Author Archives: Don

More sunshine today so we did make sumthin of it —

Loki our flat coat retriever has web feet so he made the most of his chance —

to splash in the foam.

Ably supervised by Boss Lady back from her trip —

Down Souff —

 

Sunglasses are de rigueur on the few occasions that the sun favours us with it’s rays at this time of the year as it seldom climbs much above the skyline.

No worries – the reflection from the old Pan today is more than a match for it —

It was a great feeling just to be out there with her. Because of her weight and tight seat to peg configuration she is seldom first choice to come out of the shed but the old knees stood up well on today’s short ride.

While it looks as if the big rib has been hauled out and prepared for a winter on the trailer the Pan might be coming into it’s own. No point putting the new X-ADV 750 out on salt covered roads when the bold Pan can take them in it’s stride.

She has been up for sale for quite some time now without getting much interest so why not put her back to work.

No doubt the problem in that regard is more with myself than with the bike. The ‘givitsum look’ to prospective buyers/tyre-kickers probably says it all – ‘What do you mean you want to buy my bike for peanuts – can’t you see it’s one of the best on the road!’

Here she is in black n white —

Showing a few scars from a slight mishap when she tumbled over by the petrol pumps t’other day.

The paint on the plastics is no thickness at all but the stainless steel protection over the can did it’s job and the exhaust emerged unscathed.

Which is more than I can say for the barkbuster type handguards that the bold scoot came with – supposedly borrowed from the Africa Twin. They shattered on hitting the hard pave’ when the thing toppled over. The ones I have put in their place have been on my various off-road bikes over the past thirty years and have been well tested along the way..

As for the fore n aft pics – I’ve had them right-way-up countless times but she is determined to go for the horizontal pose in the end. Probably as easy to explain as having filled the tank and paid for my fuel I emerged from the shop to find Betsy laid horizontal in real life – I hope she isn’t going to make a habit of it.

 

Just a few of our visitors today.

First we had a gorgeous doe —

and her mate wasn’t far behind —

Then we had a couple of donkeys inspecting a tangle of fence wire —

The grey reminds me of ‘Patch’ – who made a habit of dragging my ten years old son through the thorn bushes when we lived near Gusau while on a road-building contract in North-West State- Nigeria.

The black donkey remains aloof –

as he studies the road out —

before the sun goes down —

With another dry spell coming to an end Loki and I took a turn round by Toberonochy moorings for a look-see. Nothing new apart from a stack of lobster or perhaps langoistine kreels judging by their lighter weight than usual.

We have seen the old wooden hull on the far shore so often but it was only when we walked round the black gravel beach that we realised the hulk had a name.

Crystal Waters —

Running not very deep on this occasion —

Well – you have been warned —

The for’ard winches haven’t seen oil or grease for many years —

and to venture below decks isn’t for the faint-hearted

and this is as close as I’m gonna get unless I’m going ‘down the hatch’ —

Clear Waters right enough – but hardly enough to float her.

It’s not for the first time I’ve said in these posts – ‘if only boats could talk’ for I’m sure they would have many an interesting tale to tell. I believe this one earned it’s corn on the North Sea before being stripped of her gear and towed round the north of Scotland where she has been put into retirement.

Or – like Loki is she just patiently waiting? I for one have a kernel of an idea involving the old hull that I would love to see turned into a mighty oak and be of use to us all. Such a shame that I have been telling myself for the past twelve or thirteen years that I am retired now —

What do you think Loki?

OK Loki – that look say’s it all – I promise I will stay retired.

It’s leaning towards the end of October – time to wind the clocks back so let’s wind ’em all the way back to 2005 when I lived in my ancient converted bakery/millhouse on the Welsh border.

As ever with these old cottages ‘improvements’ never stop and any man worth his salt in the DIY biznez would have a pickup truck and a chainsaw.

There’s not much room in that little house once you allow for the walls being a metre thick but having built up that door and installed patio doors in place of the window I managed to squeeze my new logburner into the corner where the door had been. Got that?

I certainly did and earned myself a short stay in hospital when my ambition was to prove more than my body could take. Sandstone blocks are heavy things and it didn’t help that when I broke the wall out under the window I found a sandstone lined culvert which had been the outfall for the watercourse used to drive the original millwheel.

Surprise – surprise! Dry now – it had run all the way under the house from front to back till it would merge with the stream at the bottom of the garden which eventually joined the River Severn a couple of miles or so downstream..

No worries – bodies repair themselves and with the hard work done it was off over the border into Wales to where the ash trees were going cheap – if you cut and hauled them home by yersel.

That was when my L200 came into it’s own.

She was a proper workhorse —

She carted everything from bikes to building materials and logs to name but a few.

and no – I didn’t cut my leg off – at least not on that occasion. The 17 stitches I have in my right thigh muscle are from a mishap while building a coffee table for my first house down in Nottingham in the late sixties.

Decking laid —

tool shed and logshed built —

The tough L200 earned it’s place in my heart —

as I became proficient with the chainsaw and the logpile grew.

Even Midge was impressed no end —

especially when winter arrived.

Magic!