Late Winter Bits and Bobs.

[tigerburnie]

They're not Mesum............Misum..........Mesumbri..........................Livingston Daisies are they..................................

[Clive.]

Bother the weather...it's been utterly hammering down here.

...at least it's milder.........

C.

[robo]

I’ve had my new knee installed,not the nicest of experiences they insisted I was conscious right through as I had a heart attack around 7 years ago ,I was assured I would not see any thing as I had a curtain across my stomach from one side to the other I couldn’t even peep round it I was told they may give me a slight anaesthetic but they decided against this because of my past heart problem I could hear everything and my body was shacking in time to the hammer blows they rained on me I shouted to the surgeon his chisels need sharpening then it changed to the noise of a pin hammer rapidly tapping something metal then it all stopped the surgeon popped his head round the curtain and said it won’t be long now just stitching you up ,a few minutes later I was in recovery I was still frozen from the waste down ,I asked the nurse what all the banging and hammering was she said it’s more like a carpentry course than theatre they do have hammers and chisels once a joiner the sounds of your tool’s being worked never leaves you

[Primrose]

Very glad for you Robo that the worst part of your ordeal is over now.
Sounds as if it felt quite a trauma.
Take your recovery gentle and steady. Just a little physio exercise every day rewarded by a well earned cuppa and coming on here to report on progress.

Hope too many carpenters won't be leaving their jobs just yet though to take-up orthopaedic surgeon roles in the NHS !

[oldherbaceous]

Good job out of the way, Robo, may I wish you the speediest of recoveries….but as Primrose said, easy does it to start with.

[tigerburnie]

Get well soon Robo, my turn next.............(to take things out rather than being made into Robo...............Cop)

[Geoff]

Today's treat walking the dog was that the Skylarks are back singing and displaying. Only a few Lapwings so far but lots of Curlews. Got me thinking, anybody remember the monthly nature programme on the Home Service called "The Countryside in March" (for example), I think it was Sunday lunchtime and started with the call of the Curlew.

[Primrose]

Don,t specifically remember that one Geoff but have listened to and watched many nature/gardening programmes over the years and many of the earlier ones had a delightful simplicity of their own.

I sometimes think the producers try to be too clever these days in their presentations...... and don,t get me going on all that dreadfully intrusive background music ! They don,t even have the imagination to replace it with bird song, even if they throw in the odd Robin perched on a fork handle in Gardeners World.
(Think I,m just becoming a Grumpy Old Git!)

[Primrose]

They're not Mesum............Misum..........Mesumbri..........................Livingston Daisies are they..................................

Mesambrianthums ? So annoying when you can,t remember the name of something. For some reason I can never remember winter Aconites. I had to sit down and write their name down on a piece of paper a dozen times recently to try and implant them back into my brain !

[Clive.]

Skylarks up above the back field here too and just seen a peacock butterfly out and about.
Gorgeous sunny day and my old Rover mower started first pull after its Winter lay off. A mower that was constructed in Australia, sold new in Scotland, sold off from local authority use via a dealer in Wales before finding a new home in the East of England.

C.

[oldherbaceous]

Do you use fuel stabilizer, Clive…..keep hearing about so many problems with the petrol these days, but it does seem to be more related to newer machines….any thoughts from your never ending wisdom pot…

What a well traveled mower….found a good home in the end!

[oldherbaceous]

Is it a Regal 18, Clive?

[Clive.]

Maybe luck was on my side today.?

The mower has a B&S engine without a tap so hadn't had the fuel run out of the carb last year. The can of E10 fuel has been in store since last year too. I did give it more than the 3 pump on its primer, but anyway off it went and the front garden moss feature is now all trimmed.
It is a earlier relative of the Regal, same cast chassis, ES/XL if I recall correct.
It had done very little with the Lanarkshire Council and when I got it ex ebay it had a terrible terminal sounding knock..... However luck was on my side again as what had happened was that a previous user had removed the blade disc and must have lost the 1/4" bolts instead had lodged in 3 x 6mm bolts instead. It was all held by the central 3/8" bolt...they must have heard it knock on starting and put it to one side pending disposal as potentially 'krackered'.
Threads were all ok, proper bolts in and all ok, quite a few years ago now.


C.

[oldherbaceous]

I love the sound of, (the front garden moss feature), you do make me smile…

Sounds like you got lucky with the mower only needing a couple of bolts….if you are patient, there are some real bargains to be had.

[tigerburnie]

"The Repair Shop" has been alive and well in garden and allotment sheds for years...................................