Bills Posts

This month’s country walking arrived on Monday. I do enjoy reading it, especially when it features walks from my part of the world, which it does this month, it even talks about a pub that I like going to, which is really nice.

This issue of the magazine features walks from magnificent parts of the country, nearly all countryside – very little on urban walks. So, I had a thought. I could do a piece that I could pretend I’m going to send to the magazine. So, what do I write about?

Quite a while back, I did what I called the big circle walk, it worked out at about 10 miles. Now, 10 miles isn’t a massively long walk, but it’s enough. But that isn’t the main thing, I’m thinking about how to do it, because it will have to be broken down into smaller chunks. That’s because each mini walk will have a goal, of encountering and addressing a piece of Gosport (read Gosport / Rowner / Alverstoke) history.

Now I can’t absorb that much history in one go which is why I need to break it down – depending of course how much detail I need to go into. Well, for the walk a para, possibly two for each walk along with some pictures. I’ve identified at least 26 areas (historical topics), too much to do in one go, but I’m thinking of walking to each one, say one a week when I can, Then at the end of it, doing one long big walk covering them all. Doing one a week, gives me a bit of a chance to research for each topic.

You see, I like developing projects and tasks, it’s the way my mind works. The problem I have is finishing things like that. On the other hand, I’ve just very successfully finished what I consider to be a very big project. I’m sorry, I need to stop going on about it.

The thing about bay windows, especially those on the first floor they should be sat in to watch life. I’m not sure how long this building, this window has been here, but I think (I’d like to think) at least a couple of hundred years. I bet it has seen some sights. Not far from where this window sits (it’s above a Costa). I’m not going to do the timeline in detail, as I have that down as a possible future project but I will mention a couple;

948 The first known reference to Alverstoke & Rowner – Gosport doesn’t exist yet.

1417 First fortifications at Blockhouse – I doubt if the house that had this window even existed then. The town of Gosport would have been very limited in size, with most people living inside the ramparts that were being built around the town.

Life in the town I think would not have been particularly good. I might go on a bit about it but that doesn’t mean I’d like to lived then, Whoo no. There’s a kind of horrified fascination. Now, once again I find myself in a situation of not being too happy with what I’ve written, but I’m not going to delete it. I’ll use it as a reminder that if I am going to write about history, I need to be a little more specific in my research.

A short while ago, I took a picture of a set of red shutter blinds. It was cropped really tightly. I didn’t want to rush in to taking a series of similar pictures. Now, I took this one earlier today. But I don’t think it is as good as the red one – perhaps because it’s a grill rather than solid.

I am looking for other pictures, but my seeing eye really isn’t very good, but I haven’t given up. Too many of this type though could get boring, so I need to be careful.

OK, I know the header picture has nothing to do with the title, but I like it. We are moving to that time of year, when the evenings are drawing in, getting dark earlier. For me, I have limited time for any kind of observation. I want those observations to be good and useful to me.

To be good a useful, I need a comfortable chair. I have given much thought to this. Up front, this is aimed at my doing naked eye or binocular viewing – definitely not telescopes. The chair needs to be right.

One particular thing to consider is the binocular mount. I almost bought one of these, a cantilever mount. But I suddenly realised there is a major problem; It looks perfect, but a what happens when I want to look at another part of the sky I have to move the chair and re-position everything, although it probably is the best mount. I think I need a different approach.

It seems to make sense to use one of these;

Good reclining angle, comfortable, good frame to which to clamp the binos. I need to think about the clamping system. One minor problem with this, if I want to look at a different part of the sky I have to re-arrange the chair.

What I really need is a chair that rotates. How about putting this chair on a rotating base? That would work – even better if I could motorise it – that would be excellent. Could I buy the base? Well I’ve looked, but I can’t find anything that comes near it. I have no idea how much it might cost, but I’m willing to bet it wouldn’t be cheap.

Could I make it? I honestly don’t think so. Two bases of wood, a central rotating thing, but I would also needs some additional support around the outer edge, a ring of bearings (what’s that called)? Way too complex for me. I get the cantering wrong, I am Murphy’s law writ large when it comes to DIY.

Then, a couple of nights ago, it suddenly hit me. How about one of these?

Now, it’s an indoor chair, so I would have to carry it out each time I want to use it. It reclines, so that would be good. It rotates which is good. It doesn’t have a framework which is easily accessible to secure the binos, perhaps I could create a mount that sits the binos across the arms, cushioned. They might not be as stable but we would have to test and adjust that. It could work. A bit more thinking needed – I think.

This is Covid – the vixen, she has a cub. Every day at about 8PM the staff at the Covid Testing Station feed her. They named her Covid.

I went for a walk this afternoon. There was no specific destination, it was just a thing to get out and cover some distance, so it was a bit of a circular route.

The only shop I went in to was Morrison’s. The closest thing we have to bookshops in town are The Works and The British Heart Foundation has a pretty good book session. The works is OK, and does have some interesting books, but I much prefer a browse in the likes of Waterstones.

Every going in to Waterstones becomes an act of frustration. Because I don’t know what to look for. I had pretty much given up on Science Fiction, not the genre, I still love reading it, but I have a tendency to stick to the authors I like, and can re-read books quite easily. It also helps if they are available as an audio book.

I’ve always said that I would rather read the book then watch the film or TV series. That didn’t happen with Star Trek, because when that came out there was only the TV series, I think. Quite recently, I was introduced to the Expanse. I Watched it and immediately became hooked. I am now listening to the books on Audible, which is good, because the stopped filming before James A Corey’s books ran out. So, I’ll get to the end. But the thing is this time, having watched the TV show, I know what the characters look like what the technology looks like. I watch a channel on You Tube run by Dr. Becky Smethurst, she’s an Astrophysicist, and produces an excellent show. She reviews TV programmes, and has done a review for the Expanse; Obviously, it has it’s imperfections, but it is described as one of the most scientifically accurate show she’s seen. It’s well worth a watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O25-_eEdxaw&t=9s

We have two bird tables, the second, the one I am writing about today is a cheap one that I bought, that I have never really been satisfied with. The main reasons for my dissatisfaction are that it’s too short, and it’s too unstable. I has a tendency blow over. I’ve looked for a replacement on Amazon, e-bay and the RSGB and surprisingly I can’t find what I’m looking for.

Not unreasonable then to ask, what am I looking for, and are my expectations unreasonable? Well, I am a bit conflicted. Open top, or with a roof on? if it’s open top and it rains, presumably it’ll have to be cleaned off. Do I have to accept that I am going to have to commit time every day to this?

Another problem with bird tables is that birds are messy eaters, very messy. I have watched starlings eat under a shower of seed wind downdraft from their wings, especially when they take off enmass is surprisingly powerful.

Now, I haven’t really talked much about it because I am a bit ashamed of it, but I don’t do DIY. I am incredibly good at being bad at it. Anything DIY that I do either fails miserably, or comes out more botched than a botched job. I therefore stay away from it if at all possible.

But, I am seriously considering having a go at building my own. I have an outline plan in my mind, but I am aware that jobs like that jobs like this are much easier if you have the right tools.

I’ll keep going with what I have for the time being, but something is going to have to change.

This then is my first post after the 366 project. It feels strange, but pleasing. Let’s keep this going, I’d really like to reach a 1,000.

I’m really sorry, but this post is completely self-indulgent. For 366 days, apart from 1 time 116 days ago, when I messed up timing I’ve done it, I’ve made an entry every day. I can’t tell you how pleased that I am with that. The timing is correct, I wrote 1/366 on 14 Aug last year. I had no idea whether I would be able to sustain the effort. I certainly won’t say it has been easy. There have been somedays when the block has almost chronic. I am really pleased with the idea of writing about the block. It may have been pure waffle, but I was writing, and that was the main thing.

It think it is also very, very important to say that it has never been a chore – perhaps on one or two occasions when I almost forgot, suddenly remembering just before bedtime. Perhaps some of those weren’t my best writings. I can honestly say, that at no point was the moment when I said I don’t want to do this. I have enjoyed doing this. I think there are two questions;

How much of a habit is this?

Why a blog? Why not a private diary?

With regard to the first question, they say that if you want to form a habit, repeat it for 21 days. I done the 21 days about seventeen times to my reckoning. If that isn’t habit forming, I don’t know what is – let alone the desire to keep it going.

Now the second is slightly more complex and goes to my writing history. I’ve said before that I have notepads, and journals and there are pages, and pages of writing that in comparison to the previous 366 days is a mass of incoherent ramblings. Now, that isn’t to say that the last years writings have been any less comprehensible. But, writing in public has forced me to think more about what I am going to write.

It really has helped me. I want that to carry on. Here’s to the next 365 days.

They’ve chopped down a tree on the high street. This is what is left of the stump;

I must admit that the tree did lean at an awkward angle across the high street. I can see how it could be a hazard. But, I would also hazard a guess that most people in the town were aware of the tree and do what was needed to avoid it. So, I hope it’s removal wasn’t merely because “it could be a nuisance.”

Having cut it down, they’ve left about four feet of trunk. Unless they remove that, I would assert that they have left more of a hazard than if they had removed the trunk. That would be awkward, it would mean a fair bit of work, as you can see the surrounds, it will mean a fair bit of effort to remove the root system, thereby significantly increasing cost.

So, what are they going to do with the stump? My thought was perhaps they could have shaped the trunk turning it in to a seat, or even a small table (I can’t remember if it is outside a restaurant – I’ll check in the morning). I do hope that cutting the tree down was required.

I did a salinity check at the Cockleponds. Previous tests have been consistent at around 39%, today’s level was pretty much bang on 35% which is about normal for seawater.

I have two new devices; a PH meter, and a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) and Electricity Conductivity (EC) meter. Now, these two devices are not expensive, together they were less than £10. And they need to be used advisedly. When I read this; https://www.hydroviv.com/blogs/water-smarts/tds-meters-and-testers0.+ I almost decided not to buy them, but having read them, I reached two conclusions; that I am only doing this as a bit of fun, and that I would take the readings with a pinch of salt (how appropriate).

When I was discussing what I was planning to do with the #Breakfastclub, I wasn’t met with ridicule, far from it. But one person suggested that rather than going down to put the devices in the water, I should put a beaker on the end of pole and get samples from a but further out. Now, that really did put an idea in my head, which I am now investigating.

Gosh, that was so much better than my first attempt which I ditched after three paragraphs, because it was rubbish. The penultimate article of the 366 project really does deserve something better. This is that better thing.

Having a number in the title has been useful for me to keep track of where I am going. It’s obvious from the title that after this post I am only two days away from the end of Project 366. I can remember wondering when I started it whether I would be able to keep it going. I know one thing that when I finish entry No. 366/366 I do not want to stop.

When I first signed up to wordpress, quite a while before I started doing The Project, I wanted to write, but I didn’t know what to write, and I was to a degree scared of actually committing anything to the blog. Of course, the last year has been a massive eye opener for me, and it has taught me that I can write – I don’t know if it is any good, certainly I don’t have many readers, but to all of you who do read me regularly, thank you. I really do hope I have brought some pleasure to you.

It is certainly my intention to carry on after this coming Friday, and as you can imagine I have been giving some thought to enumeration. It would be a bit silly to go to 367/366 – that doesn’t work, but like I said I want to keep some form of numbering in my title. So, for the time being I am going to do something really simple, the first post after 366/366 will No. 367. Let’s see how that goes.

You’d think that the boardwalk part of this picture would be a waste of space, taking away from the picture. Whilst it doesn’t add a massive amount it is a part of the picture. As is the huge bank of cloud that was delivering some relatively gentle rain over Bembridge on the Isle of Wight – I knew that, because my friend who was managing the radio net (the #Breakfastclub – it was 6:15AM, so not surprising that he was still in bed, listening to the rain). When I get home after my morning walk, I take a look at my pictures, every so often, one grabs you, and I allow my self to say I like that one. Well, I like this one – can’t tell you why though.

Normally, in the mornings I try to get the sun behind the Spinnaker. I was trying to get the Wight Link Catamaran which is just visible in front of the lipstick building. This is another picture that pleases me. I’m doing well today.

I went for my lunchtime walk today. I have routinely been walking down Weevil Lane, around the building at the far end of the Forton Lake Bridge. Today, I wanted to walk to the waterfront, it’s nice to see it at different times of the day.

The walk was OK, the waterfront to be honest was at it’s best. It’s only a short stretch but it was sunny and warm with practically no wind, there were seats to relax (I didn’t), and the prom, for a stroll. The water in the harbour was calm. The Victoria of Wight was coming in through the harbour entrance, and there were several small boats moving along the small boat channel. It was just a really lovely scene. I could quite understand why and how someone would just want to sit and take in the scene. Lovely.

Woke up early to the sound of pounding rain, and a massive clap of thunder. I got up when it was relatively quiet,to the point where I thought that it might not be raining. It was difficult to tell from the bedroom, so I went to the conservatory, a steady pounding there. I wasn’t going to go for a walk this morning.

I managed to get out at lunchtime. I needed to go to the post office, so it was a lunchtime walk in to town. I had another go at doing some street photography. I think this one is not too bad. There’s definitely something about it.

I did try it in B&W, but I think the colour version is the best.

I’ve now tried to start this paragraph three times. This last time I’m going to mention very briefly that I am now in the last week of a project that when I started, I had no idea how long it would go on for, except to hope that I would reach the end. I am now so close. For the last few days I have been thinking about what I want to do from 367/366 – Well, I’m not going to do it that way, but I have been thinking about enumerating my posts from next Saturday.

I might just do the date thing, or just start another year – not sure yet.