What are you all up to
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We had a very busy morning. I had arranged to take the caravan into the dealers yesterday afternoon so that it was there for this morning, for them to sort out a few bits under warranty, but because of the Storm Debi's rain and high winds, (and boy did we have some rain, especially over night, flooding some of our local roads!!), I thought it prudent to leave it until it had quietened down, as it had this morning. So up at 6:30, there by 9:00, a second walk with Flyte then a visit to the dental hygienist for us both, a quick call in at Asda and onto another medical appointment. All done and dusted and back home by 12:15, phew!!
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I assume they sorted out the problems with your caravan Nellie. Hope they sorted Oneputt's water ingress out.
Went to a well attended funeral this morning. One of our elderly neighbours passed away 2 weeks ago. Have another one in Bury next week. Met quite a few people who we seldom see nowadays.
Getting over a head cold. Glad it wasn't Covid. Always a silver lining if one looks for it.
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Margaret has been to the Thursford Christmas Show and really enjoyed it. When we visited Cromer in October (we travel via Swaffham) there are signs everywhere for it. I wonder if you can park your motorhome in the carpark?
David
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Yes you can, David. It’s a big car park.
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What a difference 24 hours makes! It's been a gorgeous day today, bright but with a strong wind. We went back to Rest Bay and continued the Welsh Coastal path walk along to the nature reserve at Kenfig Burrows and back, Ralph doing the walk both ways, lucky boy.
Then this afternoon we had a couple of hours at Dunraven Bay where there are some unexpectedly spectacular cliffs and a historic walled garden, now sadly looking rather neglected. A good chance for Ralph to have a run on the beech too.
Check out and home after breakfast tomorrow. It's been a very enjoyable short break in an area of Wales we'd not visited before.
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Grand photos, M, really like the rock formations. Glad that the weather cleared up and you had a good day out.
Another busy day for us, but thankfully it stayed dry for most of the time. Following a walk in our town park I spent an hour in the opticians (Specsavers) this morning, and although there has been some deterioration in the sight in one eye my current glasses are fine for another couple of years. This afternoon if was another visit to the dentist, this time for OH to have a missing filling replaced. At lunchtime we had a call from caravan dealers to say that the van is ready for collection tomorrow. I just hope that everything has been done and there will be no need to take it back there again until its service next year.
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Back from our few days at Southport CAMC site. Quite windy and a little rain. We liked Southport town, but the coast was bit was a bit bleak. Had a lovely light lunch at The Pavillion Cafe (dog friendly) in the centre of the town on Monday. It was a bit of a trek, but decided to go up to Blackpool on Tuesday and stayed long enough to see the Illuminations.... personal choice, of course, but Blackpool isn't really my type of town.. but I can see why many like it.
The site was fine, although we didn't pitch in the open bit. We did lose our hitch cover in the wind.... no doubt somewhere in the Irish Sea now!! 🤣🤣
David
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West to East……we have had a smashing couple of days in Scarbro’ area. Weather very kind, odd bit of drizzle in evening but nothing else, blue skies mainly. Brings back so many memories does Scarbro. Site is nice (Cayton Village), a tad utilitarian looking for us, although top site which is currently closed looks nicer. Excellent facilities though. We had an evening in a Glamping Pod as well with friends, so a really good look around. Great little habitation units, I bet they are really nice in Summer with doors wide open. Home today….couple of photos, someone couldn’t resist a paddle🥰
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Pleased you enjoyed Scarboro' TTDA - we're off to the Brid Club site tomorrow, for a week - so I've a lot to do today, packing car and van etc., collecting prescriptions, doing a bit of shopping (since it's our Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday!). Just got back from a soggy dog walk on the beach - and it was cold - now that there's some north in the wind. Needless to say, I was the only idiot on the beach (apart from Meg, that is - and I don't think she was that bothered
)The site's only 30 minutes from home - so it's hardly a big adventure - but will be nice to have a change of surroundings.
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Normal shopping morning. Cold but thankfully not much wind.
Open Reach Engineer was up our telegraph pole at 7.15 this morning putting in a new fibre cable. Thankfully he didn't knock on the door for anything from us lot who were all oblivious to the fact. He's not long left. Unfortunately the new Hub hasn't arrived as promised so that should now arrive tomorrow. Nothing ever seems to run smoothly.
I know what you mean about a change of scenery Richard. Could do with one ourselves.
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I had a eye appointment yesterday whilst in Villefrance all very different here and the doctor was a fill in whilst 1 was away she spoke good English and said I will need varifocals glasses that will be interesting as have had glasses just for reading and then gave me a prescription to make an appointment to have some eye exercises for my left eye so will go in January to Cahors and twelve sessions heyho also made an appointment for new glasses on 5th December at the same Optican that OH went to earlier this month.
We are off tomorrow for a short break further north and back home next Thursday as we have been invited to friends for a birthday do for another friend, my car nearly packed just a few more things to go in early tomorrow as we are not taking the caravan this time.
Enjoy your break Richard.
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RK
I have been wearing varifocals for many years now and get on with them fine. You just don't notice the change between close and far eventually. Not a bad idea idea to go for a best lens you can as that often means the close up element is a bit larger making it easier to adjust to them, also they are usually a bit slimmer. I have gone back to wearing peeper keepers because during covid I dropped two pairs of glasses on the pavement trying to disentangle them from my mask. I put up with the scratches on the lens for a while but eventually had to bite the bullet and have new glasses! Not cheap as you are probably about to find out
David
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Thank you for your information DK very useful, as to price will get some back from our health insurance and the second pair will be 1 euro which I was surprised about but that is what the doctor/ said and they will be tinted as well, OH cannot wear varifocals as he has trouble with 1 eye lens is slightly dropped so two pairs but he has been like that for some years and used to them now.
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RK
Margaret also has varifocals but she has transition lens which go darker the brighter the sun. Personally I have never liked that idea, I don't even wear sunglasses, despite the optician saying I should! Mind you given the weather we have had recently I very much doubt her lens have transitioned very often recently!
David
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We too both wear varifocals and have for many a year. Normally I don't have any problems with them but I have had trouble with one of the last pairs that I purchased two years ago and I can only use them for driving as they make my eyes very tired when using them for reading. Trying to get them properly adjusted was part of the reason I was so long in Specsavers the other day.
We collected the caravan this morning with all jobs done. I was able to purchase a 6 kg propane refill while I was there, so no shortage of supply locally. Just a few bits and pieces to do inside the van and we will be ready for the off again when the weather is a bit more settled.
Enjoy your week away, R&R. Fingers crossed that the worst of the bad weather has passed over and you get a dry week.
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We also have varifocals. From Specsavers the second pair is "free" , so we both have an ordinary pair and one that goes dark with the sun.
Down at DD's on GP duties, as usual. She has posted some of my turned items on "Etsy" and made a couple of sales. Amazing what price people on there will pay compared to what we were charging at the craft fair!!
I have made several spurtles, they were priced at £3.50 , on Etsy she put them up for £6. Postage is a cost, about £1.55, so after fees I will still be ahead.
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Kj
No idea what a Spurtle was until I looked it up!!! Margaret likes her porridge but she does it in the microwave. On a more serious note I would reckon selling them at £3.50 is too cheap? It might depend if others were selling them at the same show but I would have thought a minimum of a fiver?
David
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Well, David, spurtles are quite quick to make, I reckon 10 minutes, plus preparing the wood, and the locals are not keen to pay a decent amount! Bit of a "loss leader" maybe, but £3.50 covers my costs. Nobody else there was selling turned wooden items.
If you buy the mass produced, presumably Chinese made, ones, in a shop, they are less than £3, so difficult to ask a lot more here.
But you are correct, even on Amazon they are about £5.
A spurtle can be used for a lot more than stirring porridge......like.......custard.......white sauce......gravy.
Way back in the early 1970s we went with OH's parents to the spurtle mill on Deeside, not far from Balmoral, and bought a couple of spurtles, we still have them. I was fascinated by the way they made them. Nothing done with electricity, all hand or foot powered. They also made garden planters from old whisky barrels, we had a couple, which have now unfortunately rotted away after 40+ years.
The old fellow who owned and operated the spurtle mill had specified in his will that on nis death it must be burned down, and his family complied, so unfortunately it is no more.
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DD seems to be well informed on what might sell well, so I am now tasked with making Christmas trees and bells for our next sale on 02/12.
She seems to have inherited her maternal ability to sell things, so has purchased a 3D printer and is manufacturing all sorts of little things to sell.
She has been quite surprised at how much her stuff has been in demand!
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KJ - I don't do much now, but I used to do a lot of woodturning and other woodwork and it's true what you say that people just aren't prepared to pay what things are worth - so I ended up giving away most of my work - as presents. I've had a look through my 7000 or so photos stored on the cloud and all I can find are these! The Windsor chair took at least 60 hours to make - so who's going to pay a realistic price for that when you could probably buy a mass produced one for peanuts! (Wouldn't part with it, anyway!) Carving the elm seat was the most laborious part - using one of these - don't know if you have ever come across one?
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Richard
An Ercol Windsor chair at Heals will set you back £450 and that is just the standard design, not the two tier version, for want of a better description, shown in your picture. Funnily enough we were watching Greg Wallace, Inside the Factory, yesterday, the episode where he visited the Ercol factory and supposedly made a Windsor chair. I suspect success in selling home made craft items, and at what price, is probably down to where you sell them. Probably more successful at larger events but the downside being it's probably more expensive to have a place. Those Gavel's are beautiful but suspect they would be more difficult to sell at a local event but would probably sell well online at a decent price?
David
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Etsy is the way to go KJ. There’s Folksy as well. The more niche and unusual your products the better, as online is a huge market, so your stuff has to stand out as being a bit unique. Sadly a lot of folks don’t understand what goes into making some stuff, and do compare it with mass produced tat that is thrown out by exploited workers.
My sister has been using Etsy for a while now, most of her stuff goes to USA and Canada, so make sure you get postage costs right as well. Brexit has made this a lot more involved, and frankly a PITA, but you only have to do the research and setting up once mainly. I am in process of doing my own shop at the moment.
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Our DIL in N, Ireland is a milliner and sells many of her wonderful creations on Etsy. I agree TDA many folks just don't understand what goes into making all this wonderful stuff. My Mum was a professional dressmaker and people just didn't want to pay for the number of hours work that she put into making her clothes. One lady when looking at something that my Mum had made remarked 'goodness that's lovely, it's almost as good as something you would buy in a shop' My Mum's face was a picture!!
OH and I haven't had the best of health during the past couple of weeks but hopefully we are on the mend now.
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"Those Gavel's are beautiful but suspect they would be more difficult to sell at a local event but would probably sell well online at a decent price?"
Thank you, David. They were actually a set of three which I gave to a Lodge in Barton-on-Humber, of which I was a founder member - many years ago. I'm no longer involved and wonder if they are still going strong!
The wood is a tropical hard-grained wood from Africa - called Mahuhu - quite difficult to get hold of but a joy to turn and polish - it almost polishes itself!
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Your chair is superb 👏👏
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Sorry to hear that you and OH have been poorly Milliehull, do hope you will be feeling better soon. Not a good time of year when you feel under the weather, we hardly got light yesterday here it was so gloomy, fortunately it’s a beautiful day today. In fact I’ve just seen a butterfly!
Your Windsor chair is really beautiful Richard, such skill, well done.
I have also had the crafting financial woes in the past, so much so I now do things for my pleasure and accept that they are gifts or to be sorted out by someone when I’ve gone!! I enjoy the process of making so that will do me.
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Best wishes to you and your OH Millie, I hope you both feel better soon. ‘Tis that time of year now, sniffs and coughs abound. Hoping it’s nothing worse.
We enjoyed our trip to Cayton Village. Site is much as expected, very nice staff, lovely facility block. We had a HS with awning pitch that was absolutely huge. Upper site was closed, that looks the nicer bit of the site from our point of view, (more trees and shrubs). It’s a bit open and sort of car parky, but nice enough. Bottom site was around half full, so not busy at all over our two midweek nights there, mainly MH’s. We did spend an evening in a Glamping Cabin with friends, these are very nice, tight with four adults in, but then perfect for a couple. Interestingly, our friends paid £46 for their two nights in a cabin. We paid £59.40 for a pitch for two nights. Not quite sure how the Club arrives at its pricing, but I remain deeply sceptical. Cabin for us next time🤷♀️
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We have two spurtles K, bought in Scotland years ago. Both get plenty of use, as we love porridge, and great for soup making. A woodworking/turning neighbour makes lots of nice French bread cutting/serving boards. He’s currently making a raised dog bowl holder for us, out of a seasoned log. Just hollowing out a space in the top for dog bowl to rest in without it tipping or flying out. He’s made me some lovely turned wood curtain pulls as well, they clip onto each end of curtain to pull them without touching material. Nicer than the plastic ones. He does a nice line in HP wizard wands for children as well👍
I made up my Xmas present last week. Freshwater pearls, with a lovely handmade silver pendant with more pearls.
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