Millside and Tempo micro modelling

 Thursday 24th February 2023 - Millside - from SD 452 839

My longest walk since before Christmas - 1.4 miles !

At last we are getting weather acceptable enough to resume my Thursday walks with Pete. This route was only mildly undulating and Pete who is now 88 and with some slight return of his rheumatoid arthritis walks even more slowly than me even with my current breathlessness. So I was able to enjoy this saunter in relative comfort - going up any kind of hill is a different matter.

The second half of this outward walk was part of the six mile route I used to run over the top of Whitbarrow to Lords Seat and returning by this pleasant quiet lane. Having only previously run here before, and on those occasions pushing myself for the final sprint to the finish to try and beat my previous time, I had little chance to observe the scenery in detail. Today I lapped it up enjoying the clear blue sky and sunshine and the promise of spring in the air. I did  do that run in just under the hour (ten minute miles including a stiff climb up onto Whitbarrow plateau.)

We walked as far as Beck Head where an attractive stream gurgles out from the limestone which on my first acquaintance years ago lead me to research the possibility of caving activity and that proved to have happened. There is a record on the Geograph website HERE with a much better photo of the emergence than my distant snap today.

Notices requesting respect for the local toad migration were evident.

We finished off with our regular Café Ambio visit including their recently introduced chocolate and Guiness cake - it has a mildly soured cream topping to represent the familiar tight foam top you get on the  real life pint, fab!

The stream emerges from the limestone at the furthest point you can see , the point of entry for the exploration

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Model News

I am well on with this quirky Tempo three wheel pick-up of German origin from the 40s.

The scale is 1/35 making it a tiny model almost requiring the skills of micro surgery. The kit includes a cement mixer to be carried by the truck and I am hoping to represent that with cement residue clinging and general appropriate "weathering."

The body is only 4cm. long

The engine in two parts at the moment and still in primer. It is only about 1cm across the block and what you see here includes, with the two sections, 12 individual parts in its assembly.

Contentment was not the initial objective

 Friday 17th February 202

I have just posted a comment on Bowland Climber's blog and then thought it was worthy of using as a post here for those who don't read BC's blog - if you want to see the full context  CLICK HERE

https://bowlandclimber.com/2023/02/17/keeping-it-local/

“contentment is the prime objective” – your quote. A conclusion I came to about an hour ago after watching a documentary on Porton Down, It was presented by Michael Moseley, a scientist who is a gift to TV producers as a natural presenter. I usually watch Moseley’s programmes with enthusiasm. Unfortunately the Porton Down thing was so harrowing I had to switch halfway through, but feeling a bit guilty about jibbing on something that is so profoundly serious and relevant to our existence as humans.

I found “contentment,” partly sullied by the guilt, in a benign Scottish TV documentary about an outdoor gent trekking down Glen Etive with a sporty young girl, running, jumping into rapids with no heed of Elf And Safety, and then cycling to the head of Loch Etive,

Unfortunately there was no panning shot to The Slabs.

A little rant while it is in my mind

I notice that when government ministers, and especially prime ministers visit workplaces for a self promoting publicity opportunity, they can't help going macho, perhaps emulating that culture now identified as endemic amongst certain public services. What I am getting at is the business of doffng the tailored suit jacket, and rolling up the sleeves, just halfway up the forearm of an immaculate white shirt. Our erstwhile blond p,m. was typical, but I was disillusioned to see Starmer doing the same the other day. I can understand what they are trying to demonstrate but in my opinion it just makes them look silly

Macmillan Way (Boston to Barmouth) becoming famous?

 Tuesday 14th February 2023

With Blogger there is a backroom where everything is composed and correlated called Blogger Dashboard. There I can see"Statistics" which show me amongst other things the number of daily pageviews, Unfortunately I can't see who the viewers are. Recently there has obviously been a binge on my daily posts titled "Boston to Barmouth" when I walked that route also known as one of the Macmillan Ways - 290 miles, 22 days,  from 20th May 2015. It seems there have usually been  three pageviews for each day.

The whole of that "Statistics" info is a source of mystery to me. I think  Internet search engines boost the numbers, but this looks more like somebody is accessing these particular posts for personal use.

Intriguing. I wonder who?

By the way all three of the Macmillan Ways are superb backpacking trips.  

A short walk on the flat

 Thursday 9th February 2023

My first walk since before Christmas. The breathlessness has improved a little and walking on the flat is fine. Various medical administrations continue which are frustrating but too boring to itemise here.

I have posted, more often in the past,  about my regular Thursday walks with my friend Pete - we go back to the Sixties when a  group of us from Bradford climbed and revelled together. In the recent inclement weather, and in consideration of my own relative immobility we have just been going to Café Ambio since Christmas but today was fine and sunny with milder temperature. We walked up the converted railway path from Halton upstream from Lancaster on the river Lune and covered about a mile each way followed by a pleasant hour at Ambio (chocolate Guinness cake and tea. Ah!)

Click photos to enlarge

Blogger is having one of its moods insisting on the underlining of my captions. I have tried everything I know including un-formatting and I have better ways to spend the rest of my evening unravelling this.

Easy going and welcome sunshine

New build houses accross the Lune all with comprehensive solar panels

Here we turned back after walking under the bridge. We have walked this path many times but never noticed this sculpture before - must be new?

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Model making has become almost obsessive. Here is my latest just finished today, the Westland Sea King. I am glad to say that I have never had the need for a ride in one of these but I know some who have. This one is marked up as the one flown by William during his time with Air Sea Rescue.