Cycling, have you ever bought an artwork while cycling. I have, or may have if I can pull this one off. I spotted an art sale when riding through Repton, two pictures stood out and the price seemed reasonable.
5°C, no clouds, C=26 miles
Summer blight: Listen guys, it’s actually easier to trim the hedge with shears; it’s quicker to mow the lawn with a push-along. Switch off all those noisy machines and let’s all enjoy summer days on this crowded little atlantic island.
Here is one very poorly looking rape field. Some patches were normal looking but acres & acres look dry, brown dusty and quite dead.
Sunday, Yr Wyddfa: (Mt Snowdon, 1085m) and Yr Aran (745m): Got up when I woke (5am), then drove to The western slopes of Mt Snowdon. Started the climb at 10.30. Parked at Ryd Ddu and took the route up to Yr Aran. Pure blue skies and light winds. This day turned into a 10 hour hike.I came down from Yr Aran to the Watkin path and then climbed Snowdon. The Summit was too crowded to stay more than a few minutes, so then headed down the Snowdon Ranger track. After the drive to Wales, this was an additional 10 hour hike, I slept well that night after hotel troubles were solved.
So now I have done all of the major ascent routes of Snowdon. Those remaining are proper scrambles, but I can’t take Rosie on terrain like those.
Taken: Film, action thriller with a paternal pride virtue. Even taking the Bourne trilogy’s absurdities, this one is beyond the ability to suspend disbelief. You may already know of my loathing for car chases, this does nothing to change my feeling on that. There is machine gun fire straight from "The A-Team". It’s a shame really because the film does have themes with virtues; it’s just as if the director-committees took over. The character set is populated by stereotypes & parodies, but there is something. The relationship between Father and ex-wife is potentially interesting. Did we really need a super-hero actionman to fix it all up between them though? If we are stupid- yes. I didn’t hate this film, I just don’t enjoy thinking about it afterwards much.
Cool: the fridge is mended. A valve developed a leak and the coolant evaporated leaving the motor spinning away against air. If that happens to yours, then switch it off- the motor needs the coolant to cool itself down too.
I wonder how my ol’ grandparents’ fridge worked since it was gas powered. 
Fix: added an iPod connector to my car stereo, I have routed the cables so that the iPod connector pokes out through one of those blank switches. It’s well worth doing because the sound quality is far better, and the iPod charges up while plugged in.I felt very clever after putting this one in. Making an upgrade is always far more satisfying than repairing something back to its past condition (unless it has been annoyingly "bost" for ages).
The Break: now the fridge-freezer has lost its cold. The motor is making a loud buzzing noise and not keeping either compartment cold. A quick trawl of the web suggests that the compressor has failed and it needs a new one. My guess is a £100 repair bill for that. Cheaper than a new fridge though. Fridges are not interesting.
This is rain I can live with, it is interrupted by bright sunny spells while the dark clouds brew up on the horizon. Stygian.
I ought to comment on the 19/20 politicians who have been fiddling the books in Parliament and the House of Lords too. It all seems too obviously corrupt to be worth mentioning. I can only hope they are treated in the way we would be if it were us in our jobs doing the same thing. But wait, only a few are suspended pending an investigation.
Cattle: here are the cows that chased Rosie & Bess last week. They look nice enough…
Amazed: to have escaped the worst downpours on the Long Mynd today. No off-lead romping for Rosie though- sheep everywhere. It’s a remarkably gorgeous place. We test-walked a route that our Duke Of Edinburgh kids will do soon. The surface is very easy going, even the steep bits, much of it can be run. Read that Wiki article for some interesting geology- this oft missed place has a really interesting pre-history. Nowadays, it is covered with groups performing the DofE marching ritual.
Delta done (just about): You get to know how these oxbow lakes form around kettle-holes after doing this kind of drawing. the KML file is getting too heavy to manage now, so I need to call a halt soon- there are 190 ponds & lakes drawn in to add onto the ones already present.
This printscreen was taken at the current time & weather, the melt is underway leading to the very short summer, but 24hr daylight.
I will probably make this file available on this site until AvSim is recovered.
This rain: cast my mind back to those summer days at school- the ones where I was a youth. I have never really lost that reaction to others getting a soaking. Well, I say others, I meant women- I still get something from seeing women soaked in rain; okay- it’s just so damned schjecksi!.
mmmmh.
FSX:Drawn Tiksi town, plus some kettle-holes near the airfield. there is a hitch- the site I normally upload and distribute the scenery files from has been busted by a hacker. Perhaps they can restore it despite rumours that suggest not.
Micycle 