Mrs G and I took a day trip to Llandegla for an eMTB ride. One lap of black/red and one lap of the blue. Sad to find that bacon butties are no longer made after 12 noon, but enjoyed a chicken wrap instead. The trails were as brilliant as ever, rode part way with a couple of lads we caught up with and had the craic with them. Traffic was tolerable given the route we have to take, but generally we a had a lovely day.
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Luxury! We used to ‘ave to get up out of shoebox at twelve o’clock at night and lick road clean wit’ tongue. 
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It’s the UK for you.
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An’ if tha told the kids today, they wouldn’t believe you.
Na, they wouldn’t, sithee.
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Taken up body boarding! This is what happens when you go to Cornwall with your niece and great niece…!
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Holywell Bay ?
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Yes, we’re staying in a chalet at Park Dean!
We had a day trip to the new forest yesterday, crossing from Yarmouth to lymington on the ferry. Whilst the girls were dropped off to visit some garden / stately home, the boys focussed on the important task of visiting Calshot spit primarily to see the Henry VIII built castle guarding the entrance to Southampton water. I had no idea that our wartime seaplane defences were based there, and of the local links to the UKs Schneider trophy efforts. A massive hangar which I think used to house the Sunderland flying boats. Anyway, I was struck by the stark beauty and brutalism of this coastguard station.
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Think you’re a photo missing. 
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Had received a rake of invoices from my accountant and finally got around to (trying to) pay them. My bank is very keen on me using their app and historically it has been pretty good but every time they improve it it gets just a little less useful.
“Application says no!”.
Checked out and it wasn’t my limit but in a stroke of genius the bank has decided that if you change the payment reference then they impose a mandatory limit of £750 for app payments. So I can pay my accountant’s invoices, I just can’t tell him which ones I’ve paid. Sheer f**king genius.
Willy.
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My ham fisted attempt to post a single photo. Kept getting en error message. I can show you another but it is v similar to the one you have seen! Could be v tedious
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If you really want screw things up get a computer system - just ask PV at the PO
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Yep, I have a vague memory of seeing them when I was just a wee thing! Although by then - around 1960(?) - they would have been the derivative (Princess FB?)
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As my late Dad used to say: “To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer.”
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It’s been so hot here today, so Mrs HH cooked dinner early and put it in a box. We gathered the picnic stuff and our trusty National Trust blanket and off we went to Hayling Island and had dinner on our laps on the beach. A lovely evening.
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“I don’t know what a hard disk is. I don’t how to use a printer”
Rented some mountain bikes (non-electric) and set out on a tour of Stanley Park along the seawall then over the Lion’s Gate Bridge and uphill all the way to Capilano Suspension Bridge, as recommended to us by several people. Unfortunately there are few cycle paths so we were sharing the road with heavy traffic and in the end decided not to go in for various reasons, not least of which the entrance fee of 75 dollars per person. Plus tax. I’d rather go for a good meal so have booked into Black & Blue tonight. Here’s a pic of some of the route we did.
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Excursion to the Wilts/Gloucestershire border area, checking out King Athelstan’s memorial tomb in Malmesbury Abbey and the excellent Roman exhibits in Cirencester Museum. Added bonus - great weather.
Athelstan is reputedly burried somewhere in the Abbey grounds.
Thinking about it, that Roman room would look good with a couple of Fraims and a 500 system…
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Bitter sweet story. I thought i could repair our back gate and even bought a piece of wood. Further examination revealed i was in La La Land….i am/never was capable.
So i rather liked the gates of a neighbour a few houses away on a busy road. From time to time i spoke to Pippa, but never met her husband Ken. So i went over and enquired about the gates. Ken had tried to do a repair to softwood gates………it was awful. They still recommended the local firm. We visited and ordered, very impressed with the quality.
When this firm measured up, they visited Ken and Pippa…….they had asked for a repair quote. They looked up their records, 8 years ago they had recommended the wood.
They will replace the gates free of charge. My guess would be a £5000 plus at least. Sadly Ken died recently after a major operation. Pippa takes solace in knowing Ken, had that worry removed🙏🏼
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Sticking to the subject of wood gates, some nearby ones have planking installed within a metal frame – from a distance probably T&G (like floorboards), the wood looking of good quality (semi-hardwood?). Not a cheap job to the eye. Unfortunately, they’ve all started going black, as water has seeped behind whatever varnish was used, especially at the bottoms and tops – I suspect the end cuts weren’t treated/sealed, and having a metal frame will invariably hold water at the base. It makes me question whether it’s simply softwood, varnished to make it look far darker, akin to a hardwood look?
I’ve found buying any timber nowadays very challenging, as it’s often delivered very wet, even the treated garden stuff, which you know is going to produce issues as it dries and starts to banana, split etc.
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