14.07.2026

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  Tuesday 14th 61F/16C [6.50] Bright but milky sky as we are promised wall to wall sunshine. 22C/71F in the room. Heat pump on all night set to 22C. 16.5C/62F in the greenhouse.

 The Danish news reports that our area suffered the heaviest cloudburst in Denmark yesterday afternoon. With 31.5mm. What is referred to as a Double Cloudburst. I watched as the run-off flowed down the gentle incline of the drive towards the house. Easily visible because it reflects the sky at a low angle. Contrasting with the dark gravel of the traffic tracks.

 Up at 6.10 after a quiet night. With the inevitable breaks. I am feeling more normal this morning. 

 The neighbours cat was sniffing the new molehills on The West lawn. Scratching at the tallest it could find. Then promptly squatted on the heap and unburdened itself. I glared at it through the bathroom window and it glared back. Where's the respect? 

 There were several examples yesterday. Where I caught up with an electric bike. Ridden in all cases by a pensioner. Overtaking these e-bikes proved to be quite problematic. They were traveling just fast enough. To greatly extend the overtaking period and ground covered while doing so. Which meant very careful timing on the winding, narrow lanes. Which I was enjoying at the time.

 With many drivers being totally unaware. Or not caring  damn. About the meaning of braking distance at speed. Relative to their visibility ahead. It could be quite hazardous to overtake with many a blind corner coming up. So that I, and other drivers, found ourselves following these e-bikes for quite some time and some distance. Which may itself cause cause fear and trepidation in the e-cyclist. 

 The high street in one village had a lengthy procession. Where some relaxed, elderly e-biker, was using a lot of road. A total air head. While weaving about as he passed and admired points of interest. He was completely unaware that he had a long stream of cars following him. All unable to risk overtaking. Due to oncoming traffic and the village speed limit.

 My own e-bike is capable of higher speeds than most. Which puts a much greater burden on me. To allow following traffic to overtake as soon and as safely as possible. The same held true with my trikes. So that I would often use the next pull-in, layby or junction to allow a vehicle or [worse] a queue to pass. Which would often produce a wave of thanks or a toot on their horn. 

 The phenomenal acceleration of many EVs [like Teslas] Is worth every penny for overtaking on crowded roads. Provided they do not exceed the speed limit of course. As I potter about. Usually at the speed limit in the Morris. I am regularly overtaken by Teslas and their kin. They go past me like a dragster. Before settling down again in the traffic flow. 

 One must  always be aware of other traffic and their different needs. Despite the ever increasing volume of traffic on the roads. My journeys are increasingly for pleasure and can usually be enjoyed at a slower pace. Others are often working to a timetable. Where dawdling is apt to cause upset and impatience. So again, I make every effort not to be a hindrance. Even though it does seem odd. That the local speed limits have become compulsory for all vehicles. Rather than merely optional. "Sunday drivers" were being criticized at least as far back as the 1960s.  

Enough waffling. It is pleasantly warm outside. I have stretched out the network cable and hose. To see how long they really are. I need a meter of bare cable to reach the POE switch indoors from the outside of the house wall. So chop the hose at 19m? Some leeway? 18.5m? 

 08.30 Still struggling to push the draw wire through the hose. I am standing on a tall stepladder to get some tension on the hose.  With several bricks resting on the far end. To stop it from sliding towards me. Nearly there. I hope. Pulling the cable through will be much easier. I should have pulled out the draw wire to match the length of hose. So that I could easily tell if I was getting close. Or wasting my time. I can see that there only a few turns of the 3mm nylon left on the spool. Pi x D? 

 11.30 76F/24.4C. Sweating buckets. I had to cut the hose in half. It proved impossible to push the 3mm draw wire through 18m of hose. I wasted a lot of time trying. Too much friction. Whereas pulling the cable through 9m was relatively easy. I finally have the end of the cable indoors. Just walking backwards and forwards is hard work in this hot sunshine! I had better sink a few glasses of water. And have a rest.

 13.30 78F/26C. Lunch over. I am staying indoors to avoid being baked. It is quite breezy but I find the heat unpleasant. There is no shelter from the sun where I am working. The heat pump is keeping the ground floor at a comfortable 22C/72F. 

 I cleaned the fish tank of algae.  

 18.30  75F/24C. Still hot. Back from the shops with two bags well stuffed. An immaculate Morris Minor shopping trolley was in the car park. It is surprising how rarely I see another. 

 

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