The man from the Clapham Omnibus

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 Withdrawn from service by a " conservative " government three years early to save money .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 .

Many years ago when I was growing up there was a movement to end legal racial discrimination in the USA . Martin Luther King, Jr.made one of the most famous speeches ever ! He said:- "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." There was a joke going around at the time that this would lead to an end of discrimination on grounds of race , sex and ABILITY ! People laughed and said no way . M.L.K. himself believed in discrimination based on " the content of their character " and rightly so ! He also said " A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan. " " I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live. " " Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance ...

I love this new ad from Yeo Valley (even if it does owe more than a little to a previous Canadian milk campaign ). I've included the lyrics below so you can sing along! LYRICS The sun is up, the milk is chilled, it's going to be a good one. Yo, yo. Yo, I'm rollin' in my Massey on a summer's day, chugging cold milk while I'm baling hay. Yeo Valley's approach is common sense, harmony in nature takes precedence. My ride's my pride that's why you never see it dirty, and I love it here man, that's why I'm never leavin' early. I'm looking good in my cap and my shirt, I'm representing for the West so hard it hurts. Yeah. We make this look easy 'cause we're proper modern with this farmin', believe me. Wind turbines are shining, baby, it's solar farming no buts no maybes. Here we're down with the soil association and we do lots of what? Conservation! Sustain, maintain, it ain't no thing, We set ...

Building in Coupeville 4 - Ask everybody then verify ! . Sunrise over Penn Cove The next stage was to make sure that the basement would be dry . I decided on a belt and braces approach . First measure was to coat the walls with " asphalt emulsion " I chose asphalt as it can be applied to whet concrete . I initially broke off all the external protruding spring clips The I hammered off all the washers - as these are potential points of failure removed all loose concrete paying special attention to the footing brushed away all dust and debris especially again from the "dry joint" between the footing and the wall applied an initial coat by roller and brush where necessary into holes and crevices where the walls would e below ground level Second coated the wall being careful to ensure no gaps again being especially generous to the top of the footing and also where the spring clip shafts went through the walls Second task was to install insulation externally - I economi...

Just after the Labour Day weekend holiday Eric's team began setting up the forms that would hold the concrete in place around the reinforcing rods . Firstly Kurt examined the plans to determine where the driveway would end up . Now that the basement footings were in place he first calculated how high the ground floor surface would be . Then he took off 21 inches for the final height of the garage screed . This would give three steps down from the kitchen to the garage . From this he knew the height of the driveway at the garage . He then set up a string line from here heading to the driveway stub . This was to be the ground height across the building and determined where the basement concrete walls could step down . By code here the walls must either be full height so they are supported by the floor joists or can be a maximum of five feet to support a maximum of four feet of soil . Any more soil and the wall could bow out where the concrete attaches to the wooden section . The n...

After talking to everyone who would listen I got the details of three likely foundation guys . I contacted them and handed out plans . Eric Walters was recommended by JT Madson and his brother Mike . B and B construction and Chris Marty were also highly spoken of by local builders . I met with Eric at the weekend in Langley and got a price per Yard and a yardage estimate next day . It seemed reasonable and he could also start immediately. I then got a cheaper ( by $60 per yard ) one next day from B and B and was minded to accept it . I called them for clarification and a start date . I was disappointed but not surprised that they were quite busy - they also we going to charge me for more extras than Eric . They were avid hunters and the short hunting season was almost upon us and the elk in Idaho were calling . I had to go back to Eric and accept his quote . I am not one to play one contractor against another . Eric and his team turned up as he said a day later and set to work at onc...