What I Did This Weekend - In Pictures!

[Gramaisc]

The 'solar timer' has been operational for the last week, controlling the light in the hall. I happened to spot it turn on on Wednesday and I watched it just now, to see what the difference in timing was over two days.

It turned on three minutes later, which is right for the rate of change at this time of the year.

Sunrise and sunset times in Stafford

Calculations of sunrise and sunset in Stafford – England – United Kingdom for March 2025. Generic astronomy calculator to calculate times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset for many cities, with daylight saving time and time zones taken in account.

www.timeanddate.com

I am at the same latitude as Stafford, but a bit around the side of the planet, so things are about twenty minutes later here, in terms of the Sun's appearance in the sky. But the rate of annual variation is the same as it is in Stafford and the link above may be of some interest.

Barring any interference from power cuts, I can probably rely on it from here on.

The 'solar timer' for the hall light has been running for a full year now and we've had no power cut during that period. It's still turning the light on around three to six minutes in front of the published sunset for this location. That's not a bad thing, as there is a rise in ground to the west here, so the actual sunset is slightly earlier than the 'standard planet' figure. There is a little variation due to mechanical tolerances and the slight variations in mains frequency over time, although it all seems to even out in the end.

I did find another one and that is running a background light in the Shed. I must get around to making that a little less 'temporary'.

 

[Gramaisc]

The weekend walks have an element of risk from the aftermath of the Great Storm. It would be awkward to get halfway round and find safe progress halted by a load of fallen trees, etc.

For this reason, I reconnoitred today's proposed route on Friday, as it is little-frequented and word would be slow to get out about issues there. It was around ten miles, but with a long, sharp ascent at the start and a lot of difficult ground to traverse in the first half. I managed it in three and half hours, but it was hard, with icy stretches and bits that required real care. We told people it might be doable in four hours and eighteen turned up at the start.

One newcomer failed very quickly, as the initial bit was a 'get the big ascent out of the way' section. Having lost him, we got a call from a latecomer and were able to direct him to a rendezvous point, where he could join. Then we proceeded to traverse the ridge to the initial target. We got there, under arduous conditions, with rather less whingeing than I expected. The descent from there was very icy and I expected a good few falls, but, perhaps because it was clearly quite risky, there were very few and no injuries. After that, we just needed to get back without getting lost - or losing anybody. I was the only person who had much chance of finding the way out of the forest before dark, so stops at any junctions, followed by headcounts, were necessary.

Then, we reached a section where a slight detour could be done, to reach a secluded abandoned farm, which is rather scenic.

We got back to the start in four hours and ten minutes, which included some time waiting for the latecomer to find us, so it was not as slow as I expected. And nobody got lost or injured - or even moaned much (possibly too tired to moan?).

What was interesting was how people's step counts varied. The extreme of the short-legged people was 50% up on the tallest one.


Even on a cold, damp, dark, misty day, the abandoned farm is a nice place.

 

[Gramaisc]

This job has been hovering for a few days and I finally got to do it today. The tail lift on one of these had failed, just due to the wires to the 'raise' solenoid getting ripped out. They were broken off down inside the body of the coil, only just visible. The whole thing is an unnecessary failure, down to "design by accountants" - it would be a simple matter to make it much better for little or no cost. Indeed, the later models are a good bit better.

It is what I would still consider to be a 'new tractor', but the one in question is actually over thirty years old.

Again, due to "marketing by accountants", only the entire valve block is available as a genuine spare, for around fifteen hundred quid, when all you need is the coil block, worth about £20 and just held on by four bolts.

The wires are broken off down the hole in the square patch on the top. I have a temporary bodge in place at the moment and it survived the journey back the five or six miles to his place, so it stands a chance of lasting for a short while - then I might have a better go at it, if a secondhand coil can't be found in the meantime.

To add to the deliberate inconvenience 'designed' into the thing. It first appeared that there was no signal arriving there anyway, making a fix a bit futile - but this was finally found to be the computer 'helpfully' disabling the circuit, if it wasn't connected when the tractor was turned on. Connecting it first showed that the system did work, so the bodge was worth pursuing.

 

[Gramaisc]

The kitchen kettle has been playing up for a while. It has a detector to check that it is on the base or the switch will not stay 'on'. This is a generally good idea, the switch will drop 'off', when it is lifted off the base, even if the point of switching off has not been finally reached - and the kettle can't be replaced on the base with the switch 'on' accidentally.

For the last few days, the switch has been increasingly reluctant to stay 'on', even with the kettle securely on the base, and it had to be held 'on' for this morning's coffee.

I decided to investigate it before giving in and getting another.

The bottom of the kettle was held on by four Phillips self-tappers around the outside, but there were also three largely unnecessary tri-wing screws, whose primary function is to obstruct access by the person who has parted with money for the failed item.

I got them out and could see that the problem was down to one of the three screws that holds the switch assembly to the bottom of the heater element plate - the nearest one in the photo, under the transparent switch lever. This had just unscrewed itself, under the years of thermal cycling and stopped the lever moving far enough to over-centre the switch, so it kept dropping out.

Screwing that back in and reassembling it all has returned me to having a fully automatic kettle again.

I think it is around 12 to 15 years old and it is working perfectly again - it is nice to beat the 'anti-tamper' tactics.


Two things occurred during this process, which have caused difficulties with various animals who have been training me for a while.

1, There were a good few plates of loose scale in the kettle, so I put a bit of water in, swilled it around and emptied it into the border in the garden. This action was perceived by the ever-watchful crows, who descended instantly, expecting some goodies for them. I was looked at severely when they discovered what was actually there.

2, I spotted nextdoor in residence, so I took the three tins of cat food round. This resulted in me being caught, off-site, consorting with enemy cats. 'My' cat is not speaking to me now.

 

[Gramaisc]

Today's walk was picked as being variable, depending on weather conditions and the performance of the attending participants. As things progressed, it became reasonably clear that we could adjust the route to being the 'full thing'.

This meant walking away on the 'good road', then returning via much harder terrain. There was always the option to return the way people had come, but nobody turned back.

Before we started the more arduous return part, people were allowed one last look at the outside world, before we descended into a section that was like crossing the Matto Grosso, followed by the ascent of the north face of the Eiger.

Most weeks, I will admonish people who complain about 'the climb', by pointing out that 'this is not climbing, this is walking up a hill'. Today, I was happy to use 'climb' a few times

We had people from 7 to 70+, in various fitness levels, but all got up the first 'hands and feet' climb - not an easy one, by any means.

It was not really feasible, or safe, to record the condition of that climb.

As a result of that, we added in an ascent of the secondary summit, just as hard, but all got up that.

Quite a few people had never done the final parts of that climb before and felt obliged to record evidence of their feat.

Anyone who did that today can do any of the more adventurous things that are in the pipeline.

 

[staffordjas]

Today's walk was picked as being variable, depending on weather conditions and the performance of the attending participants. As things progressed, it became reasonably clear that we could adjust the route to being the 'full thing'.

This meant walking away on the 'good road', then returning via much harder terrain. There was always the option to return the way people had come, but nobody turned back.

Before we started the more arduous return part, people were allowed one last look at the outside world, before we descended into a section that was like crossing the Matto Grosso, followed by the ascent of the north face of the Eiger.

View attachment 16414

Most weeks, I will admonish people who complain about 'the climb', by pointing out that 'this is not climbing, this is walking up a hill'. Today, I was happy to use 'climb' a few times

We had people from 7 to 70+, in various fitness levels, but all got up the first 'hands and feet' climb - not an easy one, by any means.

It was not really feasible, or safe, to record the condition of that climb.

As a result of that, we added in an ascent of the secondary summit, just as hard, but all got up that.

View attachment 16415

Quite a few people had never done the final parts of that climb before and felt obliged to record evidence of their feat.

View attachment 16416

Anyone who did that today can do any of the more adventurous things that are in the pipeline.

I'd be worried all the time climbing up there ,about the getting back down again.

Well done to all of you ! More adventurous things in the pipeline???

 

[Jonah]

Went out on the first proper ride of 2025 on Sunday. It was fantastic getting out again after so long.

 

[Gramaisc]

A walk today on what promised to be, and was, the best day of the year so far.

It was a significant event in many ways, a tough challenge for people, I hoped to take a select group up an alternative route to the top, the whole thing is a big climb with a good distance involved. All was completed very well.

The main thing about today, though, was that it was The Bob Clay Memorial Walk, although it was really only me that was aware of this. This hill was one of his favourites and I only became aware of it when he mentioned it on here.

For various reasons, people were sent off in batches, and a recent immigrant to the town, from Germany, felt it necessary to leave signs for me at the back, as I had waited to drag latecomers on to catch up the others.

One of the ulterior motives for being at the back was that I wanted to try an alternative route, cutting off a long, stiff, walking climb, by ascending the valley of a stream - but I didn't want to take too many innocent people up there to their deaths. The group has a rule - Don't end up on the news.

I was in two minds about the wisdom of it, when a clear view was available, but two of us did manage to ascend it without (too much) difficulty. There were a few minor falls, but the waterfall itself had a 15m potentially fatal fall available, so it was hard to get a decent picture from close to.

We did eventually regain the road to the top (over the ridge in the top right of the picture) and the 'short cut' doesn't really save, or cost, much time. It would be much more entertaining if the vegetation was wet, I suspect...

 

[tek-monkey]

Went to the Wirral, it was full so went to Wales!

 

[Gramaisc]

I saw this this morning, as I stashed it on my pile of "emergency maps".

I normally have the route 'in my head', but I also generally take something of this nature on walks and cycle expeditions, it give a representation of the route, with locations of the spurs off the route, so that you turn the right way at each point of choice. Places can often look very different in the hills a year later, as forestry operations change the landscape.

Against my better judgement, we sent off three separate groups armed with phone pictures of this map - so that the slower walkers would be under less pressure. It actually worked very well and nobody got lost. We all arrived at the top within the space of a few minutes.

The numbers are heights in metres and the letters are places of interest on the way - SH is sweat house* and A is aerials, on the final summit. The dotted line is the 'short cut' described above. The route is 17km all the way round and there is great potential for getting lost for extended periods of time, if you don't know the route and do take a wrong turning.

It was quite an energetic day - I slept well last night. Then, I woke up this morning with the realisation that we had met four groups of strangers who also ended up with pictures of my 'map'. In my tired state, I didn't pay much attention to a comment that was made after the last group set off from the start - "One of those girls looked terrified!"

First thing, I went through the day's news and there seems to be no mention of any search/rescue/recovery operations in the area...

I won't be happy until noon has passed with no reports.


* A sweat house is a thing like a cross between a sauna and a pizza oven - fever sufferers would be treated to hot/cold therapy - the hollow rock structure would be heated by an internal fire, which would be raked out once the rocks were hot. The patient would be inserted into the interior, and extracted once heated up, to be dunked into the adjacent stream - the process would then be repeated until they recovered or expired.

There are a small number of these left, but few are still in such a usable state as this one is.

 

[Mudgie]

I saw this this morning, as I stashed it on my pile of "emergency maps".

I normally have the route 'in my head', but I also generally take something of this nature on walks and cycle expeditions, it give a representation of the route, with locations of the spurs off the route, so that you turn the right way at each point of choice. Places can often look very different in the hills a year later, as forestry operations change the landscape.

View attachment 16450

Against my better judgement, we sent off three separate groups armed with phone pictures of this map - so that the slower walkers would be under less pressure. It actually worked very well and nobody got lost. We all arrived at the top within the space of a few minutes.

The numbers are heights in metres and the letters are places of interest on the way - SH is sweat house* and A is aerials, on the final summit. The dotted line is the 'short cut' described above. The route is 17km all the way round and there is great potential for getting lost for extended periods of time, if you don't know the route and do take a wrong turning.

It was quite an energetic day - I slept well last night. Then, I woke up this morning with the realisation that we had met four groups of strangers who also ended up with pictures of my 'map'. In my tired state, I didn't pay much attention to a comment that was made after the last group set off from the start - "One of those girls looked terrified!"

First thing, I went through the day's news and there seems to be no mention of any search/rescue/recovery operations in the area...

I won't be happy until noon has passed with no reports.


* A sweat house is a thing like a cross between a sauna and a pizza oven - fever sufferers would be treated to hot/cold therapy - the hollow rock structure would be heated by an internal fire, which would be raked out once the rocks were hot. The patient would be inserted into the interior, and extracted once heated up, to be dunked into the adjacent stream - the process would then be repeated until they recovered or expired.

View attachment 16451

View attachment 16452

There are a small number of these left, but few are still in such a usable state as this one is.

I remember when Stafford had one of them, in Market Square.

 

[tek-monkey]

I remember when Stafford had one of them, in Market Square.

With lights on?

 

[Mudgie]

With lights on?

No, and it was filled in long ago.

 

[staffordjas]

With lights on?

OMG forgot all about those maps , press a button to light up the place you was looking for.

 

[Gramaisc]

We have a long weekend coming up here and it started for me today with an excellent walk, with perfect weather and someone whose rate of progress exactly matches mine on all types of terrain. It was noticeable just how much easier it made the whole day. We saw one bloke and his dog all day, nobody else, except a sole forestry worker in his machine. We stopped and watched him for ten minutes as he cut and processed trees from standing in the ground, still growing, to stripped and processed logs, cut to length, in just a few seconds. Like a power-assisted rhythmic gymnast.

The early part of the route is up a rocky gorge and the river has produced some very attractive features, like this miniature Grand Canyon.

And, on the way to the start point, I was able to record a pump I spotted last Monday night, after the light was gone, as we parked to attend a very interesting lecture. Some items covered in the lecture were able to be shown to my companion today, which just added to the whole thing.

A really good day!

 

[Gramaisc]

Tomorrow being the Sunday of a Bank Holiday weekend here, with other things on, people were offered a Saturday walk, not too far away to the start. About ten miles around a town only about ten miles away. Ten of us availed of the offer.

It seemed clear to me that the weather should not be wasted, and that was certainly the case.

The intrepid explorers on the first river crossing. I have long been intrigued by how that bridge was put up, there is little access beyond pedestrian, and what space there is available is very soft...

The highlight of the day, though, was what may turn out to be a great innovation. Someone had washed her shoes, but failed to finish the full process. Becoming a touch damp along the riverbank, this rewetted the remaining soap powder and this happened -

Behold, the self-washing shoe.

 

[Glam]

Tomorrow being the Sunday of a Bank Holiday weekend here, with other things on, people were offered a Saturday walk, not too far away to the start. About ten miles around a town only about ten miles away. Ten of us availed of the offer.

It seemed clear to me that the weather should not be wasted, and that was certainly the case.

View attachment 16490


The intrepid explorers on the first river crossing. I have long been intrigued by how that bridge was put up, there is little access beyond pedestrian, and what space there is available is very soft...

View attachment 16491


The highlight of the day, though, was what may turn out to be a great innovation. Someone had washed her shoes, but failed to finish the full process. Becoming a touch damp along the riverbank, this rewetted the remaining soap powder and this happened -

Behold, the self-washing shoe.

View attachment 16492

Ten Miles? TEN MILES?!!!!

 

[Gramaisc]

Ten Miles? TEN MILES?!!!!

It was notable that today's volunteers were the more mobile types and there was no "waiting for the Hobbits" this time.

The one last Sunday was eleven miles and involved a considerable climb to height, this was a lot less vertical, just up and down a bit.

Three and a quarter hours, with a few short rests probably accounting for the 15 minutes.

There is better access to account for how the second bridge went up.

Quite a bit of the route was along the banks of two rivers, therefore fairly flat, but there was a decent hill between them.

 

[Glam]

The one last Sunday was eleven miles

Bog off!! No way José

 

[Mudgie]

Ten Miles? TEN MILES?!!!!

Glam, I walked that to Rugeley three weeks ago, and a bit less to Penkridge three days ago.