POTUS* has Passed His Driving Test

Throughout July and August every year Settle's now famous Flower Pot Festival is held.   Flower pot creations of increasing size, complexity and novelty appear throughout those two months.

Our contribution has been modest and unchanging in the form of a stupid looking f,p,m. with very artificial hair called POTUS*   POTUS* took part in the very fist F.P.F. years ago.   He was what marketing people call an 'early adopter' so was rather small and comparatively unimaginative.

He has variously appeared on top of the water crane, on the tower's top railings and on varying steps of the Hairy Scary Ladder.   In fact, if you look carefully at the header picture of this Blog you will find him.

This year I have had the Hard-Word about climbing ladders and such so a more down-to-earth location was called for.   I discussed this with POTUS* who suggested that he might look good and suitably daft if sat on the driving seat of the little tractor.   So here he is:

 Click to enlarge

* POTUS  -  President Of The United States

Filming Again

Busy day yesterday filming for a series on Railway Architecture.   The sun shone on the righteous on this occasion.

Presenter Tim Dunn surprised us and himself when it turned out he had grown up in Gerrards Cross and had been to Dr Challoners Grammar School, just like our grandson James.

We had decided to give Gladys a run out at lunchtime - her first proper run for two years.  Common sense prevailed and we restricted ourselves with a run to Booths supermarket in Settle to get some lunch for the film crew and ourselves.  Gladys behaved impeccably and even posed for a picture back at the station.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-JxKMyWkAAsI9E.jpg

It looks as though the radiator is leaking but it is simply overflowing on a hot day,  Fear not.

And to keep a promise, here is the re-bodied wheel-barrow - 

I knew you'd be impressed.

Gladys Bulled Up

This was Gladys Emmanuel with a good coat of dust on first exit from her garage:

During the last couple of days since Gladys Emmanuel was started for the first time in a couple of years I have given the old girl some t.l.c. and here she is:

Taking bull to extremes this is the back axle.  The shiniest in Settle I bet.

I have decided against slavishly polishing the brass, spraying it with WD40 instead.  This gives it a brassy glow without the hassle.  If ever it is required for some posh do or other the brass can always  be polished again.

Tomorrow we are filming again in the morning - for a TV programme about railway architecture.  Not too many water towers survived the post-steam cull and ours is one, we are proud to say.   They've been at Ribblehead today in glorious sunshine which promises to be with us tomorrow.   Might just tempt Gladys out for a picnic or pub lunch - and Pat of course.

A Day of Wheels

Three wheeled-vehicles have featured in my life today.

1.  My Karcher pressure washer.   Well, it does have two wheels.  I had a couple of joyful hours pressure washing the lorry turning-circle at the end of The Sidings as our concrete lorry had left abundant evidence on the road from yesterday's operations in the form of tyre tracks and extravagantly large builders' footprints.   Anyway I got carried away and 'did' the double yellow lines too.   When clearing up I just could not resist this picture of the Karcher just shouting out for a parking ticket:

2.  My beloved three wheeled truck.   I have posted about this ad nauseam.   The 'search' facility will get you there if you are a sad person who should get out more.  I have been trying for ages to appoint it with a Geest badge on the engine cowling but have drawn a blank.  But I was recently sent a copy of a Geest catalogue with the once familiar Geest logo on it.   This was painstakingly copied by Nigel Robinson at iPrint across the road and he produced a set of vinyl logos.   I found a piece of galvanised steel on which to stick one of them and here it is on the front of the Geest truck, below the tongue-in-cheek 4 x 4 badge:

3.  Finally, it's back to just one wheel - a wheelbarrow actually but the poor thing has been in the wars rather.   It may have had a coming-together with a digger or such when we were doing our original tower work.  It is very bent but being a hoarder I have kept it, perhaps hoping it would get better.   I had wondered about putting it on Settle Sell & Buy on a 'no-reasonable-offer-refused' basis.   Having done a risk assessment and method statement I decided to repair it so have bought a new body for it.  It may be fitted tomorrow and you shall learn of it, of course.

Concrete Foundations Poured

The weather Gods were kind to us yesterday as we poured six massive concrete foundation blocks.  Thundery showers were forecast but Settle dodged them.

Click pics. to enlarge - well worth it.

It may not look like it but this was a millimetre precise operation.   The perfectly flat surfaces of all six foundations, slightly below surface level, had to be exactly 700mm below the finished floor level (ffl).   There were laser beams and impressive looking instruments all over the place.   These contrasted with the mud and wheelbarrows that were needed to get the concrete to the waiting holes - which first had to be drained of water.

 The welded and galvanised steel uprights and beams are being made offsite right now.

Just for interest here is a drawing which shows the complexity of the steels below the floor.   Almost every support location has a different welded and galvanised connection between the support post and the horizontal steel beams.

Gladys Emmanuel is On The Road Again

For those new to this Blog Gladys Emmanuel of a 105 years old Ford Model T.   I did think a year ago that my Model T Days, or indeed my days of any sort, might be over.   Not so!

Gladys has sat forlornly in her middle bay of our garage hut for nearly two years, gathering dust.   Today I decided to grab Gladys by the headlights and see if she still worked.

Praise be, and without any tinkering beforehand whatever she started 'first pull'.   I was able to reverse her out of the garage and give her a much needed wash:

The brass is dull and I might just leave it that way for a while at least.   

After a wash-and brush-up she started again and I was able to drive her back into the garage - with her hood up too!

I tried out some black (of course) Simoniz polish on one rear wing and that absolutely sparkles:

The curious linear intrusion on both pictures is a leather strap which secures the hood when it is down and resting on its supports at the back of the car.   The red rear lamp is a very modern high intensity bicycle lamp - a sensible and probably illegal addition on a slow moving old girl in today's mad world.

Me? On the Bed? Nooo

Click to make those tell-tale-toes even bigger