figworthy

Ooh, nice pictures. Takes me back to when I were a lad. To the bargemen working the waterways connected to the Humber, the Calder valley was known as the West Country, hence the barges that were built for that traffic were know as West Countries. The upper part of the wheel house folded down principally to allow it to get under low bridges (fresh air in the summer was a bonus, not so much in the winter). If you tried to get up the arm to Saville Town Basin (Dewsbury), you would need to dismantle the entire wheel house and lay the wheel on the deck. Adrian

Clicking on either of those links brings me back to this page. Clicking and pasting the links works, and was an interesting read, for which, thank you. Adrian

You need to keep taking the tablets. Adrian

From reports in this morning's paper, it might be a good idea if our lupine friend avoids the Netherlands. Apparently, they've been having problems with some of his cousins, and people are now being advised to shoot them. With paint ball guns. Coming soon to a polder near you, an annoyed multicoloured wolf. Adrian

What a wonderful collection of photos. Adrian

I cancelled mine a few years back when the publishers started spamming me with offers for mattresses and cases of wine, and ignored their own unsubscribe system. Adrian

I've also heard "morbid curiosity" cited. Adrian

Caveat - I've not tried this myself. I've seen suggestions that applying a hot surface to the base of the tyre will cause it to flatten slightly, with the displaced material forming the bulge. I suspect that some experimentation would be needed to perfect the technique. The bulges are more noticeable when loaded. Adrian

If A Certain Bear is a sensible bear, then (like other bears), he'll be tucked up in Snoozy Bear Land until March. In the mean time, his local Co Op will be able to improve the defences on the cake, curly fries and pizza aisles. Adrian

I never worked out what the problem was, but with my old Land Rover, periodically the starter motor would fail. It would start the engine, but the solenoid didn't turn the motor off (it was a pre-engaged starter). The only solution was to disconnect the battery, then remove the starter motor. I eventually worked out that rather than taking off the manifolds, I could do it by removing the dipstick tube, and lowering the motor. On a good day, it only took an hour to swap starter motors over. Nice job on a wet winters evening. Adrian

They match the colours on the funnels. Adrian

Ooh, looks like a trip to Andover or Newbury might be in order. Adrian

I think we need a "verily the mind boggleth" button. "Interesting / thought provoking" doesn't really cover it. Adrian

One of the Scrapheap Challenges built one to propel a vehicle. Adrian

Some years back, I came across some one who lived in the land of Telf. Discussion was regarding human rights for the kiddie winks in the local school where he had the misfortune to be employed. His comment was something along the lines of "Human ?, they smell like skunks, eat like pigs and fight like rats". I suspect that our resident even toed ungulate may have a view on this. Adrian

@Annie, have you seen this ? in particular the photos at the end. Adrian

I don't think that they could afford my appearance fee, apart from which, I declined the offer of a free copy. Adrian

Don't go giving them ideas. The trauma induced by the sight probably wouldn't have worn off by the following year's show. Adrian

Post away. Just my two penn'th, but I think that B&W works better in this case, it looks more authentic as there was less chance of decent colour photos being taken back in the day. Adrian

RYR ? Adrian

I suppose every one needs a hobby. Adrian

Sounds much like things here, although we haven't had a thunderstorm for a while. 1.25" of rain since Christmas and windy with it, fortunately above average temperatures. And just for good measure, the Somme Re-enactment Society are holding rehearsals. Happy New Year. Adrian

Lots of exquisite, accurate and completely inoffensive panniers ? Adrian

I was wondering who'd be the first to notice. Nice looking spot. Adrian

I think that is an interesting proposition. https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/54.40084/-1.70802 (OK, not a parish, but a hall). Adrian