Mundane News

[oldwheels]

Hazy sunshine remained all day as forecast. Now getting a bit misty round the edges and thick cloud forecast.
Took advantage of the dry weather to get the Kett. trike down into the car.
Not something I would like to do often as it is a heavy beast and two short flights of steps to get down. The easy bit is finally getting it into the car.
My neighbour has cut my grass and he also cuts the grass strip up one side of the street to keep the weeds down. The council used to do this but they have not been seen for a couple of years. It does benefit everybody who parks there as you do not step out into probably wet long grass with nettles for added interest. The bit I claim for parking has no grass but a hedge planted by the detested holiday house. That is the extent of their interest and I have the doubtful pleasure of cutting my side of the hedge for my own protection.

 

[tom73]

Not been a bad day and not too cold got a bit muggy this afternoon. Has looked like rain any time all day but stayed dry.
Not done much other than dog walk this morning. Come afternoon Charles was a bit off it so had more time than I normally have. So got on with some house work and a bit of shopping. He's fine now having had a made hour playing he's now having a nap.
Going to see if he wants his evening potter if not it's time for

 

[Mike_P]

Evri turned up with the "slip on" washable cover for the IKEA as armchair like ended twin sofa. Not exactly slip on as I ended up dismantling the sofa. Think it might need a partial undoing as the seat cover might need stretching more. Drizzle has returned.

 

[Andy in Germany]

The fructose based preserve deficit has been alleviated.

Members will be interested to know, the aforementioned preserve is mainly Strawberry flavoured, but has been fortified with vanilla essence.

 

[tyred]

After a reasonable start, it turned into a real dreich day here. I took a little trip the car, partly to inspect a place I was considering for an overnight and wild camp bike trip in the coming weeks. I hadn't been there in several years and just wanted to make sure the council haven't forbidden camping or the motorhome people hadn't taken over. All seems good.

I did fit in a bit of a coastal hike too but walking on rough terrain seems to still hurt my ankle so I didn't go as far as I would have liked. I also seem to have pain my other 'good' foot too for some reason. Something I noticed over the past few weeks. It is fine cycling, mildly irritating while walking but for some weird reason, quite sore when driving.

Whilst in the area, I also visited the Glencolumbkille Folk Museum which has been on my to-do list for years. Very interesting it was too and I learnt some new things. Oddly enough, what I enjoyed most was looking around the mocked up pub and shop and seeing all the old bottles, tins, and random things. Many of the companies are still with us.

I stupidly banged my head on a low door in the 1700s cottage.

All, in all, and interesting day.

 

[tyred]

Some photos

My own school desks at National school weren't much different in the 1980s but our fire had been replaced with an electric storage heater.

A lot of money at the time.

 

[tom73]

Just turned the TV on and on came Dixon of Dock Green.

 

[tyred]

A Poitín still.

 

[PeteXXX]

Just turned the TV on and on came Dixon of Dock Green.

B&W tele? 🤔

 

[biggs682]

Evening cuppa swapped for a hot chocolate and a digestive

 

[tom73]

B&W tele? 🤔

No most of the older ones have been lost. In the big BBC cost cutting in the 70’s. When they had to reuse old tapes. Some older episodes in colour survived. Some B&w are left. Most of them are YouTube unless the BBC has had them removed.

 

[MikeG]

View attachment 729611

I don't recall seeing thatched rooves without a ridge before now. Interesting. Those bits of straw over the apex are laying almost horizontally, which makes them very vulnerable. One suspects that wind is a bit of an issue, too, given the network of hazel rods and twine holding the straw down.

 

[tyred]

I don't recall seeing thatched rooves without a ridge before now. Interesting. Those bits of straw over the apex are laying almost horizontally, which makes them very vulnerable. One suspects that wind is a bit of an issue, too, given the network of hazel rods and twine holding the straw down.

This is the extreme west coast and very exposed. The design of the roof is completely different to what I would know further inland. I think they varied from place to place.

Inland, you would have had a ridge and you would not have those stones built into the wall where the ropes are tied. I guess it wasn't necessary. In more recent times, netting wire is usually used to storm proof them.

If you look around that area, you will see quite a lot of cottages that have had the roof replaced with felt (and still keeping the rounded ridge) or with corrugated iron but you know they originally had thatched roofs as you can those stones sticking out of the wall where the thatch had been tied down.

Edit: This pub is not too far away from where I grew up and this is the type of thatched roof I would have known growing up but most such houses are long gone. Protected at the sides from storm damage by stones and cement ridging and I'm not sure how the scallops were actually held in place even though i watched my grandfather do this as a child. I was too young to pay attention and understand.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I don't recall seeing thatched rooves without a ridge before now. Interesting. Those bits of straw over the apex are laying almost horizontally, which makes them very vulnerable. One suspects that wind is a bit of an issue, too, given the network of hazel rods and twine holding the straw down.

I've never seen thatched rooves like that at all. I thought they must be peat rooves.

And I've never seen the glorious phrase ''burglariously entered'' before either.

 

[MikeG]

The other notable thing about those thatches is the slackness of the pitch. In other words, the rooves are particularly shallow for thatch. In England you rarely see a thatched (or formerly thatched) roof under 47/ 48 degrees (although rooves were constructed in inch-rise-per-foot, rather than degrees), and they were commonly 52 degrees plus. The steeper the pitch the fast the rain run offs, the less moss accumulates, and the longer the thatch lasts.