Home grown... year 4
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
As far as possible without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Elderflower Wine - Part One
You gotta embrace nature whenever possible and harvest its goodness, so I kit myself up, employ 2 hairy biker friends to assist me in my foragings... for a first attempt at elderflower wine.
1. Pick flowers from above waist height in the sunshine before 2pm
2. Make sure that they smell sweet and not like cat piss. (apparently there are 220 types)
3. Strip the flowers from the stalks by gently brushing them with a fork
Followed by flower forking, mixing, fermenting and brewing...
Project VFR400 NC30 Restoration Complete
Just like new... hard to believe I bought this 16 years ago.I owe all this to my dear friend Andy, who's creativity and generosity knows no bounds, who very kindly and lovingly restored this pocket rocket to it's former glory.
So, a million humble thanks to Andy Shoosmith of Gavin Fleet Care in Kempston.
VFR400 (NC30) - The Restoration Part 2
Almost finished now. The dash is actually better than it was in it's original condition after Andy took it apart & painted everything. Now it just looks sleek! All brackets are polished, the exhaust looks brand spanking new and the damage to the hanger plate made by a white van can't even be seen. Black forks, painted brake discs & sticky new tyres... just need a little bit of white paint to touch in the chips on the alloys then she's ready to rock!
Wall-E v VFR400 (NC30) - Restoration
Before restoration... parked in the dining room last christmas.
During restoration... stripped & looking rather sad at Gavin Fleet Care (Thanks Andy).
What once resembled a motorcycle, took on the form of something completely different today. This UK Spec 1992 Honda VFR400 NC30, was stripped for stage one of restoration. First stop & a jet wash helps to rid years of built up grease & grime. Staring at the bike in it's naked vulnerable state, I can't help but think of the film Wall-E.
Stage 2 comprised of cleaning the wheels, polishing, masking & spraying. As a girl who will climb walls to escape any sound that resembles filing or drilling, I left that part to the boys & was given the job of masking the brake discs. To say this was more fiddly than trying to paint your nails in the back of a car driven by a learner for the very first time, might be a slight exaggeration, but nonetheless it caused me to curse a few times. It was then sprayed with a heat proof black paint followed by a clear lacquer to make it look shiny & brand new again!
All foot pegs, hangers & anything else that was metal & needed a scrub, was cleaned & polished. The masking part was pretty painless compared to my next task, which was straightening up the radiator fins damaged by stones. Using a very thin screwdriver I had to push all the *wafer thin* (french accent) metal back to it's original position, to ensure that the air could pass through successfully.
Stage 3 tomorrow night! HUGE thanks to Andy at Gavin Fleet Care & Gibbo, the coolest Fettler in the world.
During restoration... stripped & looking rather sad at Gavin Fleet Care (Thanks Andy).
What once resembled a motorcycle, took on the form of something completely different today. This UK Spec 1992 Honda VFR400 NC30, was stripped for stage one of restoration. First stop & a jet wash helps to rid years of built up grease & grime. Staring at the bike in it's naked vulnerable state, I can't help but think of the film Wall-E.
Stage 2 comprised of cleaning the wheels, polishing, masking & spraying. As a girl who will climb walls to escape any sound that resembles filing or drilling, I left that part to the boys & was given the job of masking the brake discs. To say this was more fiddly than trying to paint your nails in the back of a car driven by a learner for the very first time, might be a slight exaggeration, but nonetheless it caused me to curse a few times. It was then sprayed with a heat proof black paint followed by a clear lacquer to make it look shiny & brand new again!
All foot pegs, hangers & anything else that was metal & needed a scrub, was cleaned & polished. The masking part was pretty painless compared to my next task, which was straightening up the radiator fins damaged by stones. Using a very thin screwdriver I had to push all the *wafer thin* (french accent) metal back to it's original position, to ensure that the air could pass through successfully.
Stage 3 tomorrow night! HUGE thanks to Andy at Gavin Fleet Care & Gibbo, the coolest Fettler in the world.
Ice Ice Baby
Here are some pictures of the effect this years winter is having on us!Pictured first is Box End Park completely frozen. No boarding this weekend then!
The second picture is of Simon Amos' shorts. As Box End Park & WakeMK at Willen was closed he and some of the guys attempted to find spots to go winching & noticed that his wet boardies had frozen. Excellent.
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