We have Bench Top

Just as I was thinking I'd never see it again, a concerted push by coalition forces resulted in a pincer movement (also moved were hammers, screwdrivers, chisels etc) followed by a sweep-up operation (followed by a vacuum operation for the last little bit) and Houston, we have Bench Top! Huzzah!


There's floor too. More floor than I remember, which was a nice surprise. Disappointingly the "new bit" is already filling up like everywhere else. i.e. any flat surface is in fact a shelf. I'd like to claim credit for thinking ahead so there was somewhere to clamp the grinder like that, but pure serendipity. To paraphrase C.S.Forester - the lucky woodworker is the one who knows how much to leave to chance. That's also the woodworker with the large scraps pile... The Maxi just needs a slight tweak in position to take advantage of that same area in case of longer boards through the planer/thicknesser and a few knobs need to be turned for the new cupboard and drawers but essentially it's done. Just don't look in the drawers. Everything is just shoved in any old where at the mo', but at least I can now use the space again. Just not the tools - unless I get lucky and find them...


Also took the opportunity to haul the wooden moulders et al from the toolchest - ever since I banished them I've found I've wanted to either refer to them or fiddle with them or even, ye gods, use one. There's sort of an order to them, but as much along the lines of "needs cleaning" as "side beads together". F'rinstance the sash fillister I acquired last weekend is showing serious need of help in it's undernourished grey hue on the bottom shelf, and the ones top right are in more serious condition than some others. Missing boxing, oozed hardened oil etc. I suppose about half a dozen of them I've actually cleaned up and are ready to go - shameful indeed. It's good to have them all together and visible though - can see what I'm missing... Er, no, what I mean is I can see and weed out the duplicates and also find out I have one or two rather good profiles in there to use. Cool.


Meanwhile, back in the real world I'm busy debating with myself. Is it more disrupting moving a website (and waiting for a sensible non-sales-speak response to a question) or finding out your mains water supply is in imminent danger of disintegration? On the whole I think the latter.

Yes, the 'puters are once more swathed in dust sheets just like old times, and we await Vic and his new mate on Friday morning. (Ben's started up on his own - a little premature IMO, given he was still drilling through pipes in May, but heigh ho) A whole new piece of pipe has to be put twixt the stop cock in here and the water meter out in't road. The current pipe is a shambles. There's some iron pipe of one diameter for a bit and then there's some copper pipe that's much smaller before it joins up with the bigger iron pipe at the stop cock. And where the small pipe goes into the larger there's a wee leak.... And that's caused my favourite oxide effect to eat the pipe. Viz: rust. So Vic thinks, yes, it might be a good idea to turn off the water overnight, just in case. Every night. Until Friday. Meanwhile half the front garden looks like it's been the site of a sett-digging competition by really industrious badgers, there's a "bit of stuff" over the hole in the road and some more of the wall lining in here has to be cut away.

I love plumbing, don't you? It's almost as much fun as electricity.

Yes, we had to have Trevor the 'leccy over as well. Right next to the water pipe, twisted round it no less, is a bit of rather good quality copper cable. It doesn't appear to be going anywhere though and Trevor is perplexed. So in the best traditions of this house, we'll leave it in there just in case. It'll go with that live bit under the corridor upstairs that we don't know where it goes or what it does either...

Aaaargh, I wanna go home! And this IS home! Nurse, the screens...