Jan 25

More Kites…/Project 52 - Week 23

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The project I finished this week was to finally make tails for the 8 pointed star kite which I made for and flew at Dieppe last year.  I think a tail may help it fly more stably, and at the right orientation.  For some reason it flew at a slight angle last year - hopefully this will correct it.

I’ve actually made six tails, each about 10 1/2 feet long and a couple of inches wide - thats a lot of sewing (about 129 feet!)  They each have an eyelet and will attach to a clip on the bottom point of the star - I can use all of them, or fewer depending on the wind and how much the kite will carry - hopefully with them all attached I have created the effect of a shooting star - can’t wait to try them out!

This also gives me the photo of the week…..a lot of multi-coloured ripstop tagliatelle!!

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So now, just as I think I’ve finished sewing, I now need to make a bag for the tails and of course there is still Project DS………

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Jan 23

Car Audio/Project 52, week 22

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After months of driving the 2cv with no radio, I thought it was probably a good idea to put my super dooper car radio with USB input and play from memory stick capability into the Smart to replace the standard Smart radio/cassette.  It was supposed to be put back into the 2cv at some point, but I will probably use it more in the Smart anyway.

The radio went in, but sounded a bit odd - Corinne Bailey Rae sounded like she was singing underwater, although surprisingly Guns & Roses sounded perfectly ok….new speakers were needed.  Not as easy as it sounds, as there is limited room for replacement speakers, and the doors are so long, and my legs so short that to put speakers in the doors would have put one behind my seat - not ideal!  In the end we settled for some speakers and speaker boxes from Smart that fit under the dashboard where the old ones are, and separate tweeters, and set about installing them.

It was very cold…..and it took most of a weekend….brrrr.  Little did we know that routing the wiring from the tweeters in the door panels into the back of the radio would involve taking off all of the front outside panels of the car!  Certainly sounds better now though, and now I have a car that is has warm seats, few rattles and an audible sound system without CDs.

So, picture of the week for Project 52?  The reason for the terrible sound - can you believe the size of these speakers that came out of the car:

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Jan 23

Project 52, Week 21

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Ok enough of work - time to go french dancing - name the musical instrument…

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Jan 22

Spreadsheets

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(well work, actually).  As the original title of the blog was supposed to be Cars, Kites and Spreadsheets, it seemed apt to title this post as I have, carrying on from the last couple.

Busy time at work at the moment - year end was 31st December, and we have  to compile “year end” files to send to Head Office so that the auditors don’t have to treck out to each individual office and charge the group a fortune.  A lot of information to compile, which couldn’t be started until month end is over.  On top of that, an AAT skills test to sit at college, which is another form of exam.  Quite a busy time in all!  Whilst I sort the year end stuff Emma has taken on the paying of all the insurance companies so we are all pretty busy.

One thing we do to get organised, and it is Emma who has brought the organisational streak to the department, is compile a “to do” list for month end which gets put up with magnets on our cupboard each month, and highlighted as we complete a job.  It started as quite a small list, and I used to just put notes in my calendar, but as the jobs and reports we had to produce multiplied, the list got longer and this is the best way we have found to make sure everything is done, and in the right order!

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Jan 22

Project 52 - Week 20

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The memory of week? Being missing a bit of kite, and having it turn up in the post two days later - unfortunately too late to finish the kite in time for the meeting, but better late than never - and this is the bit that the fuss was all about:

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Jan 22

Project 52, Week 19

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A very surreal photo from the work Christmas do!

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Jan 22

Kites

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Quite a lot has been happening on the kite front in the last few weeks, both making, adapting and meetings.  First off, there’s the swan kite….

At the same time as I was drinking too much, and sleeping too little at WASH, most of the rest of the kite club were attending a workshop with Karl Longbottom, making swan kites.  Karl was kind enough to put together kits for a couple of us who couldn’t make it to the workshop and mine has been sitting on my dining room table since the day of the car accident.  I thought the time between Christmas and New Year was a good time to make a start, and hopefully complete the kite.  Unfortunately I was a piece short, so I contacted the club, who contacted Karl, who put the piece into the post extremely quickly.  After that it was a case of following the instructions on the DVD provided.  I’ve never been 100% at following instructions, I tend to skip ahead and miss bits out - in this case it mean unpicking some bits and re-sewing!

I was hoping to have the kite finished in time for the New Year’s Day fly-in at Grafham Water, but due to the missing bit was too far behind with the build.  As it turns out, I got most of the sewing done, but took the opportunity at the fly-in to check out the bridling of a completed swan - we took some photos which proved very handy for reference when it came to finishing the kite.  I finished it fairly quickly after that but I’m not sure how it flies yet until I go to another fly-in with it.

Project DS hasn’t been abandoned, although it probably seems that way at the moment.  I have got some odd bits done that I’ve been meaning to do for ages - a bag for the 8 pointed star kite, another bag for the new swan kite, and a tail for the star - actually several tails, and I’m still working on those - the idea is to make it look like shooting star - I’ll take photos when they’re finished, if it still flies with them attached, that is!!

The New Year’s Fly-in was fun, very chilly, and hardly any wind!  Scott had a hot air balloon that flew so high it disappeared into the clouds, otherwise only a couple of kites were flying.  Always worth going for a good chat/catchup, some BBQ food and hot non-alcoholic mulled wine.

Photos…..swan kite:

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GOKF New Year Fly-in:

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Jan 21

Project 52, Week 18

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Jan 15

Melt-in-the-mouth Mince Pies

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Before I carry on with the blogging, time for a quick recipe.  I wish I’d found this one before Christmas, the pastry sounds interesting - maybe I’ll give it a try this year:

500g mincemeat

a little milk, for brushing,

caster sugar, to sprinkle

Pastry ingredients:

300g plain flour plus extra

3tbsp icing sugar

175g unsalted butter, fridge cold

175g soft cheese

about 3tbsp single or double cream

Sift the flour into a bowl with the icing sugar and 1/2 tsp salt.  Using a pair of knives, or food processor, cut the butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles course breadcrumbs.  Add enough cream to mix to a soft dough.  Gather up into a ball, knead very briefly to smooth out, then divide into two.  Wrap each piece in cling film & chill for at least 1 hr.

Lightly grease a bun tin, on a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin, then stamp out equal numbers of 6cm and 7cm circles.  Use the larger circles to line the cups of the tin, place 1 heaped tsp of mincemeat in each one, then cover with the smaller discs, lightly pressing the edges together.  Make a small hole in the centre of each lid to allow steam to escape.  Chill for 30 mins before baking.

Heat oven to 220 degrees centigrade/fan200C/gas 7 and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up.  Place the mince pie tin on the baking tray in the oven and bake for 10 mins.  Reduce heat to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 then cook for another 10 mins until golden brown.  Brush lightly with milk, dust with caster sugar then return to the oven for 1 min.  Cool for 5 mins in the tine then ease out.

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Jan 13

Project 52 - Week 17

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What is this you may ask?  Well if the flash hadn’t have blown away the sign beneath it you would see that it is the remains of a bouncing bomb prototype.  Stood in the garden of the Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, the former Officers Mess for the Dambusters Squadron.

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