Working on it 
Cheers Pete.
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Twenty plus year ago after a superb game drive that culminating in watching a Cheetah hunt and kill , I gave my Maasai driver (who was getting married) a large tip with the request that he buy a cow with it and name it *** after a certain young lady of my acquaintance. The cow being part of the bridal purse
Later I came to regret this and hoped that the cow would forgive me for having called her ***
Interestingly enough , the young Maasai driver is now a partner in the business - which runs several prime lodges in Kenya and Tanzania
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And congratulations plus a Happy and Healthy New Year , hopefully a meet up in De Hems at some point
best wishes
Ian
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Running sadly off the agenda with a crumbling spine but with a bit of work I should be able to get back up to 4.7/4.8mph. Not bad for a bloke with a white cane. Does slightly bewilder passers by but their problem not mine.
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A night in the forest. It dumped down 12" og snow or more the ten hours were outside.
Then I used one hour to dig out the car. Got saved by a tractor in the end.
Now I am helping a friend with the white stuff.
Look like it will be another 10 inches by tomorrow.
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Imbibed too much red last night/early am.
Currently wondering how on earth I managed to take an electric meter reading at 2.33 am and actually submit it to Ovo (along with yesterday’s reading) in preparation for the new price cap tariff changes.
Found the NAC 282’s volume on an extremely high setting this morning when I got up - not sure that was intentional, I knew I had things on much louder than normal as it was New Year’s Eve but I may have pushed the boat out after everyone else went to bed. 
I had some things on the floor in front of the 282 which blocked seeing the volume level which didn’t help.
Broadband has been up and down for the last few days, I’d put it down to the weather but not so sure now, as the modem/router is connecting to the line but not establishing (or dropping) PPP connections frequently.
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Half way through so took stock of the christmas vittles, some of the cakes are best before june so no need for a re-supply run. Approached the scales with caution… 3lb gain so far… put that down to the Port and cocktails, in no way the fault of the cheese… Ate a mince pie to check they were still good.
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Bit late as it was yesterday but I had to drive my daughter to Nottingham Queen’s Medical Centre A&E department with a suspected broken foot as her horse had stood and pirouhetted on it. I went really fearful of being there for hours if not days from the horror stories that we read about. Amazingly we were in and out in 40 minutes with review/x-ray/re-review with a really excellent nurse practitioner. And it was good news, the foot was not broken and New Year’s eve celebrations were not cancelled, albeit daughter had to cancel alcohol intake plans due to all the pain killers she was now on.
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Found this on my Cosworth cylinder block.
It aint gonna be cheap 
I’m investigating a possible repair and then having a long stud conversion instead of the head bolting to the deck. I always expect the worse though to avoid disappointment…
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Id be intrested in the repair you are considering.
A company of which I was unaware ……and they’re local!!
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I’m hoping they can weld the cast iron block to a good enough strength to carry the long stud so there will no longer be bolt stress.
Oddly enough the headgasket was intact even though coolant had leaked into the bolt hole.
We have family living there!
Phil
One of those phrases that always strikes a chord
“It was twenty years ago today
When Sgt Pepper taught the band to play…”
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Haha, yes can see the pitting indicating a coolant excursion.
Welding cast iron. Ummmm. Be carefull. Don’t know how much you know about the stuff, so sorry if I’m teaching you to suck eggs.
I get you have limited choices, but make sure whoever is doing their stuff knows how to weld cast iron. In short it’s nigh on impossible to get right. Cast iron contains, well about 5% carbon and often other " stuff". It’s a cheap material, not sophisticated, good at being cast, just not welded. It is primarily down to all that carbon. ( Its one of the reasons steel is easier to weld- less, much less carbon) And often the exact content of carbon was just a guess at the foundary.
The weld process often involves pre and post heat treatment, in an attempt to mitigate the stresses induced via the welding. Adding complexity and cost to the repair. A repair is doable, but be aware of the risks.
If you have a friend that is a metallurgist get them involved with the welding process.
And good luck.
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I’m aware that cast iron is ‘difficult’ to weld. I’m just doing some asking at the moment as the repair doesn’t have be be as strong as it won’t be retaining a bolt anymore.
New blocks are £4.5k to £5.5k 
so it’s worth looking into. 
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If you can get the stress away from the bolt hole, maybe brazing is the answer? This job is obviously for someone who has great skill and experience in this specific area. This is your big problem. Careful who you choose. Interested to see the outcome.
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The brother of one of my drinking buddies is a cast iron welder by trade. Very specialised skillset. Imagine he’s retired by now.
Willy.