4.03.2025 Hypothermia, exploding dinner and demolition.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 4th 41F/5C. Dark grey overcast with a westerly wind continuing. Potentially reaching 9C/48F.

  Up at 6.15 after a quiet night with weird dreams. 

 The visit to my friend is off. His cold is worse. I don't want to pass it on to my physio class members tomorrow.  So, the demolition of the observatory continues. 

 8.15. A walk.

 8.40  Back from a walk around a field. The wind was irritatingly cold and strong.

 11.45 Sunshine. I have been dismantling the observatory again. The dome base ring was freed of its rollers and broke into pieces once it was overhanging the building. I laid two ladders across the building to support the ring until the last moment. I wanted to be sure it wouldn't hit the shed. 

 Then there were 32 galvanized nuts to undo to remove the eight, dome rotation rollers. I am hot, sweating and need a break. 

 Time for lunch.

 16.00 Back for another rest. I have made amazing progress. With some delays due to inferior Torx screws. I have been changing the Torx bits repeatedly. Once the bit starts spinning in the screw head all hope is lost. 

 Fortunately it is possible to twist the crosspieces provided one end is freed. As can be seen. The heap in the foreground is growing. I am working my way around the back of the building now. Where there is a 3' /90cm drop off the gravel I imported. To make the base for the building. Which means much longer ladders are needed. 

 It would be foolish to get too optimistic about the next stage. The screws, holding the larch flooring down to the joists, are crap. Stainless steel Torx again and designed for outdoor terrace use. The bits were spinning even when I was driving them in. So I do not have high hopes for rapid removal. 

 Dinner was a cheese omelette with sausage and tomatoes. It was going well until I tried to tip it over onto a plate. I wanted to do the other side of the egg for a while. The plate was too big. Or the frying pan too small. It instantly broke up and burnt my fingers. Leaving me to desperately scrape my dinner off a smoking, red hot ring. It tasted fine. Only my pride is dented.

 20.00 and I may have hypothermia. I am freezing! It is 68F/20C in the room and I am wearing a thick fleece jacket and hat. Yet I am shivering. I probably spent too much time out in the cold wind today. Silly old wotsit!

 

  ~o~