Another weekend and the pubs are open after being closed for the past four months. I shall be giving it a miss but as I now rarely go to local pubs it doesn't really effect me. I am still confused with regards to Covid 19 advice although there is no doubt that those over 70 and / or have underlying health problems are most at risk. We had our antibody results back and all negative except for one person who had gone skiing in France last February. Yet antibody results pertain to any Covid illness so that includes colds and there is a debate as to how soon should blood tests be done i.e. Within fourteen days of being infected! To further reinforce the message one of our doctors died last week following three months in ICU and that has brought the message home.  But he did tick many of the boxes for the at risk group. A sad loss. Let's see what happens over the next couple of weeks as the lockdown restrictions are slowly removed.

The 1/72 scale Whitley bomber has been completed or almost completed. I used oils for some of the camouflage and a week later it is still not yet dry. I plan to put a matt coat on for a final protection once the oils have completely dried. It is the first time I made a template for one of the letters after I ruined a decal and I painted it in.

It isn't perfect but it's not a bad first attempt and I am pleased with it.

Overall not a bad job and I am improving in some of the skills particularly addressing the seams although a lot more patience is required. Up on the table is the SBD Dauntless in 1/48 scale that I had already started and I am building this one as an out of the box model with no aftermarket parts or scratch building as I want to relax with a simple kit build. I intend to do this one in the colours of the Royal New Zealand airforce circa 1942 - 43.

This should keep me busy for the next week or so and I am already considering the next build although I haven't yet decided whether to build another aircraft or the Henderson motorcycle. The latter is appealing and I have already started it but the plastic is very brittle and I want to work on this kit slowly and do it justice. I find I have little time outside of work and when I am home by 6 p.m. I shower and eat before crashing out in front of the TV or immerse myself in a book. I am annoyed because there is pressure on us to do more work yet if we end up doing extra hours to accommodate this we are then criticised for wanting to take those hours back. Over the past month I have generally been sticking to my regular hours and ensuring I start and finish on time, working to rule and refusing any extra work. We still have at least one day each week working from home so as to reduce the number of staff in the building. If we stuck to the Covid recommendations from the health and safety team we would have to work from home and not enter the building at all! 

Anyhow, time for a cuppa and a catch up with some Sasquatch podcasts which makes more sense compared with much of the nonsense happening in the world today!

TTFN.