Just a few black and white pictures, taken whilst testing various cameras I’ve been working on recently. Just snaps, don’t get too excited.
Just a few pictures taken recently on various cameras I’m testing out. Nothing special, just mooching around and taking snaps.
All around the Leicester / Melton Mowbray area.
Have a great day.
I’m fixing this lens and came across this broken part. But what is it called? Does Chat GPT know the answer? It seems it does.
Please do not for one minute consider this an endorsement for AI, it’s not. I very rarely ever use it, and to be totally honest I keep as far away from it, as i possibly can. The only issue is, is that it gradually sneaks through the back door unannounced in pretty much any application or program that you now use. There is no escaping it really, even here on WP this week I received an invite to start using AI to write my posts and to control their content and SEO compatibility, whatever that is. Straight in the bin it went, no thanks, not interested.
I know my grammar and punctuation leaves a lot to be desired, and sometimes it is very poor, but hey! That’s me and I don’t want to suddenly appear to be a fully functioning and academic genius, as that’s just not me. I’m a Comprehensive educated drop out, that has managed ok thank you, and I don’t need some computer to portray me as something I’m not, or am likely never going to be.
Rant aside, let’s get back to the story that is based around the item in this picture.
I’m currently carrying out a repair on a Canon EF 28-200 lens from around the year 2000. Whilst dismantling this lens, the above part became the item of interest as this is a piece that controls the zoom of the lens, hence this lens never really worked due to it’s inability to focus or zoom, and the item above appears to be the guilty party.
It’s broken, that is clearly obvious to see, it’s made of an alloy, possibly aluminium, and is not repairable by soldering due to the immense high temperatures that would be required. I can’t achieve such temperatures as I don’t have the equipment available to do such work. I could try forming something from scratch, that is an option but I don’t really have the time or patience to be honest to spend such time on such a tiny piece of metal. The whole piece is no bigger than 2cms long at its longest point. It really is tiny but essential for the smooth operation of this lens.
This is where the AI help comes in.
Having looked at many repair manuals belonging to Canon, I have an immense list of code numbers but nothing at all explaining what this item is or if there are any still available. I’m kind of lost and at odds as to what I should do.
In desperation, I type something similar to this request into Chat GPT:
“Long angular aluminium piece, working the telephoto element of a Canon EF 28-200 lens”
And this came back as an option:
Wow. That looks familiar!
And it is in-fact the part I am looking for, on the Ali Express site, our friends in China have one left in stock – “Click” that’s purchased and is now on its way to me.
I am now also fully aware of what it actually is, apparently it is called a “Zoom guide pillar, zoom lever, electric brush lever for a Canon 28-200 zoom lens”
Well there you go, it appears AI is good at deciphering the ramblings of a frustrated and confused 60 something. And in this case it did very well. When this arrives I’m going to give it to one of the tool makers at work to get him to make a few copies, I’m even going to see if I can get a few printed out 3D wise to see how the plastic version holds out under the demands of the lens. I don’t foresee any real issues as long as the lens isn’t mistreated in any way.
Well. That’s my major frustration of the week, and my first real face to face involvement with AI.
It can only get better, or can it?
Have a super day. Stay real.
Yep, the Ghost radio service I reported on in August 2025 is still operating in the East Midlands and beyond
Back in August of 2025 I wrote of a radio station I had stumbled across on the DAB network. Ghost radio service.
It’s probably the post that has had the most views on my site, strange! And has been mentioned in numerous chat rooms and sites across the t’internet,
Because no one really knows what the hell it is or who owns it.
Here’s a few definite facts.
And it’s still active today. Here’s a video taken a couple of days back.
Digging around, checking the OFCOM site amongst many others, the only new information I can find is listed below:
Key Details About Ghost Service:
And it mentions me. How quaint!
Thanks for passing by, have a great day. Thank you 🙏
Every year the Ospreys return to Rutland water in the East Midlands. Here’s a live link to their nest in Manton Bay. Enjoy!
We are quite spoiled up here in the East Midlands with some stunning scenery as well as a plentiful array of stunning wildlife.
One of the most interesting projects in place for the last 10 years or so is Rutland Waters work to encourage the breeding of the Osprey. The project is run by the Leicestershire and Rutland wildlife trust and a link to the work they do to look after these stunning birds can be found here: Rutland Ospreys.
This live feed above covers a nest site on the Manton Bay Area of Rutland water. its current residents, a female called “Maya” and her other half known as “33” (His leg tag number) arrived about a week or so ago and are busy, fishing, nest building and mating. (What a life eh?)
Here’s a little history about these two resident birds, courtesy of the Leicestershire and Rutland wildlife trust website:
The Osprey nest in Manton Bay has been in use since 2007, but has been occupied since 2010 by the same female bird, presumably from Scotland, which we have nicknamed ‘Maya’.
Maya arrived in the summer of 2009, and spent the summer bonding with a Rutland-fledged male Osprey, 32(05). The pair did not breed, but both returned in 2010. Unfortunately, in 2010 two male Ospreys went missing from Rutland, and 32(05) was one of them. However, she managed to pair up with a male Osprey, 5R(04) which was holding territory at the Manton Bay nest, and they successfully raised three chicks in 2010. At the time, Maya did not have a name and she was always referred to as the Manton Bay Female. Over the next few seasons, it was decided it would be easier to talk and write about her, and for people to relate to her if she had a name, and eventually we settled on Maya. Not only is it a lovely name, but it contains the first and last two letters in Manton Bay, and comes from the Greek Maia, who was the goddess of spring.
Over the three years (2010 to 2013) that Maya and 5R(04) bred together, they successfully raised 11 chicks. Of those 11 chicks, five of their young have since returned to Rutland!
In 2014, unfortunately, 5R(04) failed to return to Rutland after his migration. After weeks of anxious waiting, we came to realise, as did Maya that he was not going to come back. Ospreys face many challenges on migration, so sadly, we won’t ever know what happened. With plenty of unpaired males in the area, Maya paired up with male 28(10) and did actually lay three eggs. But the nest suffered persistent intrusions from 33(11), and as a result, 28(10) was chased off and 33(11) took over the nest, kicking the eggs out in the process. After a while 33(11) and Maya did form a bond, but it was too late in the season for them to breed.
As we see Maya every day on the live webcam, we have come to know her very well as an individual. All Ospreys have unique, distinguishing characteristics, and Maya can easily be identified by the distinct markings on her head and face, in particular the brown cross that is visible on the back of her head. She has now raised 31 chicks since she first bred in 2010 and has provided us with a fabulous insight into the lives of breeding Ospreys.
33(11) fledged from one of the offsite nests in 2011 and his parents are male 03(97) and an unringed female. 33(11) was the only chick to fledge from that nest that year, so he did not have to compete for food, consequently becoming a strong, healthy juvenile and adult.
33(11) returned to Rutland for the first time as a two-year-old on 11th May 2013. He was first spotted in Manton Bay, by Project Officer Paul Stammers and volunteer Mick Lewin, then later was seen back at his natal nest, Site B. In 2014, he returned on 13th April and immediately began pestering Maya and 28(10) in Manton Bay. He did not give up until he chased 28(10) away and claimed the nest.
In 2015, both Maya and 33(11) returned to Manton Bay and bred successfully, raising three chicks, two of which have returned. 33(11) appears to enjoy spending time on the nest, more so than other males and will quite often take over incubation duties. Since 2016, they have raised an additional 24 chicks, including a record breaking four chicks in 2019 and 2020!
Courtesy: Leicestershire and Rutland wildlife trust
So there it is. Pay a visit and watch a couple of the world’s most beautiful birds in one of the most beautiful and scenic wetland areas of the East Midlands.
Thanks for passing by. It’s always appreciated.
Saw this online. Made me laugh out loud…
I saw this online today and it did make me giggle. And my wife is in full agreement with this statement.
Have a super day 👍
I’ve been a bit slack with my posts recently. It’s been busy, here’s a brief update as to what’s been going on this month so far.
It’s late February and I’m conscious that I haven’t posted anything this month, and that does play slightly on my OCD, as I like to see each month ticked off on the archive page.
It’s a me thing really, it frustrates me that I haven’t been posting regularly recently, but there have been a few things that have kept me occupied elsewhere, probably too boring to write about, but in the interest of maintaining a monthly contribution to my archive, I’m going to tell you what’s been going on anyway.
Feel free to move on at this stage, if you have more important things to do such as washing your hair or counting the hair follicles on your other half’s head.
The overriding elephant in the room here has been the aftermath of the house move. We’ve only moved about 12 miles out into a more rural area, away from the noise and pollution of the city of Leicester, the difference in noise and pollution is instantly noticeable in that we can sleep uninterrupted by wailing sirens, boy racers and inconsiderate road users, my intake of asthma stopping medications has reduced considerably, and occasionally we have to speak up just to check that our ears are still working as the noise levels are almost zero. It’s lovely.
So for what has been the last three weeks now we have been unpacking immense quantities of cardboard boxes and realising we didn’t pack as well as we could. We’ve found a lot of stuff that we have been looking for, stashed away in boxes that they shouldn’t have been in, for example a box of biscuit crackers in with the bedding of bedroom number two, obviously just thrown in at the last moment to occupy a space. We’ve now found most of what we require and are now only left with a number of suitcases of clothing awaiting new storage.
We are fortunate to have a garage as extra storage and this has been where the mass of cardboard is stored. It’s taken to the local tip for recycling, and when I breathe a sigh of relief that I now have my garage space back and available, another batch of boxes arrives and I lose the storage space again. At the moment it seems like a never ending cycle, but I know we have broken the back of it all and the recycling visits are starting to dwindle and hopefully before long they will stop completely. Fingers crossed 🤞
It’s a new house so fortunately decorating is not something we have to worry about just yet, thank heavens.
My workspace, that the wife has kindly allocated me, is situated within the second bedroom and is more than sufficient for my needs. However as the priority is getting the rest of the house up to the required standards of the foreperson (My Wife) unfortunately my area has to take a step back for the moment, and I doubt it will be anytime real soon where I am in a place to resume my hobbies and interests. Although I am still purchasing items to repair, I now have in excess of 21 projects in draft that need attending to.
In our old house we had quite a bit of furniture that we had to downsize on. A lot of these items went to charities, and earlier last week the last piece of furniture, a 3 seat sofa had to be transported to the south coast, Ramsgate, in Kent to my niece. The wife and I decided we would take this our self and use it as an excuse to get away for a few days to see the family.
We hired a suitable vehicle, loaded it up and then hit the road for the 4 hr drive down to Kent.
The journey was a success and the sofa is in place being used at my nieces house in Ramsgate. Whilst here I couldn’t resist going along to the Hornby/Scalextric/ Airfix museum in Margate (The wonder works) to relive some of my childhood memories.
Another 4hr trip back to the East Midlands as we had some wardrobes being delivered from that large Swedish furniture company that needed construction (And yet more Cardboard 🤦♂️)
Then we had another six boxes of blinds arrive, the garage is now overflowing with cardboard once again.
It’s fair to say that we are almost there and settled now. Just a few bags to find homes for and then maybe I may be able to get my space finally finished and ready to use, and get all my gear out of storage a couple of miles away.
On top of this my shift pattern has changed at work meaning now that I am on continuous 12 hr shifts. It’s long days and nights, but I do get to spend more time at home now due to the way the new system works, believe it or not.
So that’s what I’ve been up to, pretty much for the last three weeks, and hopefully a somewhat normal return to service will occur as soon as the demands of the house and my wife, bless her, start to dwindle and normal day to day living returns to our household.
Stay safe, and may peace and comfort be with you all.
Thanks for passing by. It’s very much appreciated.
The ongoing saga of a house sale chain, that has collapsed three times in the last six months. Will it be fourth time lucky?
The ongoing saga of selling a house in the Uk.
As I’ve stated in previous posts, the house has been on sale since March 2025, and sold in August of that same year. It has so far sold 3 times and the chain has also collapsed 3 times due to factors further down the chain including, job redundancy, poor credit with potential purchasers, and not having any funds available in the first place.
Now I can understand the redundancy reason, no one wants to lose their job, and the added pressure of taking on a mortgage when your cash flow has been stopped is not an ideal or practical situation to be in. Fully understandable.
The other excuses though are totally at the door step of our highly incompetent and totally useless estate agents, “Leicestershires finest”. As has also been previously documented their incompetence knows no bounds and I’m not going to waste anymore time on them here.
My wife and I, have been in a position of suspended animation since the property first sold. We seem to be the last to be told anything, and when you have solicitors contacting you to ask what is going on, you then have to take a deep breath and ask them, “What are we paying you for?”. My wife, bless her, is the catalyst that keeps this old jalopy of an engine ticking over, she is the one chasing, pestering and prompting two sets of solicitors and an estate agent to talk to each other. How she hasn’t become a dependent alcoholic due to their collective incompetence I will never know. I just thank god she is there to do it, as my approach normally includes x-rated expletives and accusations that would never get us very far. That’s why she’s asking me to sit out of things for the while. I guess I’ll be back in the frame when monies are being discussed and apportioned.
So. As stated the third collapse came and went and we were very reluctant to go into number four, as this meant having hoards of individuals mooching around the house and starting the process all over again. The only certainty throughout this process is that the new build we are purchasing was not ready yet, so they were happy for us to continue the search for a relevant purchaser.
Hey ho, the house went back up on sale for the fourth time on a Tuesday, we had five viewings on the Wednesday and four offers came in on the Thursday, it was sold on Friday. Sale to sold in four days! Wow that’s quick. We had plans in place as this was the last time it was being listed and that’s a certainty, if this sale collapsed again then we would look at investing in some big upgrades such as extra rooms, and would just stay put. As I’ve said our neighbours are ok 👌 it’s just the roads around us are getting busier and busier and a little of the attraction has now gone. Add to that, some of the owners have rented their properties to quite questionable residents, and turned one house into a House of multiple occupation where you have so many comings and goings that you don’t really know who lives there anymore, security of the area has taken a nose dive, and the resulting litter issue of people who just don’t really care about their local community is becoming an issue. Beyond that it’s all ok 👌
Sale number four has been very testing on both our mental states. We can’t, and refuse to get excited as we have been through the same situation three times before and still have the scars. I’ve never seen two people sitting so firmly on the fence, dreading any calls from the agents as in the past they have only ever called for bad news. The purchasers mortgage company sent a surveyor, and all was fine. The seller then wanted an in depth survey as they are first time buyers and you can’t blame them for that, he came and was crawling over every inch of our property for almost four hours, taking in every measurement, photo and reading he could possibly obtain. This was just prior to Christmas 2025, we had no decorations out as we couldn’t be bothered, we were not confident of the results even though the surveyor was very nice and complimentary of our house.
Then silence for over two weeks.
We had jumped through every hoop and over every wall we’d been asked to, we were drained and still no communication from any of the solicitors until we get a letter through with a few random questions and another form that needed filling. I have already filled in close to 147 other forms for sale and purchase prior to this one, so another one wouldn’t hurt, it was just what seemed like another obstacle being thrown at us. Our confidence now was at an all time low.
Then the solicitors of the company we are buying from came back asking if we had heard anything further? God, don’t you lot talk to each other?
The house was nearing completion and obviously they were looking forward to their payday, I handed control back to my wife who in her role as an unqualified solicitor made suggestions on what they should do next.
All of a sudden things have kicked up a gear after we spoke to our solicitor, who didn’t even know her assistant had sent out questions to us. (This was a face palm moment for me). She then replied to us with this simple email below:
Well, it seems as if all parties have now finally started talking! I still cannot get excited as it could still all collapse at this very late stage until we all officially sign contracts, but this is the furthest we have ever come since August of last year.
I will not be posting this whinging update, until that distant but also so close finish post has been reached. We don’t have a home, we have an ever emptying shell at the moment, full of boxes and cases and so much of our stuff is now away in storage in anticipation of the day we may well move out. The stresses and strains we have endured over the last 6 months have been immense, I would not recommend this process to anyone, and I’m confident in saying I will never take part in such an activity again. That’s it. This will be our final move if it ever occurs.
See, I’m still pessimistic of it ever completing even after they have said we are due to complete in what is now just 12 days time. Will it happen? If this post goes beyond this paragraph then it’s safe to say it has finally occurred.
And it has!
Well, Weds 28 Jan after yet another week of jumping hurdles and climbing walls we finally had our last few interrogation emails from the buyers solicitors and we then received the notification that Contracts had been exchanged, the point of no return where the financial penalties are high if anyone decides to withdraw. It finally looks as if it’s actually going to happen. However, that nagging doubt still exists and I guess that’s just because I’m being super defensive due to the battle scars we’ve accumulated over this period of buying and selling.
We have less than 24hrs to finish clearing this place, wow, we’ve got a lot to do, so I must be getting on. I’ll let you know what occurs in the meantime.
We did it. We are now safely ensconced on the outskirts of Leicestershires “Pork Pie and Stilton cheese” haven, that is Melton Mowbray. The moving guys were superb and even the Estate agents and legal teams were extremely co-operative, I suspect due to the fact they were all in for a very good payday.
We have a house full of boxes that will now have to be sorted through, my first priority was to get the beds in place, and I have to thank my Nephew and his girlfriend who just happened to be passing by for their assistance. I now have a room to utilise as my hobby/work space and that will take shape over the coming months.
So it’s been an extremely long and stressful journey but it came right in the end. My only recommendation would be that if you are purchasing in the UK, and considering buying, just dig your heals in for a long journey. Be the dog that wags its tail, not the opposite as these financial types will walk all over you if you let them.
Have a good day.
It’s easy to get involved with low cost satellite tracking. Here’s a repost of a recent article about TinyGS
TinyGS is one of the most exciting grassroots radio‑space projects to emerge in recent years. Built around inexpensive ESP32‑based LoRa boards, it …
TinyGS: The Open Satellite Network Anyone Can Join
My favourite purchase, from the days of my youth…
Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?
It was around 1984 that the Raleigh bicycle company in the UK released the Raleigh Record Sprint entry level racing bicycle. I would have been around 18-19 years of age at the time and I would have been working in central London, temping as a photographic technician at the time. I would have been working between Edgware Road and Farringdon, and would be cycling in from Bushey in Hertfordshire every day, about 25 miles each way at the time. I was quite fit back then.
My mum at the time had one of those catalogues where you could purchase items over a period of time otherwise known in the UK as on the, “Never Never”. I loved this bike as this particular model had a lot of Gold coloured attributes, gold handle bars and levers as well as a gold chain set and mudguards. This bike really looked like, “The mutts nuts” as they say.
It was a pleasure to ride however the pot holed roads of London were not the ideal surface for a road racing bike with pencil thin tyres and narrow rimmed wheels. It gradually got to the stage where I was spending more time in maintaining the bike at the roadside, and being late for work, that I made the decision to transfer to public transportation.
I worked with a lad at the time who was mad on biking and he turned up to work one day on what I believe was one of the first mountain bikes I had ever seen. I was very sceptical at the time joking that there were, “No mountains in London” however he was the one cycling the roads of London daily with no issues with punctured tyres or breakdowns.
It turned out that Mountain bikes were the way forward on the mean pot holed roads of central London. Though, it would be a few years before I could afford one of my own.
I’ve seen many old Raleigh Record Sprint bikes since and have always considered getting another. But to be honest they command such a strong price now that to be realistic, it just wouldn’t be worth it as I’m probably never going to actually ride one again.
It was a lovely bike, it served a purpose but was killed by the potholes that were strewn across London in the mid eighties. The roads haven’t improved much since, but the bikes have, hence the amount of them you see if you ever venture that way.
Have a lovely day. Stay safe.
“Who is wise? Nobody, apparently.
“Who is wise? He that learns from everyone. Who is powerful? He that governs his passions. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.”
Benjamin Franklin
Foxes Den 
You must be logged in to post a comment.