed us in the right direction and we found it quite easily on Moston Lane. We got Mam's wheelchair into the cemetery but it was very rough ground so we couldn't search very much and the cemetery is huge. We left and Di and I went back on our own a few days later. The office was open and I asked if they had a record of my Grandfathers grave. Not without a date of death, they said, February 1942 I said. They found the reference and pointed me to the area it should be. Off we went in search, it only took about 15 minutes to find it. There was a headstone and to our amazement it was also the grave of my Great Grandfather and GGmother. Also on the headstone is Constantine my Grandfathers brother. Later I found out that Grandfathers sister Hannah was also buried in the same grave although she is not entered on the headstone. I remember going to Aunt Hannh's house as a young child. It only had gas lights as there was no electricity! It used to frighten me when the mantle flared upon lighting. Here is a phot of the grave.

Middlewood Development of the Canal Salford

2007-04-22T08:55:00.000+02:00

During my recent trip to UK I managed to stop at the site of the restoration of the Manchester Bolton & Bury canal at Middlewood, just off Oldfield Road in Salford. I skipped over the fence for a close look. Not much to see but you can see the tunnel where the canal is coming through from the Irwell. The area between the tunnel and the next section is just rubble with no certain definition of where the canal is but further up the old lock has been excavated and is clearly visible.

More of Mam's 80th Party

2007-04-16T18:06:00.000+02:00

Mam's 80th Birthday Party

2007-04-16T17:37:00.000+02:00

Mam's 80th Birthday Newsclip

2007-04-16T17:34:00.000+02:00

Dad's Birthday Memorial

2007-04-16T17:22:00.000+02:00

Dad's 82nd Birthday Memory

2007-04-16T17:10:00.000+02:00

2006-12-19T20:38:00.000+01:00

Goat farmer Pepe with his goats on my hillside. He brought us home made Black Pudding & Spanish Sausage today.

2006-12-08T19:10:00.000+01:00

Rear Porch nearing completion, Rafters fitted and just needing boarding, felting, tiling and staining to match the house.

2006-12-04T18:46:00.000+01:00

This is our new Clementine tree, we picked these two today and ate them, they were delicious. Can't wait until next year so we can have some more ;^))

2006-11-26T21:49:00.000+01:00

Ian & Deanne on their wedding day at Bartle Hall

2006-10-14T11:55:00.000+02:00

Same tree after trimming

2006-10-14T11:52:00.000+02:00

Poorly olive tree before trimming

Concrete Base for rear porch

2006-10-14T11:31:00.000+02:00

No its not a large new back step, Diane wants a porch adding at the back door and whatever milady wants, milady gets. Two hours hard graft this morning and the concrete slab is finished. I need to let the concrete cure now for a few weeks so that I can drill it and secure some threaded bar in it to mount the sole plate for the logs. I have enough logs and roof tiles left over from building the house to complete the porch.

2006-10-06T14:13:00.000+02:00

Outside Carlos V Palace at the Aljambra

2006-10-06T14:11:00.000+02:00

The Aljambra in Granada yesterday

I may be Cro-Magnon but at least I am not Neanderthal

2006-09-12T13:33:00.000+02:00

I have just had the result of a Y chromosome DNA marker test I had done for genealogical purposes which stated I was 100% M343 or R1b Haplotype. I wasn't sure what this meant so I looked it up and found this:-

Around 30,000 years ago, a descendant of the clan making its way into Europe gave rise to marker M343, the defining marker of this haplogroup. These people dominated the human expansion into Europe, the Cro-Magnon.
The Cro-Magnon are responsible for the famous cave paintings found in southern France. These spectacular paintings provide archaeological evidence that there was a sudden blossoming of artistic skills as your ancestors moved into Europe, Prior to this, jewelry made of shell, bone, and ivory; primitive musical instruments; and stone carvings.
The cave paintings of the Cro-Magnon depict animals like bison, deer, rhinoceros, and horses, and natural events important to Paleolithic life such as spring molting, hunting, and pregnancy. The paintings are far more intricate, detailed, and colorful than anything seen prior to this period.
These people knew how to make woven clothing using the natural fibers of plants, and had relatively advanced tools of stone, bone, and ivory. Their jewelry, carvings, and intricate, colorful cave paintings bear witness to the Cro-Magnons' advanced culture during the last glacial age.

This Y chromosome is only passed down unchanged from father to son, therefore my son will also have it and his sons. The purpose being to compare these markers with people of the same surname which is also passed down from father to son.

My Uncle Eddie's letter To Newspaper Aug 1976 about the lancaster Bomber

2006-09-10T11:08:00.000+02:00

I have two wonderful memories of the Lancaster having been taken prisoner of war on June 12, 1940, sent to Poland and then to Danzig. In Danzig the Germans were giving us a rough time and we used to say to the guards "when Churchill hears the way you are treating us, he will send planes and bomb here." They said it was too far for any planes to come.
Then one Saturday in 1942, at about 7pm four planes came over the camp. They were Lancasters - what a wonderful sight to see.
We told the guards we had got word to Churchill and he had sent them to show it was not too far for British planes to come.
My second memory is of when we were released by the Yanks, after we had been on the forced march from Danzig to Germany. We were taken to Luneberg from where we were brought home by Lancaster in May 1945. When we arrived in England we cried and touched the grass we thought we would never see again.
I often think too of the men of the Lancaster who were shot down over Danzig. We gave them a military funeral to the best of our ability and I often think of the graves of the Lancaster boys and other prisoners of war and I hope they are being looked after.
E. Murray
Salford 6

La Yesera Electricity

2006-08-28T11:01:00.000+02:00

Those who have read previous postings will know we have had problems with lack of power from our Solar Installation. Things have now improved after careful thought and implementing a few ideas.
Firstly, I cleaned the panels; when I checked them they were covered in fine sand. The difference in charging after being cleaned I reckoned was about 6% better, not insignificant.
Another thing was that I have installed a second smaller water tank as a header tank higher up the hill behind an olive tree. This now means I only have to pump water up to it every other day and the pump is not continually running whenever there is a tap opened or a toilet flushed. I think this has made quite a difference too but it is difficult to quantify. One further benfit has been that I have not totally buried the water supply pipe from the header tank and the sun heats the water giving hot water for nothing. We have not used any heating oil since!
I also thought about the angle of the panels to the sun at different times of the year. They were fixed at an angle which maximises sun catchment in winter only which at this lattitude is about 50 degrees. I drew a graph of optimum angle throughout the year and decided that if I change the angle by altering the rear support bracket twice a year, I can optimise charging by about 10%.
Another improvement is the addition of a 48v battery charger that I had shipped from Hong Kong. When I am pumping water from the well to the large storage tank or when I am using the deisel generator to power the house as we sometimes have to do in the winter, I will be able to charge the battery bank at the same time.

2006-08-28T10:58:00.000+02:00

Glass or Bottle?

2006-08-06T11:21:00.000+02:00

My Eldest grandchildren enjoying the quad bike at La Yesera

2006-07-28T19:14:00.000+02:00

These are my Dad`s medals, the centre one is for the D day landings which he was a part of.

Please get in touch!

2006-06-16T20:39:00.000+02:00

This is a message for Alan Weston and Anna Bench. I have lost your email addresses so if you read this please email me.

Great Uncle Dick

2006-06-16T20:30:00.000+02:00

I have recently been contacted by my second cousin Barbara Weston who descends from my Grandfathers brother Thomas. After the tragic death of our Great Grandmother Sarah Jane Thorlby at the early age of 34, our Great Grandfather James Weston was left with 4 children, the eldest my Grandfather went into the Merchant Navy, Florence went into nursing the other two, Thomas, Barabara´s Grandfather went into Dr Barnado`s childrens home at the tender age of 5 and the infant Richard went to a foster family and eventually to Canada as a "Home" child. Our family has been apart for a century, it is amazing we have linked up again. I have been given permission to publish the sad but wholesome story of the life of Richard our Great Uncle as written by his wife Sylvia Carson - Read her sad story here.

Six Grandchildren with Granddad

2006-05-24T16:33:00.000+02:00

Almond Blossom Time at La Yesera

2006-02-18T10:08:00.000+01:00

Bonny's Last Resting Place

2006-02-18T10:01:00.000+01:00

Electrifying

2006-01-08T05:30:00.000+01:00

This posting is nothing really, just a gap filler. I need to work out a better way of conserving power from our solar installation. At this time of year, unless we have total sunshine from dawn till dusk, we are finding a shortfall. I have to run the diesel generator for 3-4 hours per night when we are using most power. The other thing is that I need to be able to connect the generator via a charge regulator to the batteries whilst I am using it. At the moment the 5.5 KVA generator is giving us plenty of power whilst running but it could at the same time be charging the batteries. I also need to be able to disconnect TV, Sat box, Hi-Fi etc so that it is not on standby all the time and only switched on when in use. As daylight will gradually get longer now, things can only get better but it has been a learning experience and bad timing that we moved in at the time of shortest daylight.
There are compensations though, for instance instead of just slumping down in front of TV, we usually sit out on the porch on the rocking chairs and watch the sunset and listen to the owls call each other from either side of the valley, a big whisky in hand or a glass of wine of course.

Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink

2005-12-27T18:20:00.000+01:00

We woke this morning to find we had no water to the house. Strange I thought, I had only just pumped up water from the well yesterday evening and completely filled the 6,000 litre tank! The first time it had been totally filled. On inspection we found the fibreglass tank had split at the bottom and emptied all the water. I rang the supplier and told him what had happened, he said it was impossible...bla... bla... bla... I said I wanted a new one and would be bringing back the old one. Now these tanks are BIG! Diane and I spent a couple of hours tugging and pulling this tank onto the trailer, well, with the help of the tractor. We took it back to the supplier and showed it to the guy. He tried to get out of it but he was left in no doubt that I wouldn't be leaving without a new one. Half an hour later we were on our way with a brand new tank. We then spent another couple of hours pulling and tugging until we had it sited. I then made all the plumbing connections and at this moment in time am pumping up water from the well to fill it. It takes about 8 hours to fill so I will about half fill it this evening. The photo shows the tank next to the well house almost in position.

Me working on my tractor at La Yesera two days ago.

2005-12-20T17:30:00.000+01:00

Living it and Loving it.

2005-12-11T07:08:00.000+01:00

Well, we finally moved in to our new Log Home at La Yesera! Although not yet fully completed, we decided we wanted to be in before Christmas so as soon as I had one bathroom finished and hot water and heating we moved in. We had a problem moving Campo though, our semi-wild dog. She just didn’t want to go in the car. She was terrified even after sedation. I rang the vet Juan Jesus and asked about an injection to make her sleep, he said that amounted to a general anaesthetic with all the attendant risks and suggested doubling the dose of sedation. This worked thankfully, I just threw a towel over her head grabbed her up (35Kg) and ran to the car.
We absolutely adore it here, so quiet and peaceful with amazing scenery and sunsets.

EBay Fraudster

2005-12-11T05:44:00.000+01:00

Just a little blog to highlight an eBay fraudster by the name of Darren Smith who sells mainly kinky stuff on eBay as well as quads. I bought a job lot of 12 from him (quads, not the kink stuff) and it wasnt until I threatened to sabotage his auctions that he sent most of them to me.

http://www.alboxfincas.com/quad.htm

2005-11-15T14:20:00.000+01:00

New Staircase fitted

2005-10-19T22:51:00.000+01:00

My Mam at age 18

2005-10-03T06:16:00.000+01:00

Val & Linda at La Yesera

2005-10-03T06:13:00.000+01:00

Mam at La Yesera

2005-10-03T06:08:00.000+01:00

Mam, Val, Linda & me at their hotel in Roquetas del Mar

Big Mistake!

2005-09-19T06:45:00.000+02:00

I found out the other day that I am not descended from the Wiltshire WESTONs after all. For the last several years I have been researching my forebears on the strength of the data in the 1881 census which suggested my Great Grandfather James WESTON was the son of Henry WESTON of Wiltshire. I was recently looking at the 1901 census which shockingly showed this to be untrue. James was actually the son of a Henry WESTON from Eastbourne in Sussex. His father Thomas WESTON was from Kent. My dad always said the WESTONs were from Kent and it turns out to be true. I will republish my family history web pages as soon as I receive James's birth certificate.

House Progress

2005-08-17T11:49:00.000+02:00

The new house is coming along slowly, not a lot can be seen now as it’s mainly things like electrical installation and plumbing etc. but the upper bedrooms are looking good now. As soon as the plumbing and electrics are finished, the floor tiling will start and that will make a huge difference. We are thinking of changing the design of the central heating installation now before we get too far. We were thinking of building on at the back of the house a little lean-to wooden shed type construction to house the heating boiler but as it looks something like a washing machine; it may be better positioned in the kitchen, behind the kitchen door.

In Loving Memory

2005-08-05T12:17:00.000+02:00

George (Gud) Weston 6 April 1925 - 14 July 2005

Dad, quiet and modest and a true gentleman.

Chellshill Aquaduct to Congleton Bridge No 61

2005-06-22T01:00:00.000+02:00

21st June 2005

Bright sunshine and no hat lead to sunburned heads, eventually found a shop which sold large brimmed floppy hats which solved the problem. We noticed the wooden part of the tiller handle loose in the brass tube. Also the float on the keys, fouls the control when in full reverse. Had a lovely evening meal in the Robin Hood pub just a short walk up from bridge 61. We still cannot get the shower to regulate the water temperature and are certain that it is a fault and not us.

Total of 15 Locks and 13 Miles

Stud Green Bridge to Chellshill Aquaduct

2005-06-21T01:00:00.000+02:00

20th June 2005
We awoke to bright sunshine.

Martin introduced himself to us for our boat handling course and as we were pointing in the wrong direction for our intended journey, we set off to the winding hole at Stud Green bridge. This turning point is right after the bridge and a very tight turn. It was near impossible to turn in without clipping the back end under the bridge. We negotiated Crows nest lock again and dropped Martin off passing Elton Moss and we proceeded to Wheelock where we stopped just past the watering point at bridge 154. We lunched at the Cheshire Cheese pub, a very grimy looking pub but friendly and having a very passable Ploughmans. Whilst locking up the boat, the sliding hatch above the rear entrance was jammed open. It had come off its runners and was very difficult to put back on, taking over half an hour of struggle and scratching the roof paint as well. This rear entrance needs attention as the hatch doesnt fit properly and the vertical sliding bolt cannot be secured. i.e. if you bang the lid the bolt could drop down allowing entrance.
After Lunch headed onward passing Hassal Green and moored between bridges 144 & 145. Opened a bottle of red, had a slurp and went for a shower. First the shower would not work, only a dribble of water and the shower sump pump would not function. Checked all the switches but was sure there was a problem. Phoned Artie and John came out to us, meanwhile whilst on his way we moved further up to Chell's Aquaduct so that John had easy access to us. Now emabarrassingly, the shower head has a swivel action that was not explained to us I might add, that also shuts off the water. This was the initial problem but John found a lead off the shower sump switch so I was relieved that his call out wasnt a wasted journey. When John left, we both showered and had excellent water pressure, however we found the water temperature however we manipulated the controls was either too hot or too cold. I wasnt sure if this was down to us but we managed to get a shower somehow and hope we learn in the days ahead how to control the water temperature.

Total of 14 Locks and 7 miles

2005-06-20T01:00:00.001+02:00

Monsoon type rain

Cheshire Ring anti-clockwise from Elton Moss Bridge

2005-06-20T01:00:00.000+02:00

Our first boating trip in our own share narrowboat Tranquillity.
We arrived 4-30 pm Sunday 19th to a horrendous downpour, we managed to get in the boat just before the heavens opened. We had to sit and wait it out before we could unpack the car. It was raining so heavy, it was bouncing up through the roof vents and dripping in the boat slightly but nothing to worry about. During a lull, and after we unpacked, we inspected the boat and were happy to see it was to the standard we had seen on the open day, although someone had had an unfortunate incident with an iron and the carpet! We mentioned to Artie that Tranquillity is spelled with two L's and noticed that the signwriting was with one! After a brief introduction to the boat by Artie, we then settled down to watch the formula 1 race on the TV but the TV wasnt tuned to any channels. It may be that if the power is off the TV for some time, the channel memories dissapear and you have to retune. By the time the I had tuned it in again the race was half over but then I found it wasnt a race at all as most of the cars didnt start. We made the bed and spent a very comfortable first night.

2005-06-06T17:46:00.000+02:00

Arran boxing training for his first fight at the end of July.

2005-05-28T18:26:00.000+02:00

Rear view showing back kitchen door

Pool at sunset now full of water

2005-05-27T05:23:00.000+02:00

The log house is coming on faster now; the outside is virtually finished with all the doors and windows now complete, less the double glazed mirror units for the big windows. Inside, all the insulation is being fitted. The upper floors chipboard panels have been screwed to the joists ready for flooring with laminate. Today took delivery of plasterboard. At Villa Calendula, the swimming pool is now full although I haven’t ventured in it yet. The love birds are breeding like there is no tomorrow, will have to sell some to the pet shop again!
Swimming Pool at sunset now full of water

2005-05-26T17:07:00.000+02:00

Dads 80th with mam Linda Hayley & Val

2005-05-24T21:09:00.000+02:00

Pump being fed down the well

2005-05-24T21:04:00.000+02:00

At long last water being pumped up from 150 metres deep.

2005-05-20T03:30:00.000+02:00

All rear windows now fitted

Roof and nearly me finished

2005-05-19T06:27:00.000+02:00

At last the roof is now totally finished. I have had the triangular fixed windows and the large pane square lower windows made by the local carpenter. It took weeks of chasing and hounding but I eventually got them all. The triangular windows frames are now fitted. I have ordered the solar mirror glass double glazed units to fit these frames. The glass costs more than double the amount of the actual windows!

It seems as though I have broken my coccyx! Stupidly I was balancing on a log off cut to take a measurement when the log went sideways and I came crashing down on my bum. I didn’t think I had done any damage, what with all the padding of my ample gluteus maximus. But certain chairs and driving was getting more and more painful. Eventually went and had X-rays to confirm the break and it is off to the private hospital in Almeria city on the 23rd to discuss possible surgery.

Slow Progress

2005-05-09T20:22:00.000+02:00

Not much to report on the log cabin progress! I have sacked two of the workers and hired someone new. Steve, the carpenter/builder is pointing up ridge tiles and building internal walls. He is having a short break this week, just for 3 days as he has his mate Barry over from England. On Thursday, more of the same then after, fitting more doors and windows. I am still frustratingly waiting to hear when the electrician is coming to install the pump for the well.
We can’t wait to move, the weather is glorious, well into the 30’s and needing aircon on occasion. Started filling the swimming pool this week, two magpies think it is an amazing birdbath.
I have been looking at motorhomes with a view to travel more! It is difficult every time we go back to UK as nobody really has room for us and ends up putting themselves out for us! I cannot believe they are so expensive! It doesn’t make sense either; the base vehicle plus a similar spec caravan are much cheaper than a motorhome of equivalent size and specification.

50,000 Litres of Water needed

2005-05-02T00:26:00.000+02:00

Today was a day for preparing the swimming pool for the summer. I have had the pumphouse tiled throughout using all my leftover tiles from previous jobs. A bit of a hotch potch but a nice clean environment to work in now. I refitted all the pipework, refilled the filter with special sand. Just a few more connections and we are nearly ready to fill the pool with water. Luckily I have a large underground water tank that collects all the rain water from the roof. It certainly is warm enough now, by mid afternoon it is about 28-30 degrees C!

My peach faced lovebirds are breeding again and so too my Fischer’s lovebirds, both have clutches almost ready to fledge the nest boxes. I will soon have to consider selling some to the pet shops again to make room!

Narrowboat Tranquillity

2005-04-29T22:12:00.000+01:00

I have just heard that our new narrowboat which is to be launched at the beginning June is to be called Tranquillity. This was my second choice of name so I am not too disappointed. My first choice was Voyager. I loved the Star Trek TV series of Voyager and I thought it apt as a narrow boat name. Oh well! When I get my very own boat I can then choose what I want. I did however get my first choice of livery. It will be painted Dark Blue, Red and Cream. Our first cruise starts on the 19th June for two weeks from Heritage Marina near Kidsgrove on the Macclesfield canal. I still have not finalised our route yet as I am torn between doing the Cheshire Ring or going to Burton on Trent. The reason for Burton on Trent is because my Great Grandmother was born there and to be able to combine two of my passions, genealogy and canals sounds irresistible.

2005-04-29T10:57:00.000+01:00

Upstairs windows being fitted

Laptop Woes

2005-04-27T23:10:00.000+01:00

I did a silly thing recently; because my laptop was running quite slowly, I decided to wipe the hard drive and start a new installation of windows millennium. After the reformat, I discovered that I couldn’t get it to read from the CD rom because it is an external USB CD rom. The startup disk would have set up a normal CD rom but not a USB port! I am sure I wasn’t ever the first person ever to have come across this problem so I scoured the internet for 3 days but could not find an answer. I did find something called duse.exe which when I set it up in my config.sys file allowed me to read from CD in Dos. The problem was that this duse is then in memory and there was then insufficient memory left over to run the windows setup. I searched the internet again and again but could not find a solution. There were very many similar questions asked on various website but no answers. I then had a brainwave (doesn’t happen very often!) If I could load Duse.exe to read the CD rom and copy the entire CD as an image to drive C then I could reboot without Duse.exe freeing the memory and hopefully then setup windows directly from drive C. Trouble was I didn’t have a full dos system only the files on the start floppy disks but a search on the internet found xxcopy16 which did the trick. It took about an hour to copy all the CD to drive C, and then I modified config.sys to remove Duse.exe. Booted from floppy and run setup from Drive C with no problems. It did the trick too my laptop is now behaving at normal speed.

2005-04-27T09:48:00.000+01:00

A different perspective.

2005-04-25T13:18:00.000+01:00

Bonny 1995 - 2005

I have put this posting off for a week because it upsets me to think about it. Before our recent trip to England, our little dog Bonny was a little unwell; the neighbour looking after our dogs during our visit had to take her to the vet as she suddenly couldn’t walk. The neighbour called us in England and we cut short our trip and returned. We fought to save her, giving her around the clock care. Carrying her everywhere and seeing to all her needs. She seemed to respond and eventually started walking again but was on hefty drugs. Then last Saturday all of a sudden again she went downhill fast and died next morning. The vet still doesn’t know what caused it, he did all the tests and it all came up negative. All he could think of was a degeneration of the central nervous system. We buried her in front of our new log cabin where we visit her every day. There have been many tears as we had Bonny for more than 10 years from being a six week old bundle of fluff. Bonny was a huge part of our family and we miss her terribly.

2005-04-25T13:00:00.000+01:00

Last of the sidings going on front Gable

2005-04-20T10:53:00.000+01:00

2nd of 4 gables having sidings fitted.

2005-04-19T09:22:00.000+01:00

First gable siding complete.

2005-04-18T19:15:00.000+01:00

The first sidings going on on the Gable

Alice! Who the ____ is Alice?

2005-04-16T23:14:00.000+01:00

Our recent week-end narrowboat hire was a bit of a disaster! We found the boatyard easy enough, Claymoore Navigation at Preston Brook, by using my autoroute 2001 and my laptop. We hired nb Alice at fairly short notice, a two berth smallish boat. We were dismayed to find her looking very shabby both inside and out. We were originally intending to go up to Lymm and then on to Worsley as we had to be in Worsley for dad’s 80th birthday party which we thought was at midday. This would have meant a dash back at top speed to get the boat back in time for Monday morning. We then found out it was an evening meal so we had to change our plans. Ignoring the state of the boat and determined to enjoy it anyway, we set off southwards through Preston Brook tunnel where we had to wait until the appointed hour before southbound could go through. We followed a private narrowboat through but it was going so slow, I could hardly steer Alice. Through the tunnel we arrived at Dutton stop lock, the very first lock that Diane had ever tackled and mine for a number of years. As the fall was only a few inches, this made it a very easy introduction for Diane as she was doing the locking whilst I controlled the boat. We then were faced with Saltersford Tunnel which was a bit unnerving as you can’t see through it and there are no timings to get you through without meeting an oncoming boat. I realized half way through that I should have used the horn to signal that I was coming through it but we were lucky. Barnton Tunnel was no problem as you could see through it even though it was much longer than Saltersford Tunnel. We passed by the Anderton boat lift but were put off the area by the huge chemical works. The scenery got better as we cruised further and delighted to see both Kingfishers and Heron. As we approached Northwich we went just past Broken Cross Bridge when we noticed a canalside pub, it was getting late so we moored just a bit further up past the pub. Before our showers, I turned on the central heating which after a few minutes blew up with steam and hot water cascading down the inside of the boat. This drenched the carpet which hadn’t been cleaned for I don’t know how long as it became muddy! Oh well, shower pub, pint, pub meal, bed. Woke early next morning to find Alice in the middle of the canal and both our lines adrift! I got the engine going and managed to get back alongside the towpath to find both our mooring spikes had been pinched. The boat next to us had one spike missing also but the thief mustn’t have been able to get the other one out or was disturbed. I hailed the occupant who was also unaware of the dastardly deed but as we had nothing to moor with, I set off to find a bollard to tie up to. We found a wooden post a bit further up to which we tied up, this allowed us to get ready for the rest of the day. I searched my Nicholsons guide to find a boatyard was nearby so we went there tied up and waited for half an hour until it opened and paid ₤11-50 for two new mooring spikes. With the lesson learned about mooring in public places, we headed on to Middlewich Kings lock, downed a couple of Tetleys bitter in the pub, turned around at the winding hole just beyond and headed back towards Preston Brook. Our second night was at a beautiful quiet spot between bridges 176 and 177 with the river Dane below us. Spag Bog, bottle of Rioja, bed. The bed had to be made up and once up, it was impossible to do anything in the lounge of the boat. Got up in the night to pee and discovered the still muddy carpet on my feet. Got back to Preston Brook by midday Sunday and told them of the problems to which they just shrugged as if it didn’t matter. Diane said it was the most uncomfortable time and if it had been our first hire, it would have put her off boating forever! Luckily we had hired before with none of these problems and a comfortable bed at Viking Afloat from Whitchurch on the Llangollen

2005-04-14T21:24:00.000+01:00

Me on the cut last week. South of Preston Brook

2005-04-14T21:20:00.000+01:00

Finally finished roof tiling

2005-03-30T15:24:00.000+01:00

Further tiling progress on the rear of the roof

eBay

2005-03-29T00:21:00.000+01:00

I went a bit daft yesterday on ebay, ended up buying a GPS receiver HI-204E Series which hopefully will plug into my laptop and be my navigation system both on the canal and in my car. I have also bought Auto-route 2005 which is supposed to be street level mapping for all of Europe and integrates with the GPS. Another purchase was some old canal books and although out of date, may prove an interesting read, they include The Story of Our Canals; Ladybird books. Introducing Inland Waterways; Charles Hadfield. Waterways World Guide to the Llangollen Canal. Waterways Museum - Stoke Bruerne. Brief Guide To Canals & Waterways; Charles Hadfield. Guide to the Waterways 5; The Midlands; Nicholson. Inland Cruising - Map of England for Larger Craft - 8 miles to 1 inch; Stanford Maritime. Outboard Motors and Outdrives; R.H. Waring.

2005-03-28T11:24:00.000+01:00

Water refill at our farmhouse

2005-03-27T10:11:00.000+01:00

Chispa left & Bonny

2005-03-24T13:27:00.000+01:00

At last the roof tiles are going on!

F1 & Beer

2005-03-21T03:02:00.000+01:00

Started the morning off fairly early by getting up at 7-15am to watch the Formula 1. The best race I have seen in quite a long time. Well done the Spanish driver Pedro Alonso for winning it from the start. I like the rule changes which have made the whole race a completely different affair. The day started sunny and when, after the race, we took the dogs over to our log cabin, it was so nice we got the deck chairs out and had a couple of beers with the temperatures reaching mid 70’s F. Whilst drinking said beers and the dogs off and away, we watched a huge eagle soaring overhead. The red legged partridge were also evident by their distinctive tk tk tk clucking sound they make. Bees and butterflies in profusion, the weather certainly has changed for the better after the snow just a couple of weeks ago.

Genealogy Team Blog

2005-03-20T00:50:00.000+01:00

I am considering starting a genealogy team blog for the THURLBY surname. There are quite a few people who belong to my THURLBY mailing list hosted by Rootsweb. http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/surname/t/thurlby.html
The discussions on this list are now quite rare and in today’s multimedia internet, seem a bit old hat, with no real opportunity for interactivity. I have been thinking about this for some time, and if there is enough interest, to start a proper THURLBY surname research group. The idea is to start an interactive web log, where anyone in the group can post items which can contain, photo's, video, sound tracks and links to other web pages. It could run in parallel with the mailing list, that way we could discuss an item on list and when the discussion was exhausted, someone (or jointly) could write up an article quoting all sources and including any multimedia items etc. and post it to the weblog. The weblog would hopefully be fully searchable in its archives, so when someone asks where is the basis for a particular point; it can be searched online and immediately. Each article can be commented on and added to by members. For instance if I posted all the THURLBY Bicker baptism's as an article and you found that I had missed one or more perhaps because it was spelled THURLEBY, you could add it to the article. I will have to wait to see if there is enough interest and if anyone will share the administration of it.

Communications

2005-03-18T22:28:00.000+01:00

I bought a car charger for my laptop on American eBay. I won the auction on the 14th March and received it at my home in Spain on the morning of the 18th March. Worked perfectly too. Superb service from USPS, well done! I am trying to work out what I would need to be online on a narrowboat. I have an ordinary mains charger but as some hire boats only provide 12 volt outputs similar to a car, I thought that this charger would keep my laptop serviceable. The next item on the agenda is how to achieve a connection with the web. I am approaching the connection problem on two fronts because I am not sure how it all works. Firstly I have ordered for my siemens Vodafone (Spanish) A60 a USB data lead which I hope will be able to connect me. Secondly I have also ordered a Vodafone Data Connect Card which would plug into my laptop directly. It has a pre-paid sim card which would be independent from my mobile telephone. Hopefully I can test this out at the beginning of April when I have a week-end hire narrowboat booked.