Imprisonment - Day 79

Imprisonment - Day seventy nine
Monday 8th June 2020

Cars - 28
Motorbikes - 1
Bikes - 2
Dog walkers - 2
Walkers - 2
Runners - 1
Horses - 0
Horse walkers - 0
Molehills - 0
Cycling temperature - 7.5c

Saw Lotsa Dogs again this morning but no Crossover Man as he must be at work.

I started to fill and rub down the bedhead of our new classic bed as the sun effects the plastic like it does with garden furniture and causes it to become brittle. The headboard is the only part of the bed that is subjected to sunlight which has caused the surface to break up in places leaving some rough patches. Our bed was just the same but it fills well and rubs down to a good finish. After rubbing down I filled it again ready to be rubbed down again tomorrow.

I got a bit off track with the Bentley as I continued with the overall bag I started last night and because that one turned out so well I decided to make a smaller one for the nylon ground sheet I put down whilst lying under the car greasing or making repairs etc. Theses two bags have used up a lot of the small off cuts of leather I have accumulated over the years. There is quite a bit of work in making them so they took longer than expected.

There is very little stowage space in the cockpit of the Bentley so I made a small self which I covered in matching leather that fits to the right hand side of the handbrake. It fitted like a dream using velcro to attach it to the velcro I used to position the upholstery. Now on a roll I started to look at the little storage pouch I made some years ago which fits just above the handbrake. I was just going to clean it up and refit it but on closer inspection I had used steel screws and staples which now show signs of rust. Theses days I always use stainless steel on this sort of thing. So I took it all to pieces replacing the screws for stainless. I then reckoned that I could improve on the design so I cut some new leather and started to re make it but unfortunately I ran out of time yet another job for tomorrow. My jobs seem to be mounting up as the white paint arrived for the bed this morning but that will have to wait for better weather. The flutted aluminium and rubber matting arrived for raising the lid of the tool box by an inch and I'm waiting for some 1/8th inch aluminium rod which I have decided to used instead of the cane I bought for the piping on the dashboard. I think the aluminium will be better as it will nor expand or contract when wet like the cane would.

Oh and I've got to paint the inside of the top garage not to mention the work I want to do on the Austin Seven.

Hayden was out working today visiting his various building sites. It was like old times as he use to every so often call at lunchtime for a chat. This time we chatted about a boat he'd gone to look at between sites. It was a 1980's 26' Welcraft boat with twin 5.7 litre V8 engines a real Miami Vice drug runner. Unfortunately the seller was asking too much for it especially as the engines both needed rebuilding. Hayden offered him a fraction of the selling price but the man refused. I don't think there are many people who would want to buy a boat like this.