'Palamos' completed!

It's kept me occupied for over 5 weeks to the point that I am almost enjoying lockdown,  not really,  there is nothing I wouldn't give to hop in the Mog with Helen and pootle off into the hills.

However, no chance of that yet,  so something like this is a good second best and there is yet another about to be started, a Calella Light Boat....you know the little fishing boats with lights that you can see at night offshore in Mediterranean countries.

A brief rest now,  planting spuds,  nurturing runner bean seedlings and cleaning the inside of the Morgan's wheels.

Deck completed

First planking

Second planking

Hull complete

And varnished

Bits and pieces ready to be fixed to the deck.

Finished!!

Add caption

My fleet today with a rogue 'Soller' tram!

Problem now is a potential shortage of shelf space!!!!!

What Crisis?......

.....I am joking of course,  but in these strange times there are some things a man must do apart from sitting around,  watching TV and imbibing copious quantities of alcoholic appetizers!

Preparing to begin the polish.  No I am not promoting 'AutoGlym'  but those are the products I use!!!

Anyway,  these are two things that have and are keeping me occupied until they let us out!

All finished including the leather and as a chap once told me,  'A car is never properly cleaned until the tyres are  'blacked'.

These activities are great but just at the present time we are enjoying some lovely Spring weather with reasonable temperatures and under normal circumstances that would mean delightful drives in the Morgan for picnics in the Bleasdale Fells,  Yorkshire Dales or the Lake District.....stopping by the odd local tavern to enjoy their hospitality.

You will have seen this type of wooden fishing boat all around the Mediterranean.

None of that now,  so I am building another model boat to keep me occupied and my wife sane!

This is produced by the Spanish firm Occre based in Barcelona I think and the second of their kits I have built,  the first being the 'Soller' tram.  Now back to my first love,  boats!

Progress,  but oh those bulwarks were tricky!

More on the build in the future.

Winter project completed!

All my illustrious readers who have visited Puerto Soller on the lovely island of Majorca will immediately recognize this....a model of a Soller Tram.

Early in the build.

The Tranvía de Sóller (Catalan: Tramvia de Sóller) is a Spanish heritage tramway serving the town of Sóller and the coastal village of Port de Sóller,  It is owned by Ferrocarril de Soller,  the same company operating the heritage rail line linking the town to the city of Palma.

Planking added...just like boatbuilding!

Roof planked ready for painting.

The Tranvía de Sóller is one of only two first generation tramways to survive in Spain, along with the Tramvia Blau in the city of Barcelona.

Running gear fitted

Getting close!

Building this model, produced by 'Occre' of Barcelona has certainly kept me occupied and at times, due to my increasingly clumsy nature,  caused much aggro and extremely bad language on many occasions,  for instance, after  knocking a container filled with minute bits off my worktable and on to the floor which is wooden with gaps strategically placed in between the boards...perfect for catching little parts!

Finished tram on the roadway.

Control panel

'Rock hard' seating!

Anyway,  it is completed now after spending a couple of hours a day over almost 2 months......and now it is time that I removed and cleaned the Morgan's wheels plus giving the car a good valeting!!!

Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year to all my readers!

Among the sunflowers near Albi in France

Roll on Summer!!

Although extremely cold.......

....I had to make the effort and get 'Nellie' out for a run regardless of a temperature that seemed to my weak and frail body to be more akin to the tundra rather than Lancashire. 

Preparing to leave.

It is so important that cars that are used infrequently during the winter months are taken out for a drive as it is easy for tyres to develop flat spots when they have been standing for a long period and the Morgan suspension is basic enough without having to drive with square tyres!!

Another remedy for this eventuality is to increase the tyre pressures,  the other option being to get it up on axle stands and take it off the road which I am not prepared to do.

Fleetwood seafront with the Lake District mountains clear across Morecambe Bay.

Another view towards Morecambe.

Anyway I gritted my tooth,  no,  my teeth aren't that bad really,  lowered myself into the machine,  dressed rather like Roald Amundsen or Scott on their forays into the Antarctic and drove off to Fleetwood,  jewel of the Fylde coast of Lancashire.

The Morgan dwarfed by Pharos Lighthouse.

Thank goodness for the magnificent heating system in the Morgan which kept me warm.

The small lighthouse at Fleetwood which, when lined up with the large lighthouse, get seafarers safely down the Wyre channel and into harbour.

The sun shone ,  the wind whistled passed my ears,  the tears poured from my eyes but apart from those minor inconveniences it was a great drive....and my conscience is now clear.  Another winter drive will take place in the not too distant future to keep the car in good shape.

Ted's first Morgan drive!

Ted is five and was a little apprehensive about his first drive in the Morgan.

Sophie and Max,  with daughter looking a little apprehensive!

I was given very strict instructions both by my daughter and Ted not to travel too fast.  In fact his brother Max told me during his drive with me that his mother almost expected Ted to return in tears.

On your marks....!

Not a chance!  As soon as we were on our way,  with side screens off of course,  it was clear,  above the wind noise and  the cacophony from the exhaust,  that he was finding the whole experience very exhilarating.

Big smile after our drive.

Like the rest of us,  after our first drive in a Morgan,  he returned with a smile from ear to ear!

In between.....

.....adventures in the Morgan,  we have enjoyed two great holidays in September.

The first was a visit to the North Yorkshire Moors railway,  something I have been hankering to do for some time.

The Horseshoe Inn,  Levisham

We stayed at a delightful pub with rooms, 'The Horseshoe Inn',  in the equally lovely village of Levisham,  chosen because of its close proximity to the station.

Levisham Station

The line runs from Pickering to Whitby on the North Sea coast,  somewhere else that we hadn't visited for many a year.

Whitby

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and the weather was glorious.

Whitby Abbey from the train window...inspiration for Bram Stoker to write 'Dracula'

Our next holiday took us back to one of our favourite destinations,  Puerto Pollenca and its old town,  on the north west coast of Majorca.

Puerto Pollenca and the end of the Tramontana mountain range.

We have stayed in villas previously but on this occasion it was a hotel,  the 'Uyal Hotel',  architecturally splendid in the true Spanish tradition.

Sunrise from our balcony

Our room looked out over the Bay of Pollenca and we gloried in a magnificent view of the sun rising across the bay each morning.

The Old Town square in the shadow of Puig de Maria Monastery

The beauty of visiting again,  places that you know well is the fact that you don't have a desperate and pressing desire to explore the place when you arrive and can just relax.  Which is what we did,  enjoying a fabulous breakfast at the hotel,  taking it easy during the day and then sampling local restaurants for our evening meal,  which was always followed by a coffee and a brandy on our balcony.

Our Sunday lunchtime restaurant...fabulous!!

Fire Drill

What a life!!....and we have more holidays lined up as we are busy SKI ing!   (Spending the Kids Inheritance!).