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.

Nil walking - De Havilland Beaver model final

 Friday 27th January 2023

Breathlessness continues with some slight improvement but not enough to allow extended walking outside.  I had a follow up visit to the hospital since my sojourn there with three monthly follow ups scheduled along with a heart scan in a few days time. That means I am now under the controlled discipline of ongoing hospital treatment rather than the more haphazard business of obtaining appointments and consulting with GPs who from this experience have been out of their depth.

My visit before Christmas was left with a promise from my GP to devise a plan dependant on the results of an X-ray she would receive after Christmas. She didn't get back to me and when I phoned I was told the X-ray was "clear" and my GP was on holiday and the next best appointment would be 25th January (this Wednesday gone). In the meantime the situation escalated and I ended up in hospital as documented in my last post.

I kept the appointment on Wednesday with my GP and expressed my feelings in no uncertain terms. She apologised for not getting back to me. She then explained that when the X-ray had come back "clear" in her absence it had been filed away for no action needed.

The point was that whatever that Xray showed was the key or signal for planning the next step. 

I was told that the business of filing "clear" X-rays for no further action needed would be brought up at their next periodic meeting to discuss such issues and that she would send me a copy of the relevant minutes as and when. I hope others don't suffer from that flawed practice in the meantime.

I'm assured that the anti-coagulant tablets I am taking should clear blood clots over a period of weeks and I now feel happier knowing that at least I am on a proper programme of treatment and monitoring with the hospital and I hope that I will see improvement over the coming weeks.

Meanwhile modelling continues. the De Havilland Beaver is finished, photos below.  I have created my own diorama (not included in the kit) with the plane moored up on a landing stage This aircraft was used extensively in Canada because of its its short take off and landing capability and versatility with options for normal undercarriage, floats or skis. It has been described as "The safest aircraft ever built."

I am now well on with the Westland Sea King helicopter in its yellow air-sea-rescue guise.

LOOKS BETTER IF YOU CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

When you need it...

Sunday 15th January 2023 

My breathlessness problem has progressed over a long period, not too debilitating and just self diagnosed as lack of fitness. Until 29th September 2022 I was doing regular walks over hilly terrain of 6/8miles with almost no problem but from then on combined with severe back pain breathlessness  seemed to accelerate to the point where I was out of breath just going out to my garage. 

Various appointments and comings and goings ensued (during which the back pain vanished) until last Wednesday morning , 11th January. My son William was concerned about my breathlessness and my ill looking appearance and insisted on phoning my GP's surgery despite the fact that I had an appointment with my dedicated GP for 25th January owing to her being on holiday. My son got an immediate appointment with another GP in the practice at 11:00 am. He seemed to understand my problem more than others have done and suspected the possibility of a blood clot. He pushed the surgery to get me a blood appointment at 3:00 pm on the Friday. I understood that one of the samples would test for an indication of a blood clot.

At 8:00pm that same Friday evening I had a telephone call from the blood analysing place in Cumbria, bearing in mind the sample had only been taken at 3:00pm that afternoon at my surgery. I was told that a positive indication of possible clot was showing, and could I go immediately to Kendal Hospital. My son W and daughter J drove me there and I saw another GP who also agreed about the possibility of a clot. He phoned Lancaster hospital and made arrangements for an urgent admission. We drove to Lancaster and walked straight  into A and E without being involved with any queues and I was seen and eventually allocated  a bed on the Acute Surgical Ward at bout 11:00 pm. The next morning I had a CT scan and had to wait overnight until this morning (Sunday) for the results. I saw the registrar with a full explanation and medication which I am assured will gradually clear the clot over a period of weeks and that I must continue to take the Apixaban daily, and ad infinitum.

I don't really want to instigate a debate on the details of cardiac/pulmonary illness. I just wanted to document the rapid service I eventually received and also wondered why, if there is a blood test that indicates the possibility of blood clot that was not applied for during that period from 29th September last year during which two other blood samples were taken and analysed?

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Just watched the Masters snooker final. Trump made a sudden unexpected bodily movement to take his next shot - the commentator, "that nearly gave the cameraman whiplash..."

From hospital

 Sunday 15th January 2023

I have referred to my concern about breathlessness. To cut a long story short I am now in hospital where they have discovered a blood clot on my lung  I am awaiting a programme of treatment and am not sure how long I will be in here.

2:00 pm up date.

I am now back home, discharged. Anticoagulant pills to take for rest of life from now on. Prognosis says they should clear the problem over six weeks or so, We will see.