11.07.2026

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  Saturday 11th 57F/14C [6.30]  Full sun again. Peaking at 27C/81F. Light, northerly winds. 22C/71F in the room. 14C/57F in the greenhouse.

 Up at 6am after a quiet night. Though I was awake for an hour 2-3am. Feeling too hot. The neighbours cat was setting off the security lights. It practically lives here day and night. Always hunting. 

 7.50 Back from trenching across the drive. I am a silly Billy. I should have used the big hammer drill with a chisel bit. I was using a heavy mattock. Like a pick but with a wide blade for trenching. Which was very slow going on such heavily compacted gravel. I found a good length of quality [non-kink] hose to use as conduit. For the new camera's POE network cable. Which will cross the drive and then just be lost in the base of the overgrown hedge. The camera only runs on low voltage. So no special safety rules are required. As it certainly would with mains 250C AC. The trench is almost complete.    

 The 12mm garden hose won't work with network cables. The plugs are too big to enter. Grr. That means I have to find an alternative. Flexible installation hose is cheap and readily available. I don't need the highest UV resistance spec for a low voltage cable. This means I have to drive into town. Which I want to do anyway. My new glasses need adjustment and I'd like to buy a cheap garden roller. The optician doesn't open until 10am. I can go there last. 

 Whoops! The 16mm flexible installation hose is only 10mm bore. I have been looking at 20mm garden hose and larger diameter flexible installation hose. The cheapest option is the all too common. Dark green, garden hose but in 20mm. Very prone to flattening and kinking. Manageable for this exercise as it only needs to be laid out once and forgotten. Warm, sunny weather offers ideal conditions.

 12.10 78F/26C. Hot sunshine! Back from town. With a 20mm x 25m garden hose, two draw wires of ten and 20 meters and a baby, garden roller. The town was packed. With the long high street closed for market stalls. I parked in the back yards. While I had my new glasses straightened. Then off to the industrial estate on the edge of town. Where the big shed outlets hang out. Again they were packed. With long queues at the checkouts.

  

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