Feel-Good Monday!

Yes, a rare occurence in most people's experience, yet today is definitely a 'feel-good' day.

Today I got to work at 0700, which doesn't presage feelings of goodness, but at least felt better than being late. (We open early at The Hole-making Shop three times a week...)

I then spent the day operating the Holemaker's Guild's Difference Engine while processing the results of the workshop's efforts today.

Last time I did it, it was an absolute sod.

(Sorry, Auntie Mary, but there's just no other word for it).

The blasted thing was running so slowly, even by its own glacial standards, that I would have had time to nip out, plant a row of spuds, and then bring them to harvest between operations.

It got on my nerves good and proper.

Today, however, Sid, Neville, Barry and Lionel , (the boys in IT Support who operate out of a Nissen hut somewhere on the South Downs) were throwing the big brass switches a lot quicker.

It actually worked quite well.

I got all the results processed and ready in time for each of the pick-ups (by big Gardner-Diesel engined Foden lorries), so didn't have any hairy blokes from Transport looking at me funny, which was a plus.

So it was with a song in my heart that I motored home to Pippin.

Jackie is doing a week of telly editing in London, so when I got home, I raked over the coals of the fire she had banked up before leaving the boat at 0830 (lightweight!) and soon had it blazing.

I then divested myself of the protective clothing (Hole Maker's Guild Standard Issue Body Armour....) and donned my scruffs for a foray into the engine room.

I connected up the two new batteries to the rest of the bank with neither sparks, drama, profanity, or indeed, much discomfort.

The genny is whirring away to itself bringing the whole lot up to 'float', so I am feeling good.

The stove is toasty warm, and I have a glass of Robust Red to hand.

Oh, and the engine starts too!

Happiness!

And one of our neighbours has just popped round to say that all our old batteries were well and truly snookered. They'd done a drop test on all twelve and they weren't holding at much above 10.5....

Shagged, then...... Pity.

(I had offered them any that were still holding a charge for free, as a new addition to the family has left them a bit short of cash.)

Oh well, at least we haven't replaced the old lot unnecessarily.

We may well be investigating the possibility of selling the old batteries for scrap.

(Even a few quid a knob will be good news as there are twelve of them....)

We'll see.