Tale of a Cupboard Door

For a combination of good reasons it became necessary to locate the electricity consumer unit and the heat recovery ventilation manifolds and ducts in a fairly large floor-to-ceiling cupboard in the lounge.  Not ideal and rather prominent.  Moreover it needed a 2 foot wide very tall door,  We did in fact locate one at Eastburn Pine but then I spotted a very tall two foot door in the pile of old doors at Settle Station.  It was in a sad state and had been one of a pair of external doors facing the platform on the down side waiting room,  I rescued it from becoming biomass pellets and set about stripping it.

The very bottom panel of the door was rotting and fell off.  It had had a vent hole crudely cut into it, covered by a grille.

After lots of attention I decided that it was fit to bring inside and to test it on the cupboard.  Fits perfectly too.  A replacement bottom piece is being made and the 'WAITING ROOM' sign that had been on the middle cross piece still was also preserved so may find its way back to its parent door to adorn the smallest waiting room anywhere.  With appropriate architraves and some Farrow and Ball it will be right.  Trust me.  Another bit of history preserved.  It is likely that the door dates from the construction of the station in 1876.  The central panels are of solid wood, not ply.

But enough of doors.  Here is grandson Ben with new family member Darcey who moves in after a week or two.  Aaah.

Weather has Broken

The heatwave well and truly broke yesterday afternoon (Friday) with thunderstorms as befit an English summer.  According to the Met office there were two main areas of thunderstorms in the whole of Yorkshire - around Settle and Harrogate.  That said, all I heard were distant rumbles from every direction.  Sufficient though to persuade me to stop working on metal cladding for a while.  It's all very well being inside a Faraday cage but best not outside.  The next seven days don't look to bright either.   This is from the Settle weather station on our roof:

This was Settle Market Place with hail and no motorbikes - picture by Tom Lord

The ice cream van is an exercise in optimism.

On a brighter note this is Semerwater, looking towards the 'three' peaks

aaa

Haircuts and Strawberries

Most people have suffered from not being able to visit the hairdressers or barbers for some months now because of the COVID lock-down.   This is creating some unusual sights.  A male neighbour who cycles past the tower at least daily and who is normally of very smart appearance now has shoulder length hair and looks quite hippyish.  Pat had a go at trimming my hair and I was impressed.  She meanwhile had let hers grow and she now sports a ponytail.

Not just the hair problem either.  Our garden has been growing well and we have missed our gardener Chrissy.  Turns out Chrissy has had coronavirus and has only recently regained her strength sufficiently to resume gardening, part time.  She is being meticulous about remaining at a distance and we are paying her by bank transfer to keep ourselves safe.  Yesterday was very hot indeed and she could only do a couple of hours before she had to call it a day.  However, she made quite an impact as these pictures show.  Low growing ground-cover conifers had decided to invade the adjacent pathway.  Chrissy, Bless Her has given them a thoroughly neat and very expert haircut!:

Besides the haircut the adjacent ground cover is wild strawberries - decorative, functional and very sweet too!

We're Having a Heatwave

It has been almost too hot to work outside these last couple of days - especially with sheet metal cladding panels which heat up alarmingly in the sun.  Nonetheless, progress is being made and this morning I shall be fitting the very last of the first batch of panels - a bit tricky because of a drainage pipe that has to be allowed for.

We are then left with black spaces awaiting accurate measurement - today's #1 objective if the thunderstorms hold off.  Meanwhile a few random pictures which tell their own story really.  What has been astonishing recently are the occasional perfectly clear blue skies - almost never seen since the invention of the jet engine.

The former up-line head shunt buffers from Settle station which fell off the back of a Network Rail lorry in our direction now provide an interesting and sunny sitting area.

The difference in roof levels between Terminal 1 above and Terminal 2 below can be seen here.  The steps are also recycling in action - they were rescued from Settle signal box when its outside stairs were replaced some years ago.

The Mother of Invention

So busy have our outside staircase makers been, they are unable to erect the final flight of stairs - just to deliver it in parts.   "It's just a big Meccano set" says maker John Robb.   A very heavy Meccano set though.   First job was to assemble it at ground level.  Ideally, this involved building it in the same way as if it is in place - at an exact slope therefore.  Then to crane it up in one piece.

Inspiration came in the form of our main entrance stairway - massively strong and sloping and 40mm wider than the new one so everything fits comfortably.  A bit confusing but here are the top and bottom steps of the shiny new staircase nestling on the slightly wider existing stairs:

And this is the view from above.  Note that the top landing is deliberately out of parallel.   So too are the extension and the Wendy House.  The white rectangle to the right is the lower landing - very heavy indeed.

The black framework at the top of the stairs was once a swinging garden seat.  The spring attachments on the frame were at an ideal height to attach a winch to get the heavy stringers into place at the correct angle.

Next job, now that we have the real thing as a template, is to lay accurate concrete foundations top and bottom and to make plans to get the thing lifted - probably in bits for re-assembly as Settle Coal's big crane is out of commission just now.

Meanwhile God's County in high summer is as beautiful as ever.

Virtual Steam Trains Daily

Photographer Mike Farrington has, throughout this wretched lockdown, been posting videos and stills of mainly steam trains on the S&C from years past.  So far he has not as far as I can tell repeated himself.

Today's video was special - Flying Scotsman hauling The Waverley to Carlisle and back on 9th July 2017.  The video captures Flying Scotsman coming south from when it comes into sight near Langcliffe until it disappears from view round the bend into Anley cutting.   This prompted me to look back on this Blog to 9th July 2017 and sure enough there is a fine portrait of Flying Scotsman passing through Settle station northbound at full power:

The picture is from that day's Blog entry where I went on to say that I had missed the return journey through Settle as I was watching the Austrian Grand Prix on TV.

That defect has been well and truly remedied by Mike Farrington's today video which not only shows Scotsman at full belt I was able to freeze the action at just the right moment when the World's most famous locomotive fleetingly frames the water tower!

Somewhere in there is a sad bloke watching the Austrian Grand Prix . . .

Some you win.

New Dining Area with Butterflies

Among the opportunities presented by the near completion of Terminal 2 is being able to get rid of a whole lot of accumulated stuff around the tower that 'may come in handy sometime'.   This in turn frees up some interesting outside spaces with immense potential as sitting-outside locations.   Somewhere in the tower precinct gets the sun during all times of the day.  Conversely there is shade too.

Latest place to be cleared is quite a considerable area beyond the north end of the buffers.  Still work in progress

The greenery between the seating and the station entrance is self seeded buddleia bushes - renowned for populating railway land.  When those bushes flower they come alive with butterflies.  Just wait and see.

Today's Dales-scape is Gunnerside:

Today's Tornado

Hot, muggy weather today and another tornado in the Dales, this time south west of Hawes near to the Ribblehead viaduct

A Dales scene that will have been the same at this time for hundreds of years.

And finally, Dry Rigg quarry near Helwith bridge.  The little yellow dots are monster earth movers

Dry Rigg have just applied to extend the area and depth of the quarry - very good news for the Settle-Carlisle railway as 68% of Dry Rigg's output goes by rail.

Onomatopoeia

Almost every one of the first batch of cladding panels has been fitted now and the whole lot begins to look even more airportish. 

Yesterday saw some spectacular weather round here but mainly hot sunshine.  A tornado touched down on Ingleborough Common though.

The north end of the new extension got three out of four of its parapet panels fixed in place.   Pat had a bright idea on nomenclature.  What do you call an 'extension to an extension' when you are trying to tell somebody where you plan to be for the next few minutes?   I'll be in the extension-to-the-extension has little onomatopoeic charm does it?

Solution which gives a nod to the architectural style of the extensions - Terminal 1 for the original extension and Terminal 2 for the new bit.  Collectively they become Settle International of course.  

No firm decisions on this yet but work in progress as they say.

The Stool Bus Returns

Way back in 2010 or '11 we had to pump out the tank of water and accumulated airborne debris before building work could progress.  That job was done most efficiently and cheerfully by Chris Armstrong and his pumping skills equipped on the prosaically named Stool Bus - more usually engaged in emptying more fundamental tanks.

For nearly ten years the rainwater that has fallen onto the tank and outbuildings has been harvested in a 1,000 gallon underground tank.  The water is used mainly for toilet flushing and over time the water had become discoloured - especially so recently with a tar based flat roof on the extension.  It was time for a thorough cleaning of the rainwater tank and today was the day.  Chris and his son William did the honours with The Stoolmaster and some seriously heavy duty power washing:

 The main tank was soon pumped dry (it was brimming full incidentally) and flushed so attention was paid to the pipework between the tower and the underground tank.  There we found the likely main cause of the discolouration in a sump at the base of the tower's main outlet which was absolutely full of black gunge - rotten leaves probably:

That is about two feet depth of gloop, through which every bit of harvested rainwater had to percolate, unsurprisingly discoloured!  this sump got the same treatment as the main tank but Chris decided to go back upstream further - into the massive cast iron pipe beneath the tower wall and up towards the main outlet valve.  The flushed water kept issuing forth as black as your hat before turning clean-ish.   To my knowledge this pipe had never been cleared, possibly ever.  Chris was sure he could feel something in the pipe.   Then there was a clatter and shards of pottery emerged plus some pieces of Mary-Rose-like black wood.  It soon became clear that the pottery were remnants of a broken telegraph insulator which must have been in the pipe for decades.

 These insulators are just about the size and profile of a hand-grenade.   Our supposition is that the open topped water tank was just too tempting a target for some railwayman of yesteryear.

Just need some rain now.

Settle(d) but Spectacularly Lenticular Weather

TV weatherman Paul Hudson has posted this amazing picture of lenticular clouds over Settle cricket ground yesterday:

We quite often get lenticular clouds in the Three Peaks area but yesterday's were exceptionally good.

Can't help wondering if mother nature is showing off now that aircraft are not spoiling her amazing cloud spectacles for a while.

The sunlit building is The Wickets, between Booths supermarket and Settle cricket ground.  The Wickets are (expensive and small) apartments for elderly and affluent cricket enthusiasts but they have had to erect giant nets to protect the windows from sixes.  The road to hell is paved with good intentions!

Expensive Sex in Settle

I wondered if that title would grab you.  Sorry to disappoint but you'll see.

Pat's new found liberation as a re-born car driver has meant that she no longer needs me to drive to the shops and the shopping list has enlarged somewhat to supplies beyond Booths supermarket.

COVID face-masks were on the latest list but market forces have meant they are hard to find and expensive.  But surely not in Settle where news travels fast.  Boots the Chemists had sold out of face -masks but across the Market Place is a remarkable shop - 'Practically Everything' which rarely fails to live up to its name.  Yes!!  They had face-masks:

At first glance a bargain at £1 for ten but no, look closer. 

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More of an investment than a 'Practically Everything' traditional purchase.   Still we needed them as part of our return from COVID lock-down.   Whilst recovering from the price shock I decided to get our moneys-worth and had a read of the instructions and that is where the expensive sex bit comes in.

Deforestation next Door

May be nothing to do with us but the wilderness behind Stationside Apartments next door has been tamed today and looks soo much better.  Well done Shirley and Robert at number 2.

The larger plants left standing are teasels.  Our reinstatement of the fence has been tidy but not greedy.   That cleared area is a sun-trap just waiting to be exploited.  So glad it has been recognised as such.

Here are a couple of Dales pretty pictures:

Blog Comments - an Apology

There is a new edition of Blogger from late June onwards but this Blog will remain in more or less its current format and content.  Whilst exploring the new facilities I discovered to my horror that I have been failing to 'moderate' a huge number of comments on Blog posts over the years.

I had wondered why almost nobody comments on Blog posts. 

The posts have been overwhelmingly encouraging, expressing thanks for the answer to some shared problem.  People must have thought me very rude for having apparently ignored comments they have taken the trouble to make - and not allowing their comments to appear!

I hang my head in shame.  Mea culpa.  Very, very, very sorry indeed.  I should have read the fine print.   I am the loser here too - I have been missing out on some lovely comments.

One category of comments is advertising - usually offering relevant products, services or options for the problem of the day.  These originate from all over the World so I imagine they are automated following automated searches for anything to do with 'roofing', 'rainwater harvesting' or whatever.  That's fine and sometimes would have been useful - had I seen them at the time.  Either that or there is Worldwide and understandable ignorance of where Settle actually is!

A recurring them in this category is comments about Kingspan Envireau rainwater harvesting systems.  I am not the only one in the World to have had seriously expensive problems, which is comforting but exposes shocking after-sales service from Kingspan Envireau.

Sooo, sorry again.  Do please comment.

To end, an apologetic but lovely picture of Rylstone Cross, on the skyline to the right of centre.  It's not exactly obvious so here is a close-up:

photo David Armitage

Gordon the Gondola in Action Again?

Some may remember that way back in ancient history I devised a steel gondola or cradle from which to paint the outside of the tank on top of the tower.  The job took about six months during which I worked with total confidence from the secure but precarious looking platform of Gordon the Gondola.

This is Gordon on duty providing lofty access to the final panel to be painted.   Ever since, Gordon has nestled quietly out of sight on the flat roof of the extension.

The cladding work is being done from parapets above and below, at ground level.  Those two locations are perfectly safe places from which to work effectively but the shape of the new extension means it has two outside walls with first floor level access.  The remainder can be got at from ground level at the rear and from the new outside stairs at the south end:

From below the extension the problem can be seen:

and from outside.  The two walls above the yellow tonne bags are the problem.

The answer may lie with Gordon again.   Today he has been repositioned onto the new roof and if all goes well we should be able to position faithful Gordon onto an L shaped scaffolding support from the ground below.  Plans are being hatched and calculations done.   Today's weather has been dreadful but here is Gordon on the roof above, awaiting the call.

The two blue ropes are part of a pulley system via which Gordon can be simply lowered into place.

Over now to Tony Kiss of TNT Scaffolding of Skipton.

https://www.tntscaffolding.co.uk

Parapets and Roses

The parapet cladding panels are not all fixed in place and looking fine

Meanwhile at ground level the two surviving new rambler roses by the fence are bursting into bud and bloom.  The flowers last only a day but  judging from the number of buds and the quality and size of the blooms they should become a most impressive feature of the former wilderness garden: