Tinkerage

Jackie and I have been down in Bournemouth for the last few days. It has been absolutely lovely.

Thomas came with us and was very well behaved on the trip down and is loving the carpet in his Grandparent's place. (Note to new readers: Tom is a cat....)

I have been tinkering with the Alvis while Jackie has been visiting tutors from her old school near Blandford Forum.

The first day of tinkering resulted in the removal of two, (count them...) bolts.

Now, this may not sound like a lot to you, but actually, it did take all day......

They were exceptionally difficult seized up awkward to get at and otherwise troublesome wing mounting bolts, okay?

Eventually, after resorting to plan 'C', (a pad saw with a broken hacksaw blade on one and a combination of AF and Whitworth spanners on the other) victory was mine!!

The off-side front wing then fell off the car nicely.

The second day saw more of the same slow-but-sure action on the nearside front wing.

So what caused all this wing removal? Well, in order to get a TA14 onto a transporter, you must first to remove the front wings: they are so big, the car won't fit otherwise.

And why do I need a transporter? All I can say at the moment is "watch this space".....

The first rule of car restoration is "Patience".......

Other tinkerings have involved a couple of mods to the blog.

We've updated the blog list with Les Biggs "nb Valerie" blog, Jaqueline Almdale's "So this is Love" blog, and Chris and Simone's blog. Have a look: they're all really good.

Also, with help from Amy Duck, Jackie has added a (hopefully) spambot-proof link to my email address in case any of you want to send a private email. So, Kev and Andrew, if you want to get the latest on mooring-up at the Parish, drop me a line.......

Finally, I have, at the last moment, repented of blogging further about the woodpile, so you are all spared the photos of large piles of cut and split wood and titles such as "Reservoir Logs: 'Lets go to work'" or, possibly worse, "The Axe Factor".......

Lucky old you!