Category: Thoughts

Cameras…i need more!

I say more cameras, my wife begs to differ.. my friends agree with me.

Well, my wife would probably disagree with the above comment.

However, i have some very good friends who are quite happy to ignore my wife and her protestations. Some would say they are very brave…others would even say they are foolish. Time will tell.

A couple of beauties – you wouldn’t understand

Jon, is a friend and former work colleague that i have known for many years. We both worked at the same Kodak plant in Harrow, me on the graphics art film production track and Jon was in the training and development area. We rarely met there as the plant was so huge that our paths crossed quite infrequently. However Jon has also been the mainstay and life blood of a local football team since the early 70s, and it’s true to say he is a local legend and pillar of the community. This is how i really met Jon, and we have always discussed issues of photography, he is very much involved with promoting the armed forces and has been fortunate in the subject matter he has been asked to photograph. Needless to say, he has a lot of redundant equipment, and when he became aware of my blog site and the repairs i attempt to do, he very kindly donated a number of items for me to write posts about, and to be quite honest it will keep me busy for quite a long time.

A few items to keep me busy

The majority of the items probably just need a little service and a test session, a couple have some battery corrosion issues, but in general cosmetically, they are in good condition. We have a number of old lenses, but as you’d expect from someone who looks after their equipment, there isn’t a sign of haze or fungus in them. They just need a clean up, and very little else.

Here’s a list of what i have received, and observed after a very quick look at the items.

8 cameras:

  • 1 Canon AE1 film camera and user manual, mirror was stuck, now freed up and firing ok but requiring a check over.
  • 1 Canon EOS 30 film camera, a bad case of sticky body.
  • 1 Canon EOS 10 film camera, issues unknown
  • 2 Canon EOS 500N film cameras, issues unknown
  • 1 Canon EOS 3000 film camera, issues unknown
  • Canon EOS 1N film cameras with E1 power drive, beautiful camera, issues unknown.
  • Canon EOS 7D digital camera with BG-E7 battery grip, stunning camera, issues unknown.

7 lenses: all Canon fit

  • 2 x Canon FD 50mm 1:1.8
  • Tokina 300mm 1:5.6
  • Tokina 135mm 1:2.8
  • Tokina 35mm 1:2.8
  • Canon 75-300mm 1:4-5.6
  • Canon 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6

There is a separate lens that i have been asked to look at and repair for him as it’s his third go to lens, that is a Canon EF 28-200 1:3.5-5.6 USM lens. It doesn’t focus in auto, i notice it has lens wobble and a lens washer appears to be exposed in the zoom section of the lens. It needs investigation.

Other items:

  • Canon Power winder-A. Part of the AE1 camera, you can smell its issue as you hold it, battery corrosion. Batteries inside have seriously corroded, however i believe the issue is salvageable.
  • Canon speedlite 199A flash gun, untested.
  • Metz 45 CT-1 flash, again there is corrosion in the battery pack, you can smell it. Again this should be salvageable.
  • Sangamo Euro master light meter and invercone. In excellent condition, could be that the selenium light cell is dead. Needs investigating.
  • 8 rolls of film, expiry date 2005, may still work..who knows.
  • 3 x 6v lithium batteries, all tested and working.

Add to that the two camera bags and a hard case that they all came in and I’m sure that you will agree that it was a pretty nice package to receive.

I’m extremely confident i can get these all into a good working condition, any cameras that i will not be keeping will either be sold on to benefit charities supported by Jon or donated to local charities for their benefit. Either way nothing will be heading to waste, that is a promise i have made to Jon and thats just how it will be, i do not break promises.

Thanks for passing by, and i will be posting articles on all these products in the coming months. As I already have 13 projects already in draft awaiting a time when i can back to repairing them, you can plainly see I’m going to be very busy for quite a while and should be able to supply quite a regular feed to this blog.

Have a super day. stay safe.

Don’t stop playing

Don’t stop….

What does it mean to be a kid at heart?

Play.

I’m going to answer this as briefly as i can. I heard this quote a few days ago but had never heard it before. It’s from George Bernard Shaw the Irish playwright and critic.

George Bernard Shaw

There is some truth in this, I guess.

But to be honest I just want a cup of tea and a quick nap at the moment. I’ll leave the playing to the youngsters.

Goodnight all 😂👍

Now be truthful

It’s good to dream, and even better to achieve

You have three magic genie wishes, what are you asking for?

Truthfully, and from my own personal point of view it would be: eternal happiness, better health and a guaranteed life security for my family.

In keeping with the majority of the population and at risk of sounding like a contestant in the Miss World contest it would be: Respect for all, World Peace and the end to famine.

The second paragraph though made up for political correctness and to pacify a world TV audience is probably what, in truthfulness, we would all want, and to be honest, if it could be obtained then everything in the first paragraph would easily be achieved.

With no mention of money.

If everything in paragraph two was achievable, you’d be amongst the richest people in the world. We all would.

Worth thinking about and considering, isn’t it?

Have a lovely day.

Sleep? Nah who needs that?

Sleep, who needs that?

I do….

In my endless search for something relevant to chat about, I have today stumbled upon the topic of sleep. As I am just not getting enough of it.

Insomniacs of the world unite and lift those drowsy heads.

I know my problem, well I think I do. I am a shift worker of 30+ years now, and in 30 years I’ve never been successful at managing the transition from working nights to doing the day shift. It’s now 06:20 on Monday morning and I finished my long run of night shifts at 6am last Friday, 72hrs ago. I’m about to go into work to start another “productive “ week.

So I’m finishing at 6am, I sleep until about 1pm and then I’m up, do what I have to do and then head for bed about 10pm feeling sufficiently tired and all prepared for a good night sleep. That isn’t going to happen tonight though is it? A little voice in my head decides that at 2am it is a good time to wake up, and wouldn’t you know it, I’m now wide awake.

I’ve been a tad stressed lately as well and that contributes, I’ve had some medical issues develop that are also compounding things but in the greater context, I’m struggling to understand just what the issue is. Oh, and physical activity has also dwindled somewhat lately.

At 2am I fish out my headphones and put Spotify on my phone to listen to some relaxing sounds that guarantee to have me asleep in minutes, excellent, I’ll have some of that.

Two hours later and I am still awake, what I have just listened to sounds vaguely similar to the music you’d expect to hear in a funeral parlour, at times I felt as if I was the cadaver just lying there for my family to inspect. Weird, so I won’t be using that again!

Sometime between funeral introspective time and daylight I must have drifted off for a while, as I was woken with a cup of tea and my wife questioning why I had headphones on. Last night was not much better as we had a windy night here and one of the neighbours gates was banging about causing me to wake up, just as I’d drifted off. I’ll casually mention that today to him with the polite suggestion that if it is not sorted out, my cranky self will probably nail the F***er shut so it doesn’t happen again. I’m sure he will sort it out, once again restoring neighbourly calmness and balance.

Over the 30 years or so of working shifts, I have tried probably, every way of trying to transition from nights to days, and it just doesn’t work, for me at least. If I get up too early to try and force my body to tire early, the wife says I get cranky, if I don’t sleep on the first day of transition at all, I apparently become one of the living dead. I just can’t win.

I’ve probably answered my own questions in the paragraph above, and I requote:

I’ve been a tad stressed lately as well and that contributes, I’ve had some medical issues develop that are also compounding things but in the greater context, I’m struggling to understand just what the issue is. Oh, and physical activity has also dwindled somewhat lately.

There it is. How do you manage that transition, as I’m all out of ideas? I can address some of the above but I just need to manage my days better to achieve things, but work gets in the way. Shift work is a silent killer in my eyes, as Johnny cash once sang: “I l owe my soul to the company store”

And to quote another song, “ I can’t get no sleep”

I’m knackered.

Have a super day. Sleep well.

Blah blah….

When everything in life lines up perfectly to cause maximum confusion

Have you ever had one of those days where you are determined to write something but just don’t know what to write about? I’m having one of those days today, I don’t even know what the title of the post is, hence I’ve just called it Blah, blah as a draft title.

I might keep it at that.

I look through all of the posts that i subscribe to and I’m immensely impressed by the frequency that some posters write at, you guys are so organised and regimented that i can be nothing more than mightily impressed. And i am. Well done all of you.

This site, as i have stated previously, on many occasions was put in place purely as an extension to the journal i used to keep by my bedside. However it has also extended to be a journal of my hobbies and interests, in no way was it ever to have a professional “Air” to it and to that extent i have been very successful.

I’m inherently aware that lately i have used this medium to whinge and moan about a number of things, one of those is the process (or should i say endurance) of moving home in the UK. Before you shut your computers down and redirect to a site on do it yourself lobotomies, I’m not going to go on about it too much in this post, i promise. I might just touch on it a teeny tiny bit, sorry.

So let’s get it over with. After the collapse of the chain on Monday, a new purchaser was in the frame by Wednesday, who had previously viewed the house and loved it. They were disappointed that we had sold, and left instructions with the agent that should things not work out then they would be happy to step in. Their dream came true and on Wednesday they officially committed to purchasing, however the price they were offering was lower than we wanted, you can’t win them all i guess. The whole process rides on them coming back again early next week, and to be honest it could still fall flat on its face. And it probably will. However the wife is now in a better state of mind and we have had some good discussion on how we carry things forward. Things are good, and we have plans. Either way, whatever happens it was meant to be. Just roll with the punches, that’s life.

See i told you it would be brief.

Now, health. I don’t normally talk health as it’s no one’s business apart from mine. And the wife’s. I’m fast approaching a landmark birthday, and as you get older, things start to happen. Things that make you question yourself, ”That’s never happened before”. Well, somethings occurred that has made me contact the doctor. And if you live in the UK you would generally understand that, that alone is no easy task. To partake in the 8am lottery to get a doctor’s appointment is no task for the weak hearted. How ironic, as that is exactly what my problem appears to be. The ultimate test of strength and endurance.

You get on the phone at 8am when the doctor’s appointments line opens, within 3 minutes you are number 32 in the queue, and at this point you realise there is probably no point at hanging on as you are not going to get to see anyone today. Just remain incapacitated and try and call back tomorrow, there’s a good lad!

No wonder many people just say, “sod it, what’s the point” and that’s probably why at this stage our entire hospital and A&E system is at bursting point. Crazy. The NHS is such a diamond, but it’s at a straining point that can’t be sustained, it just can’t handle the demands put upon it, and its the every day man and woman on the street that will eventually pay the price.

The good news is that prices for cremations have dropped in price, a classic sign of supply and demand being in perfect harmony.

My head is full of bloat at the moment, and i just had to unload some of it here, how do you writers put it all into some type of order? That’s what I don’t understand. Where do you get your motivation from?

My entire life is packed into boxes at the moment, and i really do miss the activities that gave me a little bit of artistic licence, I’m on all the auction sites at the moment just itching to push that “Buy now” button, but its hard….very hard. I already have 13 projects on WordPress currently in draft mode, awaiting completion but this entire process of moving home has sent my anxiety and patience levels through the roof, but I’m keeping it together somehow, i have to stay strong for my wife. However she is in exactly the same situation as me, and at times she well and truly puts me to shame. Selfishness has no position in a stable relationship, we are partners, and partners share the burden, rethink your attitude, refocus and share the burden. Simple as that.

So that’s today’s rant put to paper…or the cloud, and do i have a suitable title now? No I don’t. So Blah, blah it is then.

Stay safe. Have a beautiful day.

Thank god I’m a coward

There’s nothing wrong with being a coward. There are some risks just not worth taking.

What’s the biggest risk you’d like to take — but haven’t been able to?

Twice in my life I have been a coward. And I’m quite pleased that I was, in fact I have great comfort in being a coward, it has made me a better person. I took a risk on two occasions, but I was unable to follow through as intended,

Twice in the past I have tried to take my own life.

I’m writing this post, so as you can see I was unsuccessful.

Thank the Lord.

I took a risk, I didn’t want to take it, but was prepared to do so.

When you finally get to those places and times in your life, when you just can’t take no more, rational thought and actions go out of the window. For some reason you are unable to see a good outcome, nothing can release you from this blanket of blackness that has now surrounded you and has become your cocoon, the item that protects you from the outside world. Your waiting room between here and the other side….whatever and wherever that may be.

My first attempt was an overdose, I was only a teenager, probably about 17 – 18 years old, the result of a failed relationship that I probably thought was the best thing that had happened in my life, it wasn’t, that occurred about 7 years later when I met the love of my life who is with me today. Being a coward then, made me realise what I would have missed out on if I had not been a coward that day, life truly does get better, I was a teenager, I had little life experience but was ready to throw away the best and most precious gift I had ever been given – life. It’s that simple.

The second time was probably back in the early 90s, I was on the railway as a train guard/revenue officer. I had in a small period of time had a knife pulled on me on two separate occasions, I had been assaulted, and was also followed home where my home had all of its windows smashed – all because of the work I was doing. I duly had a breakdown. People who were friends and colleagues distanced themselves from me, in the 90s the mental side of things was a taboo subject, and I was now the target for ridicule and derision from those I worked with. I wandered on to the tracks of the north bound Northern line underground at Euston station, and was saved by a friendly individual working in the same business as me. I was very ill and was taken home, the only help i received was being given a couple of weeks off before resuming work in a light duties role with some of those that had only weeks before ridiculed me.

I had only been married a few months when this had occurred and I remember the reaction from my wife when she found out, she was beside herself, she had not known how I felt, I disguised things so well and she was rightly angry with me for not talking to her. But that’s not the done thing for us blokes is it?

But I was willing in those moments to give up on everyone who loved me, how bloody selfish was that?

Again though, I looked back again and thought to myself, what the hell are you doing? Those problems where solvable, they didn’t need to overwhelm me so much, nothing was that bad.

And there is where it lies.

Nothing is that bad that you really have to look at ending it all to solve your problems. I realise that now, and I’m so inherently thankful that I have that “coward” gene set firmly within my psyche.

When I think of all the fantastic things I have seen and done, all the wonderful people I have had the pleasure in meeting in that time, this would not have been at all possible if I’d decided to carry those actions out in the past.

I see the kids stressing out over exam results, struggling to meet their parents expectations, and thinking that they are failures, unfortunately you always hear of a few who succumb to that black cloak of depression. I just wish I could have a few minutes with them to just let them know how needed they are and how fabulous they are going to be. It’s such an unnecessary waste of wonderful people.

It’s strange to know I am still in the business of the railway, and to be honest I spend much of my time either reaching out to individuals or being the first on the scene when they are brave enough to carry out their final actions under that awful cloak of depression. I always say a prayer for them, and I sincerely hope they are at peace, but at the same time I also feel immense pain for those they have left behind asking that unanswerable question, “Why?”

I’m glad I’m a coward, and that my risk taking is minimal, I’ve been to some very dark places in the past, but now I handle things a great deal better. I love life so much, I love those around me and value the most simplest of things. Nothing is more precious than life. All life.

Sometimes you have to venture close to the edge to really appreciate just what you have got.

If you ever wobble, if you ever have those dark thoughts, reach out to someone. I promise you, nothing, nothing at all is really that bad.

I’m here. I’m a coward, and by god am I pleased about that.

Stay safe. Be kind.

Sitting on the fence…. I just knew it.

Don’t ever let anyone force you into a false feeling of comfort.

The sale of the house has just collapsed miserably. I always said it would, much to the frustration of my dear wife, we are all packed up, we have storage in place in another town and that’s almost full. The house is empty…. And then the inept estate agent calls to say the buyer has pulled out due to being made redundant today. That’s highly unlikely as he still wants to make us another offer, a derisory one, for a lot less money. Bastard.

I’ve distrusted this process since the day it started, I think you’d be aware of this if you read my posts, the estate agents have also miraculously found someone else who is willing to pay again, a derisory price as they have people circling the pit of doom waiting for situations such as this when they know someone is very advanced in the purchase process, so they can circle like carrion, or scavengers to be precise, expecting the seller to accept a ridiculous offer. We’re not like that though, we’re not going to succumb to the absolute scumbags who partake in this disgusting game that is the British property selling market.

Am I angry? Not as much as I should be, no doubt we are going to lose financially as now we have to pay our solicitors, but the frustrating thing is that those who broke the chain should be partially responsible, but as it is here in dear old Blighty, that’s not how it’s done. We were asked to sign a contract a couple of days back, I’m glad I didn’t, that would have committed us to being liable at this stage to a sum in excess of £30k, with nothing to show for it. Apathy rules sometimes.

I’m more upset at how my wife has reacted. As I’ve always said she’s the eternal optimist and was always pulling me up about my fence sitting stance. I’m now worried for her, as she has sunk her heart into this new property hook line and sinker. She’s totally beside her self and I’ve been dreading this day for so long. My work starts now. Not only has the lying git of a seller ruined her dreams, he’s now shouldered me with the task of having to now bring her back to absolute reality that she’s not going to realise her dreams. I can do that though, I’ve done it before as it’s my duty as her husband to do so. She will soon be back in the room as they say. She is going to be looked after and cuddled constantly, it’s a minor setback, and we can now look at upgrading what we already have. We are fortunate as we already have a home, many are not. We just have to count our blessings and realise this.

I feel remarkably calm, not smug, as I have already prepared myself for this failure. That’s how I seem to work. Sometimes it can be very wrong, this time I feel that my stance has been justified. I’m not gloating, far from it, I just think sitting on the fence occasionally pays off.

Don’t ever let anyone force you into a false feeling of comfort. Trust your instincts, and go with them. It will all turn out well in the end. Be grateful and thankful for what you have, and have had.

Have a great day.

More moving shenanigans

Yet more moving shenanigans, we’ll get there one day.

I apologise for occupying my timeline with these random updates regarding our impending move to a new home, and the weird process that goes on behind the scenes whilst buying and selling.

However, our life at this particular moment is totally consumed with these activities, and anything else such as projects and hobbies have long since been packed away into boxes and are currently sitting in another town, elsewhere in the county, in a storage container in preparation of that impending move.

Part of our life in this little 10×10 unit.

We’ve been away for 8 days in Madeira, even during this time the solicitors have been a pain in the ass, wanting information and paperwork that was just not accessible whilst sitting on an island in the North Atlantic. These are highly paid and extremely intelligent beings that couldn’t even open a pdf file that I was requested to send, “It won’t open”, they said. I opened it quite simply as it has always opened, and eventually had to phone the solicitor to explain to them how to open a pdf file. (I bet that call cost won’t be deductible from my bill)

I was baffled at the lack of ability to open a simple file.

Today my wife walked to the estate agents to give them her weekly pep talk that usually includes the words “inept” and “incompetent” however to her surprise, this week they were waiting for her to say “ohh you will be exchanging contracts by the end of the month”. My wife stunned at this comment laughed and walked out to where she met me on the high street, I wasn’t sure if she was funny ha ha laughing or just starting to lose it. I suspect it was the latter….it was.

Because….

Our buyer apparently still has a few documents to submit, and they have not yet even arranged a survey.

Our new house isn’t ready yet either. We popped over today, and we now at least have a garage, but no door or drainage, decoration is not complete and they are yet to talk to the wife about her choice of tiles and other decor. I suspect the house will not be finished this side of Christmas, but I’m happy to be proved wrong. Our builders want a sign off of the 17th October, having seen the property today, and the fact that this deadline is only four days away, there is more chance of me qualifying as a trained neurosurgeon in that time than the builders meeting that deadline. It’s just not going to happen.

Still quite a bit of work, in and out, to do

So, she was laughing as she was starting to lose it….

Bless her. A little cuddle brought her back to reality and we then laughed, funny ha ha style 😂

So to cut a long story short there are about three deadline dates out there and to be honest, in lay man’s terms, and to use quite a course old English saying, they don’t know their “Arse from their elbow”

And no, as I have always stated right from the start of this process, I still don’t trust a single one of them and quite expect the whole thing to collapse due to their collective incompetencies.

Hey ho, we’re keeping a sunny disposition, there are far more important things going on in the world, and we accept that. I just can’t stomach incompetence though, and that’s my pet peeve.

Have a super day, wherever you are. Stay safe, be kind.

Even to estate agents and solicitors 😂👍

Back to chilly old Blighty

Checking in after a little time away..

Apparently I’ve not posted anything for a few weeks so I’d better, provide a little update of life as it is at the moment.

We’ve just yesterday, arrived back from a lovely 8 days away on the beautiful island of Madeira. I’m not a good flyer, I hate it to be honest, I panic, I sweat and I prepare to meet my maker on every flight, to be honest I’m very hard on myself. To therefore choose to fly to an island, that notoriously has one of the most difficult landing strips on the planet was not probably one of my best decisions. That landing almost finished me, the brakes were on so hard I was almost in the seat ahead of me, how we even had rubber left on the tyres I’ll never know. But the holiday was lovely. Some pics below.

Some pictures of Madeira, there are hundreds more, but I won’t punish you here.

There are two individuals who seem to have had such an impact on the island, that their presence is seen at most places that you visit. Christiano Ronaldo, a son of Madeira and sporting legend owns massive swathes of the island and the locals won’t have a word said against him, rightly so as he is a local lad that has done good. Secondly is Sir Winston Churchill, he only visited the island twice with a fifty year gap in between, but he painted some local pictures and as a result there are statues and areas dedicated to him all around the island.

Then we came home.

A change in temperature drop of about 15 degrees is extremely noticeable, it’s cold at home, winter is starting to wrap its frosty tentacles around the UK.

The house move is stagnant, nothing is occurring at the moment and I suspect the money people are rubbing their hands as the bill increases with the time they are taking. We’ll just have to be patient, I’m still not confident of what will occur, as I’ve stated from the start my confidence is at an all time low and always has been. Incompetence reigns supreme. (Them not us)

So that’s about it, apart from some new health conditions that I won’t bother you with, I’ll save those for another day, just things that I’ve never experienced before, starting to occur on a more regular basis, growing pains if you like.

So I hope you are all well, being kind to whoever you meet, and most of all that you are all happy.

I couldn’t ask for more.

Take care.

Low worth, litter and hatred.

What’s the trait you value most about yourself?

I’ve always had a very low opinion of my self worth, and that’s not really bothered me through my life. It’s not the best trait though and sometimes little tweaks have to take place to just bolster things a little bit. I manage it ok and it causes me no issues. I guess I don’t like being knocked down, so staying low on the radar allows me to avoid such situations.

The trait I probably value the most is the ability, to arise early, and never be late for work or an appointment, and most of all knowing that others value me for my reliability, I’m always there when I need to be, and I don’t let minor colds or ailments get in my way.

I’ve had it mentioned on a couple of rare occasions that because I was delayed by traffic maybe, and was 5 minutes later than when I normally hand over at work, (even though I’m still not officially handing over for another 30 minutes) that they were worried that I’d driven into a ditch or something! That says something about their combined expectations and my reliability, come rain or shine, plague or pestilence, Dave can always be relied on.

So in a nutshell I value my reliability, and in close second place because I was brought up in an age when we were constantly told not to litter, I don’t litter at all. Every little bit of scrap no matter how small will sit in my pocket until I reach a suitable waste receptacle, that’s just me. It’s really easy and I’d suggest everyone tries it.

And in third place, but maybe it should be higher, I don’t use the word “Hate”. It’s a horrible word and so final and irreversible, whereas “dislike” can be worked on, the word hatred is final.

Have a super day.