Author: peterb51

24th October 2023

Nicola and Colin were due up to do more work on the garden, but on the way they had a puncture. Apparently a rock, that Nicola saw first, jumped into the way of Colin who couldn’t avoid it.

Ryan had acquired a ladder that enabled me to finish the row of feather boards that I couldn’t reach. In half an hour that was done, and I had a few strip left, so I started on another area that needed attention.

Once the dynamic duo arrived they got straight into action sorting out the patio.

I had a lunch planned with Helen and Martyn from Herman Miller, it was great seeing them again, and to catch up with any gossip that I had missed.

I didn’t realise how much the area had changed, there is now a Dick Lovett car showroom right in front of the factory.

Like we need more cars on the road, talking of which, Trowbridge was gridlocked as I tried to make my way to the tip with six bags of green stuff festering away in the back. I had planned on doing that on my route to Melksham, but as the time was slipping by, I changed plan and drove a different way hoping to miss the traffic.

There was a conspiracy afoot, slow drivers, tractors and heavy goods vehicles took it upon themselves to hold me up.

That is when I made the comparison between the US and UK. In the states everything is spread apart, so driving takes a while, but in the UK places are closer together, but with all traffic congestion it takes the same bloody time.

I manage to dispose of the garden waste at the tip, and once home I wanted to burn the four years of post that had accumulated.

I walked down to my incinerator with a box of matches in my hand.

Inside was a lot of dried twigs that, with some paper soon turned into a nice fire. I started to throw on my post, which started to burn well.

I had concerns that it was a bit close to the fence, as I tried to move it, the bottom half disintegrated. Fortunately the top half was okay so I carried on with the burn.

Typical, things never last, it was okay the last time I used it, so some else to take to the tip.

23rd October 2023

There is a common theme to my life at the moment, it’s back and forth to the tip. This time dumping old cladding from the shed.

I was also working on the inside of the shed, throwing away things I had been hoarding for years.

I also uncovered an old Rubner desk (remember that?) It was hidden away under sheets of hardboard. The top was in perfect condition seeing it must have been in there for twenty years. I had bought plastic crates to store other things I hadn’t had time to deal with, they have now been stacked in an organised manner, and you can now see the floor.

There is definitely a therapeutic effect of deep cleaning, I even enjoyed cleaning the wire shelves on the oven, scraping away the burnt-in dirt with a blade. I do enjoy a clean Oven.

The cold I caught is still hanging on dispite my regular Lemsips that I take, but it’s not enough to hamper my tasks, death might slow me down a little.

22nd October 2023

I move into the final week of my trip, now I have to sort all my crap and box stuff for storage. Clearing out the shed was the main objective, it was full of wood that I had accumulated, but now it was surplus to requirements.

Other jobs that needed attention was the oven.

Considering that guest only stay a short time I was surprised how dirty it was.

I had bought some cleaner so powerful it was on the world’s most dangerous chemicals list.

Reading the instructions, and unravelled the protective clothing I started on the task.

I had to scrape the back of the glass door with a blade, it was laborious, but effective.

I made a trip to the tip to dump the timber.

Climbing the steps to the skip was exhausting, I must have done it ten times, each one got harder.

There was a feeling of liberation, the start of the great shed clear out had begun.

21st October 2023

I had to return to B&Q because the lock plug I got yesterday was wrong. I should have know, but I was more concerned with the length of the piece rather that its function.

It was an easy job, but the encapsulated packaging meant I had to attack it with a Stanley knife. I made two savage cuts, and only then did I realised it was the wrong one.

I was concerned that the cuts would make it difficult to exchange, but I needn’t have worried, the young girl at the checkout refunded the money immediately.

I then walked back to the isle where I was yesterday to look for the correct product.

But I was out of luck, there were others that were smaller, but not the size I needed.

On the way back I stopped off at Wickes to buy more feather board for the shed.

The weather was kind to me, I had one area I wanted to complete on this trip. This would allow me to mount the new post box.

I managed to get quite a bit done before the drizzle started.

I was getting near the limits of safety using my step ladder, and with only four pieces left to do, I stopped, I wasn’t going to risk serious injury.

Besides, I was due to have dinner with Ryan, Louise and my grandson Marlo. He came back from University in Falmouth just to see me.

What a transformation he has gone through in four years, from a geeky child to a handsome young man. It made my heart good to see him looking so grown up.

After dinner we all drove to Holt at the invitation of Amilie to view her new home.

The time I’ve been away, both grandchildren have left the nest, starting on the new road to independence, it made me feel older than I am, but there was a feeling of pride.

more concerned with the length of the piece rather that its function.

It was an easy job, but the encapsulated packaging meant I had to attack it with a Stanley knife. I made two savage cuts, and only then did I realised it was the wrong one.

I was concerned that the cuts would make it difficult to exchange, but I needn’t have worried, the young girl at the checkout refunded the money immediately.

I then walked back to the isle where I was yesterday to look for the correct product.

But I was out of luck, there were others that were smaller, but not the size I needed.

On the way back I stopped off at Wickes to buy more feather board for the shed.

The weather was kind to me, I had one area I wanted to complete on this trip. This would allow me to mount the new post box.

I managed to get quite a bit done before the drizzle started.

I was getting near the limits of safety using my step ladder, and with only four pieces left to do, I stopped, I wasn’t going to risk serious injury.

Besides, I was due to have dinner with Ryan, Louise and my grandson Marlo. He came back from University in Falmouth just to see me.

What a transformation he has gone through in four years, from a geeky child to a handsome young man. It made my heart good to see him looking so grown up.

After dinner we all drove to Holt at the invitation of Amilie to view her new home.

The time I’ve been away, both grandchildren have left the nest, starting on the new road to independence, it made me feel older than I am, but there was a feeling of pride.

20th October 2023

It was going to be a dry day, well after the rain had stopped.

I had to drive to Trowbridge to buy some storage boxes and get more materials to finish the front of the shed.

This was my goal for the day, finish the front cladding and I had six hours before it started raining again.

I thought that I would be done in a couple of hours, but the gable end proved difficult and I needed everyone of those hours to finish.

My throat hadn’t been so rough during the day, but with the onslaught of the evening is came back.

Alan the computer man called to say my computer was ready to collect, so now I had to go back into the wilds to get it back.

I had great fun remapping my iTunes to an external drive where the twelve and a half thousand track reside, I expect it will be running all night.

19th October 2023

Gosh the time is slipping away, it was another grotty day, but my friend Dave came to visit.

I was in the middle of coating the doors with a fire retardant coating, so I had to set that aside.

Dave talks non stop, it’s often hard to get a word in edge way.

I managed to get my doors finished, and Alan called to say that the problem was a dodgy hard drive.

During the day my throat was getting more and more rough, I felt that I was getting a cold.

I’ve not had a cold in four years, and I come to England and get one, how lucky is that?

18th October 2023

What a contrast, nowhere to go, the weather was bad, curtailing any outdoor work that I wanted to do.

What I managed to complete before the rain came down was clear the flat roof of a lot of overgrowing ivy. I was able to climb out of the back bedroom window with my large green bags cutting back and filling it with the green stuff, it took two bags adding to the stack out the front ready to go to the tip.

I made a call to my electrician explaining about the extraction fan that doesn’t work in the bathroom. He explained that he was maternity leave looking after baby number five. He was obviously not that busy, but he would order the part and fit it when he was back at work after I had left to return to the US. Louise would have to oversee the installation.

I had a problem with my PowerMac, which was a drag, as I wanted to check my external hard drives to decide which one I would take back with me. I managed to find someone, but finding his workshop was difficult, it was out in the wilds of wiltshire.

I drove into what looked like a building site, but I was met by Alan, who was going to fix my machine.

17th October 2023

It is exhausting being social. I had a full day marked out for meeting up with friends, starting out with a early train journey into Bath.

I hadn’t been on a train for over six years, and I was excited to ride one. I had been awake early, not because of the imminent journey, probably because of the amount of coffee I had drunk.

I took a shower to try to kick some life in me, and then chose clothing that Kelli had carefully selected for me. This was documented in a picture that he had taken so I wouldn’t forget

I scramble down a glass of orange juice and set off for the station. As usual I didn’t want to leave it too late, so I went to the other extreme and got there early, so I paced up and down the platform like a hungry lion willing the train to appear through the tunnel.

When it did, I couldn’t wait to get started.

Things looked greener than I remember, maybe other people’s garden were overgrown,

It was a shorter trip than I remembered, but walking out of Bath Spa Station was a special moment.

My first stop was to see my old hair stylist. He instantly recognised me, which meant I hadn’t changed much or his memory was good.

I booked an appointment for next week where I’m sure we will have plenty to talk about.

I walked up through the middle of town noting all the new business and empty shops. I was surprised at the number of new coffee shops and restaurants, you would never go hungry and thirsty in Bath.

Reaching the Boston tea party by the Assembly Rooms, I ordered a breakfast and coffee then waited for Steve Mower. He is my oldest friend having met at infant school in Upper Swainswick when the world was young.

He turned up twenty minutes late and apologised profusely, I replied that waiting to see him again for four years, a few extra minutes didn’t matter.

The told me the reason for his lateness was due to problems he was having with his father in law who is suffering from dementia. He explained how it was taking over both him and his wife’s lives.

This a reminder to me that everyone faces different challenges in every stage of life. Caring for others, especially when they start on a different journey is not easy. I felt sorry for him, but he still had a great sense of humour, and we ending finding something to laugh about.

My next point of call was Mallorys to get my watch strap shortened. I didn’t think the strap had stretched, rather my wrist had shrunk.

Getting into the shop was interesting, security was extremely tight, a guy outside who controlled the outer door leading to an air lock. Someone on the inside let me in, and inquired what I wanted. Now Mallorys is not a place where you say “I’m just looking” especially when you have the entry procedure, I can only hope there isn’t a strict bodily inspection on the way out.

I was led through a labyrinth of rooms and invited to sit to await an “expert” on my watch.

I young chap appeared sharply dressed and very well spoken. He checked the strap, deciding to remove a section and a half, and disappeared into another room leaving me alone amongst some of the most expensive timepieces on the planet.

I tried to remain cool, just in case I was being observed on CCTV, I wanted to give the impression that this was an everyday occurrence for me, not sure if I was convincing.

Finally he appeared holding my watch in a black gloved hand, slipping it over my wrist, it fitted perfectly. When I asked the cost, he said no charge, he enjoyed working on the watch it was his favourite make. Now I wasn’t going to argue, I still had the thought of getting out again, although I needn’t have worried, I managed to press the correct buttons and I was in fresh air again.

I made my way to meet my next friend, Rob.

We went to an Indian restaurant overlooking the abbey. We chose a Dosa Masala, our favourite lunch, it’s never large enough, I always want more.

Then it was a walk back to the Boston Tea Party to meet the rest of the gang from the art school. It was a surprise to see Paul Colley and his wife who were in the UK on holiday from Melbourne Australia. I hadn’t seen him since we left school. He had a very distinct nose, which was why I recognised him.

After Tom, Rob and Paul all exchanged stories about heart attacks and other ailments, I felt a little left out.

Then Carol turned up unexpectedly, she was the wild child of the class, I alway felt intimidated by her, well by most of the girls in the class, but now we were friends. Her free sprit is still there, she will think nothing of flying off to some distant place, and stay there for months. She is alway full of storied of her travels.

We stayed talking until the place closed, although we continued out in the street.

When we said our farewells I gave Paul a hug knowing we would never see each other again, this was our swan song, and we knew it.

I went back to Rob’s place to look at a project I agreed to help him with, but on the next trip.

He then dropped me back at the Mint Room for the final part of the day.

Already sitting at the table were Phillip and Bob. I had been waiting a long time to meet up, and it was great to see them again. The food was superb as usual, but I couldn’t finish it all, the day of naughty foods had filled me up.

There is never enough time to cover everything, and I was on a time crunch to get back to the station.

I didn’t know how long it would take to get there. I was taking unusually long strides, so I got to the platform in record time, too early in fact. I now had to walk up and down for about fifteen minutes.

Once on the train we sped through the darkness until the lights of Bradford on Avon came into view.

A walk up the hill and I was back home.

16th October 2023

I had finished the front of the shed, yet more potential death defining activity was still to do, and a different part of the path to fall on.

My sister Nicola arrived early, there was dew on the ground as she ripped out the first weed.

I was on a mission, I had an old friend due to visit and I wanted to get to a curtain point of the job before I could leave it.

Whilst I was doing the construction work Kelli was busy keeping the Bristol Cottage business going. She was doing sound work on dressers, these were challenging because she had to get them in and out of the truck by herself, and do all the work needed to bring it up to the standard

to be able to sell it, bravo!

15th October 2023

I have started talking to myself. It’s not a sign of madness, I sometimes need to let off steam.

I have been pushing myself recladding the shed. I had made great progress yesterday, and I had the magic ten percent left to do.

The area I had left to do was at the top, the most difficult. I had to use the step ladder to get on top of the wall then lift the step ladder on to the wall trying to find level ground. Then I had to climb up to fix more cladding. It felt like scaling Everest with a tooth brush, any health and safety officers would have a fit. That last ten percent took six hours, most of the time was spent shouting at the things I had left on the ground, if I had my Fitbit on it would have exploded.

There was joy in my heart as I fixed the last piece, climbing down for the final time felt amazing, my legs stopped shaking, I no longer thought about which part of the path I would hit.