Thread: Hello from an old member

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I am so looking forward to the possibilty of sitting in the new conservatory for Christmas Day
It may not have any heating or lighting though ??

Run an extension cord and use one of those oil/radiator heaters for the time being.

I will do whatever I can to make sure I get the unit assembled on top of the new base and walls when they are done in a few weeks. I'm happy to at least see stuff being deliverd today ready for the start of the work tomorrow while I will be in London working for Merryl Lynch.

OH My!!
I got home from work today to find a large trench in the back yard that was filled with concrete ! I guess my foundation is now underway
My immediate response was to have a cup of Tea and then depart to a friends workshop 2 miles up the road so I could help with working out what I need to make to get his power steering system working on one of his modified cars as he needs all new hydraulic hoses made and I know a guy who can do this stuff?

I got back home in time to be lucky enough to head up to my study to chat to internet friends on Drag Racing sites while i avoided the whole family downstairs who were shouting at an England Rugby match tonight ! I think England may have lost. But I won big style as I sold some V8 stuff on Ebay and privatley to go towards the SBC build I'll take some pics of the garden work tomorrow. For tonights close of play I got to say goodnight to my Darling Grand Daugther Faith as she was shouting up the stairs "gunnite Gandad" So Gandad did the usual trick of sitting on the top step while Faith crawled up the stairs to me with her worried mother at the bottom of the stairs telling her to "be careful" Then Gand Dad and Faith came down each step on our backsides shouting BUMP as we came down with me holding Faiths hands as she bumped each step in front of me. As we got to the bottom step Faith said " I dun it Gandad" then we had hugs before she went to her bed... Dagnabbit that little girl has me wrapped around her little finger Tomorrow I will be up at 7am to make sure the builders have Tea, Coffee and fresh baked bread for their Bacon rolls ready for when they arrive at 8.30am.

You're gonna be spoiling those builders with treatment like that, Pel! Sounding like me, out cooking burgers & brat's for the guys who were pouring the slab for the shop a few years back! And they thought they were going to be sending a runner in to town for lunch!! I expect you'll get your investment back with interest, in attention to details that otherwise might well be forgotten.

And give Faith an extra hug next time it's off to bed, just for grins! Tell her she's got lots of Grandad's out there who know that she's special.

Hey Roger !
I know jusy how much I appreciate it when I'm on a site working and the site engineer makes me welcome with the ability to have Tea and Coffee. Some of the sites I work on have decent kitchen facilities and the site engineers will tell us we have to use the local cafe to keep ourselves fed and watered. Some of these guys even make Tea in their workshop in front of us without offering a cup for us. They often have a microwave which they wont let us use? Some folk can be Aholes eh? So on these site we do what we have to as quick as we can and get out. But on 80% of the sites we visit we get looked after and we also go the extra mile to make sure the client gets a first class job. The sites that look after me and my team best in London are all American banks ? And Bloomberg let use us their facitlites for drinks and snacks and its all free. They just ask that we are clean and presentable when in the breakout area, which is huge The guys this weekend really appreciated being kept fed with drinks and food as required. I made out a timetable for my girls after I did breakfast for the builders as I was going out. The timetable laid out how often to ask them if they wanted a hot or cold drink and also to make sure that biscuits and cakes were on tap from when I gave them breakfast at 8.30 this morning up to 1.30pm when they should have another batch of rolls baked with nice bacon and Cumberland sausages cooked so they could stop for a lunch break. When Gill and I got back from a few hours out with Faith they were just clearing up and making sure all of their stuff was tidied away as they knew Faith would be playing in the garden before next weekend when they come back. What a nice bunch of chaps they are. All of them fell in love with Faith as she spent a lot of her time banging on the patio doors shouting "hello mans" and waving to them.
So yesterday we ended up with the site being lowered and a trench full of concrete. Today we have this

Yep, I subscribe to the same approach. Treat the workers better than you'd want to be treated, and they'll look after you! The Conservatory is going to be a great addition, and I expect that Faith will enjoy the warm sunshine on a cold winters day!

The additonal room will give Gill (a primary school teacher) a better workspace Roger. And it will be Faiths toy store and indoor play area so she can enjoy the warmth of the sun even on cold winter days

Then I can have the other half of my lounge back so I can move my big sofa back in front of the fireplace where it belongs

Faith was two years old last month and she still only weighs 22lbs. She is a petite little girl but she has the heart of a lion and is now so so determined to do whatever she wants. And boy does she let folk know when she wants to do something. The terrible two's are well and truly upon us now This afternoon I was supposed to be doing some welding on the race car, but as the sun was out and it was warm I decided to do an interior clean on the people carrier I bought 4 weeks ago as this is Faiths car now. She insisted that Nanny let her out to help Gandad. So she sat in the drivers seat with some wet wipes and copied what Gandad was doing as she wiped everything she could reach. After an hour she got bored so I asked her if she would like to paint the car? She aid yes so I got her little bucket from the garden and put warm water in with some soap and asked her to paint Gandads wheels. This kept her happy for a good while as long a I answered her comments about what she was painting next. So the doors, headlights, tyres and eventually the rear seats got painted with soapy water Nanny was looking on with raised eyebrows asking why I would let her paint the seats? What else could I say except.. "They are dirty and she is having fun. I can clean them properly when I get some time Nanny" !
Then it was bath time and more fun with the little girl... She loves to do swimming in the bath as she is now on her 4th week of swimming lessons and she loves it. She called me when she was out of the bath to tell Gandad that "I swimmin Gandad"

I agree with you and Roger that it is important to reward those wh work for you. We had barbeque Wednesdays for 9 months while the construction of the addition to our house was under way, I made the whole crew burgers, ect.. and we also frequently went out to lunch together. Mt crew are all my friends, wouldn't have it any other way!

So!!
Some race buddies came over last Sunday and kicked me to one side so I could take care of making sure the food and drinks were laid on for the day

They got to working on my plans and instructions for the Conservatory and got me and the kids unwrapping stuff. Luckily two of the guys are pro builders who had never met before but they got on well. We ended up with two teams working each side of the build at the same time. After just 4 hours I went from a bare brick wall base to having all of the glazing sections and door frame in fitted in place just at the rain came !

So you really are one of the richest men in the world!!

Looks great.

It does feel that way for sure
I'm lucky to have a good bunch of mates. I had to limit the number of guys from the pits wanting to come over as there would have been around 20 guys tripping over each other. So I chose the ones who lived less than 15 miles away. I'm working every day now up to Monday 30th which I'm having off for my birthday. Then 3 more are coming over to help come rain or shine
Actually I am having the 25th off as I'm at a dyno session with my mate and his 74 year old Mom to set up the nitrous on her new drag car. She's just bought herself a 94 Mustang and wants it gassed up and dyno'd asap

It does feel that way for sure
I'm lucky to have a good bunch of mates. I had to limit the number of guys from the pits wanting to come over as there would have been around 20 guys tripping over each other. So I chose the ones who lived less than 15 miles away. I'm working every day now up to Monday 30th which I'm having off for my birthday. Then 3 more are coming over to help come rain or shine
Actually I am having the 25th off as I'm at a dyno session with my mate and his 74 year old Mom to set up the nitrous on her new drag car. She's just bought herself a 94 Mustang and wants it gassed up and dyno'd asap

Pel, very nice! Your granddaughter is growing up fast, and she is such a cutie! Nice work on the sanctuary! That will be a great space! Man, you sure have this fat kid's interest with these bacon rolls. Have any pics or a recipe for these?

HMMmmmm.. bacon and a fox body Mustang.. dyno'ed and ready for the drags..

not much better than that!