Author: Balders

Passionate hobbyist, restoring the past, one old camera at a time. iPhone14 Max Pro - Sony A7II and about 80 others from the days of silver halide 📸 Main aim in life - Retirement

Unconditional love and affection

What is good about having a pet?

Now I couldn’t not answer this prompt after the year we have had. See this post from August this year: Is there a cure for a broken heart 💔 We have had three dogs over the 33 yrs of our marriage and each of them was a lovely individual character. All were of the same breed – Bichon Frise.

Muffin

Our first was Muffin in the early 90s, I have never known such a laid back and calm little dog, he was a super little fellow, not scared by noises and loved by everyone, next was Digger who became Muffins “Carer” as it wasn’t until later in life when Muffin was very old that we’d realised he was losing his sight and it was Digger guiding him around with strange little nudges to his neck and head. Digger didn’t like children and would growl at them but it was all noise, just pat him or give him a treat and he was your friend for life, he was the polar opposite of Muffin.

Muffin and Digger

Then came along little Alfie. We were grieving after Diggers demise and Alfie pretty much came to us. My wife saw a little pup being walked and went over to say hello, it transpired that the owner didn’t want little “Joey” and he eventually came to us. His name was changed to “Alfie” as we already had a budgie called “Joey” and the whole thing would have been confusing to continue that way. Alfie was a mix of his earlier brothers, he was as soft as shite, loved everyone (even children) and was a very big part of our whole family, I never heard him growl at anyone throughout his whole life, he went everywhere with us.

Alf – our little fellah

Alfie passed away on the 16th August this year. We are still very upset and slowly coming to terms with it all, as more time passes and allegedly heals.

Animals are the most beautiful of companions. They will give you unconditional love and affection in return for very little. It really is a blessing that an animal from another species can gain your trust and give you so much in return.

Then they pass away and break your heart into a million pieces. This has occurred with us three times in the past and I very much doubt we will let that happen again. We just couldn’t take it. Even though I am pining like mad to have the routine we had, I have to resist it.

If you are willing to give your all to love and support one of these fantastic animals, through good and bad and back again,then please go ahead and do it, you will not be disappointed. If you can’t commit to all that then please stand back and let someone else do it.

Three beautiful boys

Joy and love are the best words I can use. They are wonderful creatures that make your world a better place. Who else would you tell your most confidential thoughts and dreams to and know that no one else would ever find out?

Trust. Nobody does it better. Get a dog.

Melton Mowbray

Had a nice day out in one of the local towns, we were there looking at houses and decided to venture into town where there was a vintage car meet as well as a Sunday Market.

The old Porkpie shop – Melton Mowbray

Melton Mowbray is world renowned its Porkpies and Stilton cheese both of which have Protected designation of origin status. I do indulge in the occasional Pork pie, but the cheese is not for me, i like very bland cheeses, my favourite is probably Red Leicester.

Anyway, I digress, my main reason to visit was to purchase a print from a local artist for our football themed garden pub. The artist is based here in Melton Mowbray and his name is Ian Hallows. I’d seen this signed and numbered print of a Fox in a Leicester City scarf, and wanted it, today I brought it issue 89 of 895. It is mounted on canvas and already on stretchers. It will be a welcome addition to the already full pub. It’s signed on the frame by the artist as well.

Fox in a scarf

This is my third piece of original signed work in the pub and it fits in lovely.

Ian does a selection of sport related paintings and covers most of the football clubs in the football league.

Now I really fancy a pork pie….

Sega Game gear – game cartridges

What the listing stated:

Untested

EBay

Yep that’s it. The good old EBay untested. Anyone who buys from here knows that this can mean anything from working to totally wrecked, or even should have been binned because a good portion of it is missing.

But I try to remain positive… some people call it stupid.

Cheap, probably broken

Here I have purchased two of the same games for the grand total of £1.49 GBP. About 75 of your finest British pennies each. My suspicions are such as the guy who posted is selling a couple of “tested” game cartridges (the same game) for a considerably higher price. I just don’t understand how he couldn’t test these two. I suspect they are knackered to coin a phrase.

Anyway, let’s await the mailman.

I’ll apologise in advance for how easy this fix was. They arrived and both game cartridges looked ok. I then loaded them into the unit and one worked and one didn’t.

Both Cartridges tested

I decided to just clean the contacts on both cartridges with a bit of IPA and hey presto. Two working game cartridges for next to no cost.

2nd cartridge up and working

So again, I apologies for the simplistic fix, I was hoping I would at least be opening the cartridge and doing a bit of trace repair, but sometimes that is all it takes. I’ll keep one, and the other i will move on with another unit that I’m currently repairing.

But most importantly they are not off to landfill. Result.

Shopping

What are your favorite websites?

The one I spend the most time on is EBay. It’s where I get most of my stuff to repair. Secondly it’s probably Amazon and from then on there are a Number of smaller sites I take in.

I follow a number of blog sites of people who are kind enough to follow what I do. I check in to all of them regularly to see if anything has changed. I probably check in more when I haven’t seen anything for a while as I’m concerned that I’ve heard nothing, but I’m probably just overthinking it as they’re probably just living busy lives like most people do.

I only post regularly as I use it as a coping mechanism / Journal as stated in the past.

There is a good site where you can see all the cameras on the island of Iceland, all set up to show views of the volcano’s when they kick off, great for planning a trip to see something different.

Beyond that I look at the Leicester football club site occasionally, but to be honest they are not doing it for me this year so I tend to avoid it if possible.

Have a good day all, may it be a peaceful one for you.

1976

Is there an age or year of your life you would re-live?

For some reason 1976 always features in my memories. It was the year of the heatwave, summer was just how you’d expect it and the six week school holiday was utter bliss.

Things were different back then when you went out and played in parks, woodland and farmers fields, making your own entertainment and just having such fun. Now they are all sprawling estates.

No distractions such as mobile phones etc, you went through seasons of football, marbles, cricket, conkers, making catapults, you name it and we did it.

We had national strikes and power cuts but as a youngster that was still a couple of years away from being a teenager, none of that really mattered.

I sure miss those days of innocence, fun and enjoyment with your mates. Truly superb times.

Then we grow up.

I do believe the younger generation of today have missed out on those hazy days gone by. But then again I guess it’s our generation that changed that.

I have always found it easier to be a child rather than an adult. My wife would whole heartedly agree.

Stay happy. Don’t grow up.

The formation of the Universe

What historical event fascinates you the most?

It’s one that’s going to annoy a number of people on both sides of the spectrum.

The formation of the Universe.

My upbringing was in the Church of England so I have a Christian upbringing. I spent the first 16 years of my life going to Sunday school and then on my 16th I was given the choice to carry on going or to stop. I chose to stop. We were told throughout that the Lord built the world in six days and rested on the seventh. And I believed this.

But in school the teachers were telling us about the Big Bang, the science around it was amazing, mesmerising, there was now another choice. It was confusing. Creation or Evolution?

Now I don’t class myself as a religious person, however I do find comfort within my beliefs. I don’t force my beliefs on anyone, it is a highly personal aspect of my life and that’s how it will stay.

However the evolutionary route fascinates me and when I was younger certainly created a conflict of interest. I would question theories privately as who could I talk to about it? It’s not the sort of question you discuss with friends as a youngster, they’d think you were crackers!

No, I’ve developed my own understanding and it’s a healthy mix of the both. Purely because I’m not fully able to just ditch my entire upbringing, and as I previously stated i do find comfort in my faith. But I am always fascinated by the science and discussion regarding evolution of everything on this planet and from within our solar system.

I’m sorry it’s a bit long winded and I could have easily just said “ The Universe” and the question would have been easily answered. But it’s a bit more complex in my eyes. Sometimes our recent history puts blinkers over our eyes and makes us ignorant to the facts or truth.

But who knows the truth? I guess we will never ever know.

That’s kind of exciting in my eyes.

Journal – Post nine

It’s been 5 days since my last post in the journal. It continues to be a lonely old week as the wife is still away at our friend’s house. Health wise she is now getting the attention that she needed, a care plan is in place and her support network is now better than it ever was. Fingers crossed it’s all looking positive with the occasional wobble.

Living apart for a short while really makes you appreciate what you have, it also brings a dose of reality as you experience what some people have no control over, makes you think.

Just one more shift at work and I can drive down to see them both on Friday morning, I’m really excited about that.

Been a strange week at work, a lady threw herself under a train as a train was passing through at 90mph, the call went up for our response and the controller informed us we had one under a train. However that train passed over her, and she got up after it had passed and climbed back on the platform. I have never seen anything like it, the amount of equipment that hangs under these trains would normally rip you to pieces. How the heck she survived this and lived to tell the tale is a mystery to me. Needless to say we breathed a sigh of relief as we were not going to be needed to collect what was left of her. I believe she is resident at a local mental health unit, we have far too many of these issues on our route with those that are seriously unwell. It’s getting worse.

(Amended 31/10 unfortunately the same lady was successful in her attempt to end her life today. I feel sorry for my colleagues and I who were heavily involved, we didn’t need to be brought into this issue but we unfortunately were. She got what she wished for. I hope she has found peace)

I’ve purchased a few items to repair this week, all items that will be going on the site in the coming weeks. I have about a dozen draft posts awaiting completion, most of them are still awaiting parts before I can finish them off. I’ve also brought myself a new Multimeter, the previous one (good though it was) has been giving some spurious readings of late, so I thought it was time for an upgrade. Should be a game changer for me as there’s a multitude of other tests this one is capable of that the older one wasn’t.

Enjoy Halloween if that’s your thing, Here in the East Midlands it’s Diwali being celebrated this week so if that’s your thing – Happy Diwali – Stay safe. Be happy.

Walking

What is your favorite form of physical exercise?

Walking.

I’m one of those who’d sooner walk than jump in the car. Yesterday for instance a 3 mile drive would have taken a few minutes and I could have sat at home with my feet up.

No. I walked.

Two years on the trot myself and my dog Alf took on the “Walk 1000 miles” challenge and we smashed it. Unfortunately he is no longer with us and my mileage has dropped considerably as I no longer have that purpose. I need to break that attitude and get back to it as I love walking.

It’s so natural we all do it everyday. I just need to do more of it.

Have a super day.

Journal – Post eight

It’s probably been about a week since my last entry in the journal. My wife is still down south with our friend who is unwell, she has seen the doctor and it now appears she has started the road to recovery. My wife suspects she will be there another week as they have a return visit with medical staff next Thursday and she wants to be there to ensure she has support and that everything is well prior to her leaving. We are meeting friends in London for dinner on Friday so once I finish work on Thursday night it will be a few hours sleep prior to me heading south to pick her up, take her for a hair appointment and then on to our hotel, then out to dinner. To say I’m looking forward to this is an understatement.

We don’t have a big house but it has seemed massive these past few days. This is the first time my wife has been away and left me totally alone. I normally have Alf here to keep me occupied but he has gone, and the whole house now seems so empty. You notice creaks and clunks you weren’t aware of before, the mind plays some cruel tricks at times.

I’ve been to the local hospice and handed over the lovely items our friend down south donated, and they were over the moon. I think they will make some good money from those items. It’s a good feeling to walk out of these places knowing that you are helping people who genuinely are at a time in their lives when they need it the most.

Work has been busy, the autumn effect is in full force and we are fighting to keep the train lines safe and moving. It doesn’t help with thieves stealing large amounts of cable rendering safety systems useless. They put their lives as well as others at risk, and it inconveniences everyone. Well I guess it at least keeps me in a job.

I’ve purchased a couple of items to repair, and these will be going on the site shortly.

Until episode nine, be at peace, and be happy.

That’s a no from me

How much would you pay to go to the moon?

Much that I admire those adventurers who throughout my life have risked all, for the sake of these journeys, I wouldn’t pay a penny for the chance of going there.

Nope, I’m an old fashioned kind of fellah who is quite content keeping his feet on the ground. If at sometime this old world decides to go “Pop” then I’ll also be going down with it.

My sense of adventure doesn’t quite reach to the moon.

Have a great day all.