Visit to The Old Tile Works

There is quite an interesting history of tile works along the banks of the River Humber. This one was established in 1840, and at one time there were twelve other tile works in the area. I remember walking past this place many times about twenty years ago when I lived and worked in South Ferriby. It looked pretty derelict then, but it was still a functioning tile factory. Today, they still make tiles in some of the sheds, as they did all those years ago. Now it has a new lease of life as a visitor centre.   

 It was a lovely sunny day when I was there yesterday. Some of the buildings have been completely restored, the factory is on the other side of this wall which is not open to the general public.

The walls have been built by laying roof tiles in a vertical position with a dollop of cement along the bottom of each row to keep them in position.

Here we are in the drying shed. This old building is full of character and is like an Aladins Cave of individual and interesting things for sale, from reclaimed garden furniture to hand made Lincolnshire flower pots and lots more.

Here's a look inside. Getting ready for Halloween.

 

Huge great pots big enough to plant trees in.

Decorative pots of all shapes and sizes, all hand made.

Tiles made on the premises are used on the roof. I asked about them leaking as there appears to be nothing else to stop the rain getting in. I was told, no there are no leaks. Amazing when you can see the sky through the cracks.

 Old fashioned post boxes refurbished and freshly painted, for sale.

You can see the Humber Bridge in the background. I walked up there to take the first photograph, looking down on the site.

I walked around the back of the restaurant to the Artisan Village. This is a row of studios rented out to local crafts people to make and sell their traditional wares.

They use traditional methods with clay dug from their own fields along the river. Sadly the pottery man was not at his wheel. I would love to have a go at making a pot and getting all messy.

 

On the wall outside the Potters Shed.

I walked along the row of studios, Yellowbelly Woodwork was not open. He makes bespoke kitchens and freestanding furniture using traditional techniques. Wold Cycles was also not open, he makes hand made custom bikes. Disappointing that they were closed. A delicious smell prompted me to take a look inside Egils Preserves. The jams, conserves, chutneys and pickles smelled gorgeous.
Then I came to Natur-ally Yarns and Knitwear. This is Alison Casserly who has been a knitting and crochet fan for most of her life. She buys her locally sourced yarn in it's natural pale cream colour and dyes it herself using plants she gathers from the countryside.

Her designs are stunning, this is the work she produced for her university degree.

Alison teaches knitting and crochet to beginners here in her studio. She is thinking about teaching machine knitting, using the three machines she has. There are items for sale, from fingerless gloves and teapot cosies, to fabulous dresses and jackets. All individual and hand made.

You can also buy wool to take away and make your own creations. Alison has a website here.

The Tiles Coffee Shop and Restaurant is open 10am to 4pm daily. In fine weather there is a decking area overlooking the lake. It looked quite popular yesterday. I might go back one day and enjoy a coffee and cake in the sunshine. Inside it can seat 100, and looks to be the ideal location for a party.

So, if you are anywhere near the south bank of the Humber Bridge it's worth an hour or so stop off if you have time. It's quite close to the Reeds Hotel which is a short distance along the river bank. If you are walking you can get to it easily from Barton, just follow the river underneath the bridge.

That's all folks, this is not a sponsored posts, as you know I get nowt for plugging the places I have visited.

I will leave Thornton Abbey until tomorrow. Toodle pip.

PS. Car passed it's MOT test. BIG GRIN  :o)) 

A DIY valet to save money

I can't remember when I last washed my car, must be about a year by my reckoning. I haven't needed to, I have only done 5,000 miles since the last MOT test. Mind you, silver is regarded as being the best colour for not showing the dirt, black and white being the worst. I gave it a quick swill over the other day, but this morning I thought I would make more of an effort and get into all the nooks and crannies, give it a super duper five star valet. I don't believe in taking my car to a car wash, when I can do it at home myself for the price of a bottle of car shampoo which lasts for a very long time if used sparingly.

Here I have gathered together my cleaning tools. Three assorted brushes of different sizes. A large piece of sponge, and a small sponge with a rough side to it. A towelling rag, and a squirty bottle filled with clean water for rinsing the dirt away in those small hard to get your fingers into places.

First of all, open all the doors, the bonnet, and the tailgate. The inside is clean as I only did that last week with the Dyson.  

I think you have met Heidi before, she wants to get in on everything. The back seats are down at the moment, that's how I keep it. I remove the rear headrests and the parcel shelf and keep them in the house. No point in carrying extra weight around. If you have stuff in the boot it only costs more in petrol. I only take what I need with me, and every time I come back I always empty the car. The shopping bags stay in, plus an old throw in case I need to put something mucky in the back, or cover up something I have bought.   

Yes, Heidi, you are a pretty girl, but I don't want to play at the moment. There is plenty of room in here for me to sleep if I need to. Chuck in my sunlounger mattress, a few pillows, a camping stove to make coffee, and bran flakes, and I have my own bed and breakfast  :o) 

She's gone. Time to turn it back into a five seater. Lift the seats and put all the bits back in. The man in the garage will want to check seat belts, spare wheel, and other parts when it goes in tomorrow. Everything needs to be easily accessible

This is why I have got all doors opened, to clean the hidden gunge. The muck at the top of the tailgate is yuk. If you leave it and it gets worse it will start eating into the paintwork. So with brushes and sponge I attack it.  

That's better. I'd better keep on top of it and wipe with a cloth a bit more often.

All around the doors have been done, sparkly clean. All the rubber seals have been wiped.  

Inside the bonnet and the engine compartment has been cleaned. All the windows have been polished inside and out. All the wheels have been scrubbed. New carpets have been put in the footwells. The dashboard has been polished. In fact it's like brand spanking new again.

Now where is Heidi, ha ha, might have guessed. She is so happy, I think she wants to move in.

That's £35 saved on a full valet, and it's taken me two and a half hours. That's very frugal I would say. Bye the way, I washed it with my bath water. 

After lunch I decided to take it for a spin. It's been a lovely sunny day again and I wanted to check out a couple of places. There will be pics tomorrow of Thornton Abbey Gatehouse, and a new visitor attraction, The Old Tile Works at Barton, near the Humber Bridge. MOT test at 2pm tomorrow, keep your fingers crossed.

Toodle pip.

When I was famous

Hey, what was all that about yesterday! It's ok to get a bit bored sometimes, it's ok to be fed up, but with me my down moments are very short lived, I can soon pull myself back up. Every day is a fresh new start, every day is a bonus. Yesterday is dead and gone.

I get bored with the sameness of life, routine stifles me. I have not been put on this planet to be a robot, to follow the rules, I've had enough of that in my time at work. I was a bit of a rebel, always had a lot to say for myself, now I make my own rules up.

I need a constant stream of new ideas, I need every day to be different. I get bored with my own blog sometimes, if I was someone else reading it I would think, oh no, not that again. I need to keep refreshing it. When I am struggling for a fresh new post and there is nothing in my empty head, I regurgitate something I have written before, twist it around, and put a new slant on it. I am not happy doing that. Ok, I know many of you have said you like reading, and I am chuffed, but I write my blog for me. It's like baking a cake, I put the ingredients together, and you the lovely readers are the icing on the top.

I get a buzz when I spend a long time composing something, re reading and editing it, and when I think it looks good I press the publish button and there it is. Live on the world wide web. When I chuck a few words in a pot and they come out all mixed up and it's a load of drivel, I am annoyed with myself. I haven't enjoyed it, it isn't up to standard, and I think it shows. Yes, you have probably guessed, I am very critical of my own work, always have been, because I get great satisfaction when I do it right.    

Anyway, lets move on, today is happening right now and it's not to be wasted. Tomorrow will bring something new. I've made a short film, sorry it's not the best quality. I have an old vhs video tape of a film made in the 1980's for television. I don't have the knowledge, or the right equipment, or the money, to transfer it to disc, so I just pointed the camera at the screen. I was asked to bring some of my Lady Trucker friends to a Truckstop for a night out. It was part of an hour long programme called Night Moves. I was quite famous after it went out.



I'm off out now, it's sunny. Toodle pip

A boring post

It's been a mizzly drizzly sort of day, not nice enough to go anywhere, so I have stayed in. I did think about tidying up the veg beds now that the courgettes have finished. I lifted a few leaves and was about to pull them out, when I found a frog hiding underneath them. I couldn't destroy his hidey hole, so I left them alone. I'll leave it a while.

One of the sunflower stalks got blown over in the wind and was laid on the garage roof. It wasn't severed, just bent, so I managed to nail a long piece of narrow wood in an upright position onto the garage wall, and fasten the stalk to it like a splint.

It's been a boring sort of day. Washed the pots, boring. Cleaned the windows, boring. More sewing, boring. Had a bath, boring. Load of washing, boring. Dysoned the carpets, boring. And made yet another boring stew.

I found a few radishes in the garden, probably past their best, probably tough as old boots, but if I chop them up small they might just soften up enough to make them edible. I keep finding a few more runner beans. Just when you think they have all gone, you search again just in case you missed some, and bingo, you have. Spuds, and the last courgette out of the garden. Shop bought onion, and a tin of green lentils given to me.   

 

Other ingredients were Quorn pieces, frozen broad beans, and linseeds. For flavour I used curry powder, turmeric, garlic puree, and tomato ketchup. Boring but really tasty, and enough for three or four days. Will save cooking. I won't bother freezing it, just keep in the fridge in the pan, and microwave a portion when needed.

Don't worry, I won't be bored tomorrow. It's the weekend, my day off, ha ha. Hope you have a good one. Toodle pip.

Don't leave it for others to sort out

I've been meaning to do a little job for a while now, and hopefully it will soon be done. My Will is ten years old, and some details need changing. We all move on in life, nothing stands still, people move, and some we lose touch with. Our priorities change, as do our financial circumstances, and we need to update the legal document which will ensure that our wishes will be carried out after our death.

If you have not yet drawn up a Will, I suggest you seriously think about getting it done. It will save a lot of possible legal wrangling between relatives and friends which could go on for years. My Will is pretty simple, single and no dependants. I don't expect anyone to be scrapping about who has what, which could well happen with second marriages and extended families. Hopefully I will have spent a good chunk of my assets before I go, but if there is anything left, the distribution of it needs to be set out in a legal document.  

My last Will ten years ago was a freebie. No, I didn't write it myself, which you can do if you are sufficiently confident that you understand all the jargon. I am not. I found an advertisement offering a free Will writing service through local solicitors, with the possibility that you might wish to include a donation to one of the charities participating in the scheme. This is not compulsory, it's purely voluntary, but I thought it only fair to choose a charity from the list, and include it with my other charities. I can only afford to make small donations while I am alive, why not give a bit more after I am gone.   

I happened to come across an article on Money Saving Expert, yesterday, there is a scheme running at the moment, October is Free Wills Month. You have to be 55 or over to qualify. If you haven't made a Will, or need to update one that you already have, take a look at the article. Follow the links and check who is the nearest solicitor to you. http://freewillsmonth.org.uk/ If you wish to donate to a charity, check the list and see if there is one you would like to support. I emphasise that this is not compulsory, so don't feel embarrassed if you decide not to. Personally I think at least the cost of the Will writing service should be donated, but that is just my opinion. See, I am not really mean, ha ha.   

I have an appointment in Gainsborough next week to update my Will, so I will make a day out and have a look round the place. Apologies to my overseas readers, this scheme is for the UK only. Check on the www to see if there is a similar one in your own country, and comment here if you find one, so others may benefit. Thank you.

Moving on, a big thank you to those who have emailed me, it's nice to know a bit more about you. I am chuffed with your lovely comments, and glad you come to visit me here in Tightwad Towers. I will reply as soon as I have a minute. Welcome to my new members, glad you dropped by.

An update on the patchwork/quilt/throw thingy. It just about covers the bed now, I'll add another row  of mixed colours, then put a plain binding around the edge. Phew, almost there, watch this space.  

Anyway, must press on, need to wash the car, ready for it's MOT test next week. I have found a small garage to do the job, it will have a service as well. Small two man band = less overheads = better price.

Toodle pip

A doggy love story

This is the story of three pooches. Little Angus, Chocolate Henry, and Black Boy Guinness. Angus and  Guinness live with Daddy Roy, and Henry lives with Mummy Helen, and they are all the best of friends. They love going walkies together, and sometimes they have sleepovers in each other's houses. Today, Mummy Helen put them all in her car, and drove them to a big big wood. They were so excited when they got out, all their tails were wagging like crazy.  

 Off they trotted into the wood, noses down to the ground to sniff out any interesting smells.

Mummy Helen likes to teach them manners, so when it is time for a treat she calls them back and they all have to sit and wait patiently for their turn.

After a long hike through the woods it's back in the car and home. Daddy Roy is busy getting a tooth pulled out, so Guinness and Angus come back to Henry's house. They are all thirsty so there is a queue for the water bowl. Mummy Helen and me sit down and have a drink, and the three pooches play with Henry's toys. Very soon they are ready for a rest, and lie down. Guinness says to Henry, I love you, and Henry says, I love you too. Angus doesn't join in, it is too sloppy for him.

Toodle pip.

He aint heavy, he's a crane driver

I was checking out the BBC iplayer last night, looking for something to watch while I ate my dinner. I don't like to just sit and eat, I like to keep my mind occupied while I feed my body, doing two jobs at once. My dining table is where ever I happen to have the computer switched on, upstairs in the office for the big one, and downstairs in the living room for the little one. Last night was upstairs.

I always go to the Factual programmes first, prefer documentaries and real life situations. I was beside myself with excitement when I found this programme on page two. Oh wow, The Crane Gang, all about heavy cranes doing heavy lifting. Take a look at this beauty in the screenshot, couldn't you just drool over that baby. What a magnificent piece of engineering.

When I finished watching episode one, I carried on and watched episode two. Two hours of back to back sheer bliss. Boy was I in heaven. If you have a leaning towards large structures, and the problems of moving them from A to B, then this is for you. If you are not particularly interested in macho stuff, watch it for the skill of these dedicated men, and the humour they inject into a very demanding job. I had three years of working with crane drivers and they have my respect. I found this programme a pretty accurate portrayal of the construction industry. The crane drivers live, breath and eat the job, in fact they don't call it a job, it's a way of life. You have to be dedicated to work away from home for weeks at a time, and live in the back of a van, or a mobile crane.

Here is a link to the BBC iplayer.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03bmg9n/The_Crane_Gang_Episode_1/

And here is a link to the same programme on yootoob. I have embedded it so I hope it works.

I've had a look through my photo's and picked out a few of my loads which involved craning them on and off my trailer. This is the first time I had what is classified as an abnormal load, which needed a police escort, a movement order, and a second person in the cab. The young lady sat on the side is someone I found to come along and act as the mate. My boss thought it would be difficult to find a male to come with me, he said, what if the mate is married, you have to stay out up to a week at a time and sleep in the cab. This girl came out with me just the once, she didn't like it. After that I told the boss to find me a male person. We used to get some funny looks, ha ha. After a few loads with a few different male mates, people got used to it and started to treat me with a bit more respect.

Can't remember where this was taken, I have a boiler on the back of my low loader trailer.

It's a shame this photo is discoloured, the light got into the camera. They were joining up two sections of the M25 over the top of the river at the Dartford Crossing. This was going to take the pressure off the Dartford Tunnel. I had a concrete and steel bridge beam on the back. They had to close this road at West Thurrock, underneath the slip road for the new bridge, for several weekends.

Part of a new air conditioning unit. A bit of a squeeze to get the cranes and the lorries in.

I had to reverse back into this building at Scunthorpe Steelworks. The heat from the hot metal was scary. I was glad to get my load off and get out.

This stainless steel tank was wrapped in six layers of plastic shrinkwrap. I still had to put three tarpaulin sheets over it as it had to be kept bone dry during the journey from Burton on Trent to Sellafield. It was loaded inside the factory by two overhead cranes, then a mobile crane unloaded it at the other end. Total height of load and trailer was 17ft 4ins. Police escort all the way.

Police escort not needed for this load, it's only slightly wider than the trailer, but very heavy. My clapped out old motor struggled to climb up the long steady slope of the A2 to Dover. They were building a new ramp for the ferries. I had several sections which would be assembled to make the roadway that the cars use to drive on and off the boat.

This was a regular job, concrete panels made near Nottingham and unloaded just off Fleet Street in London. We did this for several months while they were building a new office block. The tower crane is starting to lift this section under instructions from the slinger, the man on the ground.  

Unloading a prefabricated modular building. The site was all laid out with the groundworks completed. Drop these into place and connect up the services.

 Oh happy days. I wish I had started driving earlier, then I could have maybe moved over to the cranes. I did look into paying for a course at Bircham Newton in Norfolk, but it was pretty expensive, then I might have hit a brick wall when I started applying for a job. I decided to stay where I was, and carry on trucking.

I can't wait for episode three of The Crane Gang. The only thing which niggled me was that the dramatic music is too loud, otherwise a very entertaining programme.  

Toodle pip