The man from the Clapham Omnibus

I obviously have too much time on my hands now I am back in the UK and have decided as a mental challenge to make a list of what in my view are the top ten iconic firearms . I am very happy to get input from others before I finalise the list . e-mail to jonhinch@msn.com The criterion I am using is that the firearm must be easily recognised , must arouse passion and have a place in history . It must be a gun than any " gun nut " should be able to name instantly . Here is my top ten . Information links on clicking Here is my next ten all worthy of consideration . I would be glad of input as in reality this is a matter of opinion .

Here all the preparation of the wall plates made sense . The first thing Darrell did was to lay out the floor plan on the floor . With a chalk line we snapped out the inward edge of the floor plate 5 1/2 inches in from the corners . All the other outer walls were similarly marked out by measuring from this datum . These were checked for square by the 3,4,5 Pythagoras method of determining a right angled triangle . Next the internal walls were marked on the floor , again by measurement and by consulting the plans . Then the sole and lower top plates were made and laid out in position with great care to ensure dimensional accuracy . each pair pinned together . With reference to the plans the windows and doors and their corresponding studs were marked out on both plates . Next came the joins between walls . Finally the basic studs at 16 " centers . Full length studs ( purchases as 92 3/8 to make 8' ceilings inc the three plates minus the ceiling thickness ) were marked with a ...

I wanted to get the sewer connected so I could fit a toilet in the basement and take the portaloo off hire . I had already had the pipes under the floor tested now I had to get the short length from the cleanout outside the house to the town sewer finished and tested . I had dug up the trench from the cleanout to the sewer earlier but due to all the rain it was flooded . I got Seth to dig a short trench to let the water go so it could be finished . Unfortunately he dug it beyond the property line into the town storm ditch . Somebody from the town drove by and saw water running into the ditch and was not pleased . Within half an hour the clerk of works and the building inspector showed up . The acted as if a huge mudslide was running into their ditch and demanded it be stopped immediately . Seth was a bit bolchey which did not help but I talked to them and asked how to proceed with the sewer connection and they went away after asking for the silt fence to be repaired and the pile of dir...

With great relief the weather finally gave up on trying to wash away the Island and tried to bake it to death instead . I built all the internal stud-work to account for irregularities in the concrete floor with the use of a tight string line off the wall plates cutting each piece individually . These were placed on chalk lines meticulously measured on the floor and the wall plates . they were connected together with a second top plate overlapping the joints by at least two feet where possible . Next the position of all the beams were marked on both wall plates by measurement ai 16" centres to give 3 pieces in every 4' as the flooring comes in 8' sheets . Underneath where the upper walls were to be either one or two glu e micro laminate beams were fitted to give them support . The TJI beams , which are a sort of engineered I beam with laminate on top and bottom and a web of osb between , were put in position 1 1/2 " in from the wall plate to make room for the ...

With Darrell's considerable help I e-mailed various businesses both the pdf of my building plans and my " take off " of the materials required . Whilst waiting for replies I worked on getting the services connected and the garage floor concreted . I had three lorry loads of " pit run " delivered by Ed's construction , the local quarry firm . I was away in Oak Harbor when they delivered the first load right in the mouth of the garage . Pity as i needed it at the back . I needed the 30 yards spread out as well as trenches dug so I needed a machine and hopefully an operator too . Russ Bailey the local excavator driver was busy and JT Madson from "south Island " was working in North Dakota ! I therefore Hired a small excavator from Double R Rentals in Oak Harbor and set to work . I have to admit I really struggled to move the material and even after getting a bigger bucket delivered I decided to leave the now smaller pile and concentrate on doing th...

Hi, Here I am again building my new home in beautiful "historic" Coupeville in the American Pacific Northwest . I must be mad putting myself through this at almost ( this month) half a century old . Still I must say that I am happiest when I set myself goals and achieve them . The harder the better and thus the happier . No gain without pain ! I transited via a three day stopover in Boston and got off the Seatac Shuttle in Coupeville at after 1 am local time . My body clock was still mid Atlantic so rather than disturb my friends Darrell and Cindy I trundled my bags to my Chevy van , chucked out some tools , made the bed up and crashed out . I woke remarkably refreshed and set about sorting the van out . The battery was flat after six months rest but unfortunately so was my emergency starter . I put the starter on trickle charge and was hailed by my neighbour to the right - ( in more ways than one ) Bob . After a brief chat he swiftly came up with a battery charger which I sw...

I have decided to repost this because it really makes me mad that so called health and safety rules are costing not just jobs by making us uncompetitive but lives by giving the man on the spot no authority to make his own decisions where time is of the essence . The regulations also cause the very things they are trying to prevent by making things so costly that people try to do things themselves or call in cheap unreliable cowboys as they cannot afford the " professionals . This is from the daily mail . . 'They just all seemed to be standing around,' said witness More than a dozen emergency workers refused to pull a man from a waist-deep boating lake because of ‘health and safety’ fears. For half-an-hour charity shop worker Simon Burgess, 41, was left face down in the shallow water as they waited for a specialist rescue crew. Mr Burgess, who had gone to the lake to feed the swans, was pronounced dead at the scene but friends claim that if rescuers had waded straight ...

I went with my son Adam to say farewell to the Ark Royal (link here) . Possibly the most famous ship in the most famous navy in the world . Withdrawn from service by a " conservative " government three years early to save money . Funny that - they increased foreign aid by billions at the same time ! They should have given that money to the navy and tasked them to aid foreigners from the platform of an aircraft carrier . The queue was hours long reflecting the popularity of our navy with the tax paying public if not the politicians . We took a harbour tour and therefore got pictures from the outside only ! (link here ) A sad day indeed ! More Pictures here !

Canadian Air Transport Security Authority have agreed that their operatives were wrong to confiscate my perfumes . ( Original story Power Corrupts here ) Apparently they did not follow the procedures that they should have and therefore I have been compensated for my loss . Here is their final letter on the subject which is now closed . It took a letter and an hour on the phone but I do feel that they did their best to deal with the situation .