We have some Snapdragons in the wildflower patch and we have no idea where they came from. This picture was taken a week ago and they have grown but today it has rained…a lot. As it has for the past week and it’s been colder than usual as well. Not that we’d have got much use out of the garden with a variety of different building jobs going on around us plus the added beat of the pile drivers on the new housing estate. I worked out this morning that we have had four plus years of building works going on in the locality, no wonder the road is cracking up and the noise and dust throughout that time. But when it stops, it is lovely and quiet around here, surprising for the centre of town.

Two out of three current builds as work in progress with a 1/35 scale Jagdpanther shown above and a 1/48 Sopwith Dolphin below.This tank destroyer went together fairly easily and fairly quickly and now requires a clear coat, decals, a further mart clear coat and then final weathering.

I have dropped the biplane twice and this is it after repairs, a mess quite frankly and the rigging is proving troublesome. I knew it would be a difficult kit as it’s a short run low pressure moulding from a small manufacturer with white metal parts requiring CA glue. With kits like this requiring rigging I tend to do 15 - 20 minutes and then leave well alone until the following day or, in this case, the following week! The Sherman armoured recovery vehicle requires research as the kit is not a true rendition of the bewildering variety of ARV’s based on this tank. Hopefully I can have these builds completed in the next week or two and I can then decide on a large build for the next three months, in between garden time if the weather permits.

I have started reading my kindle again but Amazon have stopped supporting older kindles so any books I downloaded but not opened are now unavailable unless I buy a new kindle. I won’t as I tend to read real books and the kindle was useful for when I went away or breaks at work. I have several opened but unread books on it and I have a few that I like to reread. Factual or reference books, especially history or modelling tend to be real books as they are easier with regard to photos, maps and diagrams. As you can see, I discovered why I couldn’t download photos and it was an issue with the Mac which I now rarely use, preferring the ease and accessibility of the iPad. Now sorted and I am happy to return to blogging.

Not much to say otherwise as the quiet life of retirement is slow but wonderful. Nearly three years now and apart from mobility issues, I must say I enjoy being in a cul de sac of life away from the rat race.

TTFN.