Thats How.....

Accidents Happen..

About a week ago while parking in a supermarket car park the hand brake  cable on the car broke.
A new cable was promptly ordered but not fitted as Things got in the way...
So that meant whenever stopped on an incline, like stopping to open the security gates at the boat yard, it meant turning off the motor and leaving the car in gear to hold it from moving forward...

That's no hardship but after 20 - 25 times one looks for a better way or a shortcut.
And so last Friday night after arriving at the first gate at 11.30pm, been to cards, Texas Holdem tournament in Banbury, I went through the turn off the car routine, open the gate and drive through, turn off the car, get out shut the gate, get back in and drive forward to the next gate....

The ground approaching this gate has a lot less incline so using a bit of "Kiwi" logic the pot hole I spied would be perfect to place the RF wheel in to hold the car and I could leave the lights on, great to see the combination padlock, and leave the motor running, what a time saver...

So I'm standing at the gate and just released the padlock when "Whack" what the hells going on..
A crushing of the legs and I'm being pushed from behind into the still fastened gates.
My first thought was someone had attacked me from behind to steal my poker winnings.
If only they'd known the results they'd been better to have robbed a Brail collection box.

Looking down and behind I see this large bumper thing and two headlamps doing there best to get through the gate before me. I'd whacked my wrist on the hole surround where you reach through to lift the steel rod from the ground and luckily the padlock from the sliding bolt was released so when I lifted the rod the gate burst open and me and the car were free....

Geeezz it was cold as, Leonie was asleep with the phone turned off. Worst scenario I could have been there all night, got hypothermia say, and been stiff as and by the morning been no use to anyone.

Just goes to show how stupid accidents can happen with sometimes serious results.
The handbrake is now fixed.

A reenactment shows....

Position of attacking car.... steel bolt across gates which held padlock....



And having.......

To reach through and lift steel rod to release gate.... and car.....


Yesterday was a beauty frost, iced puddles, iced  cars,  and the ground was like a skating rink....
Today was a lesser frost followed by fog.....

At the car yard today....

 

 A transporter arrived with 10  0f the 19 cars brought at auctions last Thursday....

Unloading with the fog around....

Doesn't take long but a degree in Physics to operate the up, down positioning  of the decks to get the cars off would be helpful...

Last Sunday was a blue sky mild day.
I've worked out that every time a piece of wood is burnt on the fire it's one less we have in stock, it's gone, vvaaaammooosshhh, no coming back. So that  means more wood has to be sawn, cut, chopped, whatever.
We had a couple of logs left from when we travelled up from Thrupp, loaded them from the towpath, they'd dried out good.
Also I scrounge pallets from anywhere, theres so many laying around and they are good dry timber easily cut using my recently acquired skill saw. I used to saw them all by hand with a bow saw. Now a pallet is dismembered in about 4 minutes.

So Sunday was the day to...

Cut up the logs.....

And......

Add another pallet to the total.....
I know what you Hilarious people have already said to yourselves....
" wonder how long before he cuts through the power lead"??.....
Hey... I'm not that Stupid.....

The rains returned, good time to hit the sack.......