Finally back home after seeing my mum and the journey to and from Colchester went very well despite the inevitable roadworks. Foggy and rain going there, sunshine on the return journey and seeing steam engines and classic cars. The first time I have ever been in a queue of traffic and happy because the steam engines held us up and I could happily observe them.

My mum is well but very frail and sadly, although her mind is as sharp as ever, her body is deteriorating. The last three years has seen a mixture of excellent care and woeful neglect and stupidity. My sister is pursuing a complaint regarding the GP as quite frankly they were useless and continue to be the same. I'll say no more about that but it's a common complaint across the UK. She is comfortable and I will be visiting as often as I can because I fear our time will be limited. I had planned to see her later in the month as I had planned to get the tracking completed on my car before any lengthy journeys. This came home to me as any attempt to drive over 60 mph resulted in the car juddering and shaking so I will contact the garage to get that done. Annoying but it resulted in me enjoying the view when I could as I drove at a more relaxed pace. Seeing my sister and brother-in-law had us talking for several hours about all sorts of topics from politics, travel, the supernatural, health and the state of British comedy, music and radio. They have plans to travel later this year including a possible visit to Lincoln where I can hopefully show them around. We also discussed future tours of Scotland as I spoke about my desire to travel around the Highlands and Islands via campervan and they also have the same desire to do so. I think that seeing my mum has strengthened that desire to do the things on my bucket list and stop putting them off.

Home and after chatting with family and fussing the cats, inevitably I completed an hours work on the FW 189 build which is now finished.

I am happy with the build and it will go on the shelf as it is as I wanted an easy OOB build before I tackle some of the more difficult kits.

I also received another kit in the post whilst I was away...

I like these old LS kits which are no longer manufactured and although available abroad, they do appear to be primarily for the home Japanese market hence they are quite rare in the UK. Surprisingly, the kit was very cheap. As stated in an earlier post I have tidied up the stash and created more display space for completed builds. I have a shelf unit full of old history books I haven't read for years and I suspect I won't read again and the dilemma is do I get rid of them, pass them on to charity shops? I had used them for university including the Open University and I guess I will pass them on. Time to let go of excess baggage although I think Sue might faint when she sees me get rid of them! She knows how attached I am to books. I will keep the detective  and historical novels I have because I do re-read them and I often pick one out despite knowing the story. Comfort reading or connecting with an 'old friend' but I will keep them for now. I also realised I won't be doing any further formal education. I really can't be bothered with it all as the education system appears to have disappeared up its own fundament and I would much rather spend my money elsewhere. I can continue to study informally and use the resources of the WEA, the u3a and future learn as and when. 

For now, I intend to relax and avoid the car, potter around the house and garden. The latter is now showing shoots including the Marigolds and one cucumber showing through. The weather is warmer and hopefully the rain will hold off and we won't have a typical bank holiday Monday.

TTFN

A quick update as I am again heading down to Essex but the news is good. My mum is back home having signed herself out of hospital and then straight into a hospital appointment at Moorfields Hospital, London the following day. Pain relief has been sorted for her back pain and the surgeon for the eye appointment agreed with my mums request to leave well alone, monitor the situation locally and no further trips to London. She was exhausted following all of this and she said she intends to stay home from now on and avoid any further hospital admissions. Being at work the past couple of days helped to distract me but glad now to have days off to visit again and see the rest of the family in better circumstances.

I did manage to get some work completed on the aircraft build and I went straight into another quick build to keep myself occupied. I'll complete the decals and weathering on the FW 189 when I return home. I also had a tidy up of my model stash and I will reorganise my modelling desk this weekend when I return from Essex. Despite cleaning and tidying it up, the cats love sleeping there and  I find all sorts scattered beneath the table. With the slightly warmer weather and the birds in the garden they like to be outside but happily they have little chance of catching the birds and we keep a watch on the pigeons nest since Sherlock attempted to climb up there. The usual Collared Doves, Blackbirds, Blue Tits and an occasional Magpie are seen each day. Not a lot of variety although we put out dried worms, bread and suet balls during the winter for them and kept the cats indoors at those times.

The little Fiat Coloniale has been partially built although the two figures were assembled and painted several weeks back when I tackled a variety of figures. They are too glossy / shiny and I will have to dull coat them. A tiny car and there is an even tinier one...

Time to clock off as there is a welcome cup of tea with my name on it.

TTFN.

 Enjoying my days off until I discovered my mum is back in hospital and she is currently on the frailty ward. The cancer we know is back behind her eye but the osteoporosis has led to fractures in her spine and the pain was too much for her, hence the admission to sort out pain management and re-assess community care needs. She hopes to be out today but my sister spoke about her returning home next week. She is comfortable and looked after and receiving good care on the ward. I plan to visit and my plans are now for more visits as she continues to receive palliative care. Sadly, we know it will likely be this year as she has become increasingly frail and I had very little sleep last night as I couldn't get off to sleep worrying about her. You think you are prepared for what is inevitable but...My sister will keep me updated and oddly enough it was my mum who told me she is in hospital when I phoned her up to make arrangements for travelling down next week. 

I wasn't going to add an update on the build today but it has kept me distracted for a couple of hours until I realised I was knocking things over and making a mess, not a good idea with paints, sharp blades and glue around.

First coat of paint thinned with water and brushed on the upper surface and clear canopies glued in place using white glue. I'll leave this to dry and clear coat it before adding more paint including a contrasting black green camouflage. A quick build so far but it might be that I set it aside for now. 

TTFN.

 Hooray! Thursday, days off and today it was sunny and dry which means gardening. Grass cut, some weeds removed and the pile of branches cut last year reduced and placed in the recycling bin. It looks tidier but I asked our neighbour about the concrete that is appearing in the centre of what is laughably a lawn. She confirmed a previous tenant had a pool there and buried the concrete when they no longer used it. One lawn mower has already fallen victim to the concrete chunks poking through and I am contemplating what to do about it. I could remove it but I have a horrible feeling there might be a lot of it and a big hole will need filling. I might have a poke around the edges and see the extent of it. I had an hour out there and then in for a hot shower and the TENS machine on my back but it was lovely to be out there again.

The completed build of the Mitsubishi Ki-46 Dinah absent it's aerial but that can be added any time. I am not entirely happy with the green paint, I might have to revisit it with a wash to blend the colours together. I started today on the next build and I was unsure what to make a start on, especially since I watched a documentary on the Battle of Midway and I hadn't realised how it was a really close run battle. Inevitably I have now added a couple of US aircraft to my must have list following this but I reached into the stash for this...

Another Axis aircraft and again it will be a quick out of the box build. The two booms, cockpit and crew completed so far with the completed wings in the box. I would love to build this aircraft in a larger scale and the aircraft that dropped this chap off on a mission of sabotage. I recently read the book and I can thoroughly recommend it with the adage that truth is stranger than fiction definitely coming to mind. The more I read about espionage during WW2 and during the Cold War, the more I think we are only reading what has been released for public consumption and that is often strange enough. Looking out the window and it is still sunny so I am off to sit out there with a welcome cuppa.

TTFN.

 Raining again overnight and this morning so gardening on hold again but whilst looking for batteries for a  TV remote control I found these acrylic paints. I bought them cheap from an all sorts shop a couple of years ago and I tried out some viridian green acrylic paint. I had brush painted and later clear coated the aircraft yesterday and today I brush painted this paint over the green areas. 

The above photo taken with a flash and the second photo taken without to show the difference lighting can make to the colours.

I did this because someone on a model group commented on a previous build paint scheme where the flash had washed out the black paint and made it appear grey. As these are new paints to me I will have to leave the build alone for several hours to thoroughly dry before any further work on it. 

I tried the TENS machine again on my left hip and then left knee and I'm very pleased with the results as the pain is reduced. The machine is small and I can use it at work either at the desk or driving, pulling over for the latter. I have just tried it on a low setting and for no more than twenty minutes. Good news so far and hopefully this can help with sleep. I might then have more energy to get on with everyday activities instead of feeling tired all the time.

The main nursing union has refused the pay deal and they are continuing with the strikes alongside the junior doctors. I belong to another union and we haven't striked in our area and to be honest I would prefer to continue working. I think the offer was a good one and I think the strikes are politically motivated rather than just about money. Inflation is high, certainly much higher than the fantasy figure the government and ONS put out in the media. An easy way to check the inflation rate is to compare prices of everyday goods in the supermarkets, the increases in utility costs although much of the latter is the fantasy approach to dealing with climate change and green taxes whilst cutting down mature trees to build 'green' roads and railways. An example is a tin of corned beef now costing £3.40 when a year ago it was about £2.00. I think that's a bit more than 10 % inflation. Returning to the strikes, I think given the current state of the NHS the strikes aren't helping and play into the hands of those who wait in the wings wanting a British version of US healthcare insurance. I have little faith in any of the major parties  whose policies are generally similar, only the colour of the rosettes differ. I'll finish there as I removed the next few lines about the riots in France, war in Ukraine, the sabre rattling in Taiwan, the deteriorating economic situation and the BRICS nations setting up in opposition to the USA and allied nations is worrying. Focus on local, family and friends.

TTFN.

 The first issues with this build but clamping the glued parts in place has done the trick and some filler might help. Guess who forgot to do the filler?

First layer of paint brushed on as I am trying to achieve the correct colours and it might be that I use oils for this.

Update: I had a couple of things to attend to and in the interim the TENS machine arrived.

It is currently (Groan!) attached to my right knee and I shall see how it works out but an interesting sensation...

So far so good, the pain in my knee has reduced and I do feel more comfortable. I will try it out again tomorrow and see how it goes over the weekend.

TTFN.

 A busy two days with three days work and some leftover work from last week and I was shattered when I got home. An early night and I had hoped to spend time in the garden today but rain put a stop to that. We have had heavy rain showers, some spectacular cloud formations, high winds and at times hail interspersed with sunshine over the last three days. Very spring like and the pigeons are nesting in the tree again, hence the cats hanging around the tree. 

Given the rain afforded me the opportunity to make a start on a new build, the Mitsubishi Ki-46 Dinah in 1/72 scale. This is an excellent kit which fits together well and so far I have encountered no problems.

The second photo shows progress with the clear canopies dry fitted as I have a couple of crew figures to go in. From my perspective this is an attractive aircraft and quite small compared to the later WW2 Allied fighter aircraft. I am looking forward to painting this as it is liveried in brighter camouflage colours compared to the usual browns and greens. I have the later version, a mark 3 in 1/48 scale as mentioned in an earlier post and for that kit I bought some aftermarket photo etch metal parts as more will be seen in the cockpit. 

I have ordered a TENS machine after BW helpfully reminded me about the machines as I had forgotten about them. I will give it a go, particularly for my knees and hip and hopefully that will help with the pain in the evenings. Now to put my feet up and listen to some paranormal podcasts with a much needed cup of tea.

TTFN.

 Sunday saw me pottering around the garden but only for an hour as constant bending, lifting and moving stuff on Saturday had limited my movements somewhat and last night was a very uncomfortable night. But first phase of gardening done and next weekend, weather permitting I can cut the grass and continue with the tidy up of the old branches piled up against the fence as a security measure. We have had rain all day and half an hour ago a huge but short thunderstorm plus torrential rain. Depending on which forecaster one looks at, we are likely to have rain for most of the week. Spring showers, cold and occasional heavy downpours. It allowed me to complete the build of the Corsair F4F-U aircraft circa 1951 during the Korean war.

An old kit mould from 1976 I believe and it showed but filler and sanding helped but not as good a job as I had hoped. The gaps in the wing were too wide but as an out of the box build it will do.

I have just added a second clear coat to protect the decals and once that is set I will add an aerial and the job's done. I have the next kit lined up but the next two days will see me trying to squeeze three days of work into two days so I will be busy. A colleague will run one of the clinics for me and I will do the rest but work also left over from last week when I was off enjoying hospital shenanigans. I also followed the adventures of an ex-colleague of mine on social media as he and his wife enjoyed a hired camper van tour around the highlands of Scotland. I wanted to do this for my sixtieth birthday but the lockdowns stopped that but it has set me thinking again. That's for the future as other more important things require my attention, mainly home and family. I hope your Easter weekend is going well and is a peaceful and enjoyable one.

TTFN.

 A lovely day and the garden had dried out and allowed me a couple of hours out there this morning. Some plants transplanted to larger tubs and compost added. The raised bed cleaned out, lots of wild flower seeds scattered and covered with fresh compost and hopefully will attract bees and butterflies. I also cleaned up some pots and the tomato seeds planted, covered under plastic bottles and some larger pots readied for when the seedlings emerge. I stopped after that as two hours is about my maximum before my back and knees give out. I also repotted the Fuchsia which although it looks dead, checking the roots and base of the plant and it might survive. Tomorrow will be the first grass cut of the year, removing the pile of old branches stacked near the fence and clearing out the composter. I need space to access and repair the back fence which has fallen into disrepair.  A lot to do and I will pace myself as Sue is unable to do much and I have to be careful as well. The Willow tree has pigeons nesting again as well as Blue tits, the Robin and Blackbirds sitting in the branches hence the cats interest. No photos today as I want the garden looking reasonable as opposed to the current mess before I photograph it. I am pleased to have made a start and fingers crossed for a warm summer and plenty of sunshine. Now for a hot shower, tea and some lemon drizzle cake. I hope your Easter is going well with sunshine and no interference from the multitude of idiots out there.

TTFN

Addendum: I bought another kit, a rare one and I could not resist as it is a float plane and a Japanese one at that. Sue just rolled her eyes when it arrived this morning.

 I had a good root around the garden and I then brought the green recycling bin through preparatory to making a start. After last night's rain the garden is sodden and even after allowing another few hours to dry out it remains sodden. So I'll leave any work until tomorrow but a clean up operation indoors has demanded our attention as the upper hallway ceiling had a partial collapse this morning. I slept through it until Sue woke me up as a disturbed nights sleep saw me having a rare lie in. Dreams of zombies including me killing a zombie Tom Baker in his Dr Who guise with a spade was the one dream I remember from last night and I rarely remember dreams. The ceiling looked a bit ropey last autumn and we had been expecting a problem with it but hoped to address it before anything happened. From the landing to the ceiling is about thirteen feet in height and just above the stairwell so not an easy place to place a ladder. I guess I will be looking for a reputable builder to repair this but my worry is that it will entail the whole ceiling having to come down and be replaced. I had hoped we had seen the last of disruptive workmen but it is a 120 year old house and these things happen. It will have to wait as a bank holiday weekend and no one will be answering the phone but I will take photos and consider contacting the house insurers next week.

 

When I opened up the bag with all the seeds stored away I hadn't realised how many I had in there. Some very old packets from before the lockdowns as well as the recent packs I bought. I will focus on the tomatoes, cucumbers and chillies as well as the flowers for bees and butterflies. Lazy gardening I guess but given Sue's health we might have to consider what is doable this summer. It probably explains why I slept in so late today, 8 a.m. which is very late for me, worrying about it all. I did manage to airbrush the latest build of the Corsair this morning as one small modelling task.

I mixed blue with a few drops of Nato black added and I am pleased with the overall colour. I wanted a slightly faded look as further down the line I might add some blue oil paint to enhance the depth of colour. 

The Wirraway is finally completed and is 1/72 scale and looks tiny compared to the Corsair which is 1/48 scale. The Corsair was a big beast anyway and this is a challenging but enjoyable build. Not my best work as the filler wasn't my best work but we'll see how it turns out.

I now have four days off for the garden, some more modelling and reading. I have little enthusiasm for much else as both Sue and I are struggling with health issues although mine are mobility related and minor in comparison to Sue's. I am also working my way through the DVD's of 'The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes' and thoroughly enjoying them. My collection of plastic pop bottles has gone, probably binned so I will need to get some plastic covers for the seeds once in their pots and some more feed. I hadn't planned on going out but a walk for some gentle exercise and some shopping might needed.

TTFN.

 First, the important news.

Sue is ok and the hospital consultant in A & E  has provided a possible diagnosis and will contact the GP for this and a referral to the specialist team regarding one other possible issue for further investigations whilst the GP will address the other issue. I won't share details on here but we hope the specialist team will find nothing further and the GP's interventions will be all that is required. To be honest, the A & E attendance knocked the stuffing out of both of us and I really feel for those who have no support, especially the elderly who have to attend there. With Easter looming I suspect we'll hear nothing for at least a week, probably longer. I don't know if it is deliberate government policy, unspoken obviously, to run down the NHS but it is more than a funding issue . An ageing population, poor provision for social care and a lack of communication and joined up care and support doesn't help. After what happened to my Mum and this plus what I see during my work leaves me feeling quite despondent about the current NHS and the future. We have local elections coming up and my choice is three mainstream useless wankers, two independents and the extreme left Stalinist cadre (not really large enough to call a party!). I have in the past voted for independents and the Stalinists as they never really garner enough votes to deliberately damage the lives of people. We need the sensible party to return to politics!

Otherwise, a day spent doing on-line mandatory training about which I will say little other than it is mandatory. However, Easter Bank Holiday weekend and quelle surprise, it is raining. But we might have three dry days coming up and the garden bin, various tools, compost and seeds ready to go in. As I've said previously we are looking at pots for the tomatoes, chillies and cucumber and just planting wild flower seeds in the raised bed and elsewhere for a change this year. I have bought a couple of interesting looking plant bulbs to go in and more importantly, the Willow tree is reprieved this year although it will receive a further pruning next winter. 

Otherwise a chippy tea tonight and darts on the TV and fingers crossed for a good, relaxing weekend ahead. 

TTFN.

 I have no desire to repeat the last twenty four hours, ten of which were spent at the GP and in A & E as Sue was very unwell and the GP sent her to A & E for further investigations. After bloods and a CT scan completed, we were told the surgeon would like to see her but by 2 a.m Sue had had enough and discharged herself. The staff were good but nine hours sat in various hard chairs in a crowded emergency department, nothing to drink and both very tired I agreed we would go home and she will contact the GP. Although in pain she was walking, talking, had an appetite and was thoroughly fed up. I have re-scheduled my training days at work because I am exhausted physically and emotionally today. To add to the excitement Sherlock decided he would climb the tree in the garden and with encouragement he eventually found his way down. First time ever but I had visions of spending hours at the vet today to further enhance yesterdays experience. Despite the great staff in A & E I can definitely say the NHS is broken. When we left after 2 a.m. there were people sitting there who had been waiting ten plus hours and likely to be there overnight.

Ho hum, moving on...after a good breakfast I tidied up some of the last model build and did some work on the current build plus painting the 1/32 scale WW1 figures for the AEG G IV future build.

I also received a new kit, a Japanese aircraft in 1/48 scale which caught my eye.  The F4F Corsair is an old kit I bought cheaply some time back and boy, does it need a lot of work filling and sanding seams and gaps. A lovely shade of blue circa 1951, in US Marines livery and the Korean war. This one caught me out as I have a gap in my WW2 knowledge of the pacific war regarding aircraft used there and I assumed I was buying a WW2 Corsair. Happy to still build it.

The Hyakushiki Shitei III is a development of the Mitsubishi Ki-46 'Dinah' which I have a 1/72 scale model of in my stash. Both bought because they are attractive aircraft to my eye and the first Japanese aircraft I will build. The two WW1 figures are pictured with the progress so far and require some detail work on the faces. 

Ordinarily after last nights shenanigans I would grab an hours sleep this afternoon but a couple of doors up the neighbour is having her damp course put in and it is noisy. So podcasts, music and fussing the cats will be the extent of my ventures this afternoon and I will be doing the on-line training booked for today tomorrow instead. More tea required as ten hours without tea or coffee (the hospital cafe shut at 4 and the vending machines fizzy drinks only) has left me with a thirst for a decent cuppa.

TTFN.

 Enjoying a very lazy Sunday with near completion of my current model build and I cooked Sunday dinner today. Sue discovered I cook very good roast potatoes and she admits she is unable to do this for some reason. I'm not always a fan of a traditional Sunday roast and I am often quite happy with beans on toast or a sandwich instead, whereas Sue loves her roast dinners. We tend to have one every other week and this week we opted for roast beef. Cue a parade of cats including our three as they caught the scent of roasting beef! There was also a three way stand off in the garden between Maisie, Jerry and another black and white cat.

The Wirraway 1/72 scale in RAAF colour scheme is now nearly completed. It requires a light wash and an aerial and can then be placed on the shelf. An enjoyable build but also one I endured at times as lots of work required to bring it up to scratch and it will do. The decals as can be seen are not the best and quite fragile. I am now mulling over which kit to start on next and it will be another aircraft, possibly a US Vought Corsair during the Korean War or the Japanese Mitsubishi KI-46 'Dinah' which is lurking behind the Wirraway box above.

I received a welcome addition to my DVD collection which is The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. I first saw several episodes on-line some years ago and this winter it was shown on late night TV. I have some of the stories in the first volume book but I decided to buy the DVD's. Made in the early seventies and excellent acting, great stories and period sets with many well known British actors including Derek Jacobi, Bernard Hepton, Donald Pleasance, Judy Geeson, Charles Gray and John Thaw. 

I enjoy reading the stories and many others from the late Victorian and Edwardian era and I am glad I have the books as well the above DVD's before they too are amended to avoid offence to modern audiences. I read them knowing the language and stories reflect the imperialist attitudes of the time with blatant misogyny, racism and nationalism. That includes horrible attitudes towards black people, Asians, Irish and Jews but with twenty-first century hindsight I am aware of that and can accept that such horrible attitudes are of that era and we have, most of us, hopefully moved on. 

I guess another thing about the stories and the TV programmes is one of connection. During the sixties I knew people who lived through those times or their parents lived during those times. We had the elderly Mrs Smith's, two sisters who lived together with their cats next door to us and they would have been born in the early 1890's. It is only with hindsight that I realise they would have been of the generation of unmarried women during and following WW1 because there was a shortage of eligible young men. They also lived through the depression, a second world war and rebuilding a changing society. They were gone by 1975 and new neighbours moved in but I would dearly love to go back there and talk with them, find out more about them. I can always ask my Mum if she remembers them but I certainly recall many of the English folks moving out as we immigrants of the British Empire came to London and some of those neighbours didn't like us. The chickens of Imperialism always come home to roost as empires end. History shows the same with the Austro-Hungarian empire, the Roman empire, etc... and will undoubtedly happen when the US empire begins to make way for other rising powers unless we attain the status of glow in the dark dust sending Geiger counters crazy. I must be optimistic as I have just bought the DVD set to add to the other sets I have and I still believe we will have functioning (expensive) electricity to allow me to watch it at future dates!

p.s. The music is marvellous in the series and I particularly enjoy the opening theme to each episode. I shall watch some now.

TTFN.