17.11.2022 Alternative energy from tortoises?

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 Thursday 17th 40F/4C. Another day of overcast and gales is forecast.  Up at 6.20 after a frequently disturbed night. I had a cup of milky coffee at 8pm and it went straight through! At hourly intervals throughout the night.

 I spent a lot of time on my hands and knees in the hall working on the grouting last night. The edges did not clean up as easily as I hoped. So I had to scrape more than wipe. Just to get a clean edge near the walls. The skirting boards would emphasise rather than hide the unwanted grout. Though it will be much less visible when fully dried to pale grey.

 The Danish news is about the inability of farmers to get permission for wind, bio-gas and solar installations on their land. Permission is a local affair conducted by the council. Which puts local citizens rights [and votes] above combatting climate change. 

 Why isn't there a national scheme to compensate those directly affected by the proposed changes? A modest but steady income from the profits generated by these installations?  And/or a home buy-out scheme. Where an installation is considered intolerable for specific homes due to close proximity. 

 There is a large area of solar panels a few km from here. Built by the dairy giant Arla. The low profiles of the dark panels. Undulating across the fields is visually striking rather than an eyesore. Though there is no high ground to provide an oversight. I have cycled there a couple of times to admire them from the quiet, rural lanes. There are very few houses in the area affected by the installation. It is claimed the area covered is the equivalent of 100 football fields.

Meanwhile, the city council has erected quite a small area of solar panels. On steeply sloping, north-facing ground in an industrial- big shed retail area. Which I find downright ugly. This is despite my lifelong fascination with alternative energy. I still have my library of alternative energy books from the 70s and 80s and later.

 These panels are arranged east-west like dark house roofs tumbling down the northerly slope. To my eyes it looks like the aftermath of a catastrophic landslide. I don't think I would be happy to wake up that scene every morning. Thankfully no homes are directly affected. Screening by trees on the roadside could easily be implemented.

 7.45 Time for my walk. The sky is distinctly dystopian and the trees already rocking. Gusting to 20m/s or 45mph again later.

 9.00 I was being buffeted by the cold wind. Except when roadside hedges provided shelter. My eyes were streaming despite have my hood up over a peaked cap. The GripGrab cycling gloves were far too cold for the conditions. So attempts to shelter may windward cheek had to be abandoned. The sky was racing over as the cloud broke up to sickly orange. With long strips heading westwards. The image above was the only one I managed. It was too cold for the bare hands required to operate the TZ7.

 10.30  Fleeting sunshine and gales. I have been cleaning the hall floor again. To remove the film of dusty grout on the tiles. Some offcuts of the narrower architrave profile 9cm looked best as skirting boards in this narrow hall. The wider 11cm profile looked rather like overkill as skirting. It drew the eye rather than letting it wander freely. I will have to buy more 9cm architrave for the hall skirting. 

 The front hall may gain from the wider skirting. Due to its much brighter and more opulent appearance. This would have been the main entrance door in the past. Before I enclosed it with the lean-to greenhouse and fitted tall, glazed, double, entrance doors. The exterior, sliding door to the greenhouse is anything but practical as an entrance. Thee is no parking except in the narrow drive. With the rear door, close to enlarged parking space, far more useful.

 I used  a combination of profiles around the rear, entrance hall doors. The glazed, lounge door had the 11cm architrave. To visually announce its status to privileged visitors. While the lowly bathroom had only the 9cm architrave. To match its more domestic place in the social hierarchy. 

 Examining the interior woodwork at the farm museum was useful as a visual guide. Windows and even the walls around the edges of the ceilings [cornices] were decorated with architrave mouldings. Though this was in the present dining room of the old farmhouse. 

 There is no connecting door to the original, farm kitchen. So it may well have been an important office in the past. With windows on both [opposing] exterior walls to keep an eye on things. It having its own [modest] entrance doors via a narrow hall. Accessible from both the inside and outside of the enclosed yard. 

 17.00 Back from the shops. Bought skirting boards and groceries. Netto tried to rob me again. It's the same every time I shop there these days. Regardless of branch. Prices much higher on the checkout compare with the displayed prices on the shelves. I can't find stuff they stock anywhere else. Or I'd avoid these crooks. 

 They are obviously taking advantage of the total lack of consumer protection in Denmark. They'd face huge fines in Gravely Blighted. Even 30 years ago there were retail chains being fined huge sums for this serial, criminal behaviour. 

 19.40 Dinner over. It was pasta, with scrambled eggs, fried diced chicken and mushrooms. I should have added tinned tomatoes to the pasta but foolishly thought it too much. I was wrong. The pasta was okay but needed something more. I used the large frying pan. So I could cook the scrambled eggs beside the mushrooms and chicken. Not on top. To avoid producing the usual ugly omelette.

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