Some slow but steady work on the Rolls Royce armoured car and this model company is well known for some poor fitting fragile parts and somewhat vague instructions. I like their kits and I accept there will be challenges, hence the reference books. They and other Ukrainian model companies also make kits that are not made by other companies so I stick with them. I am also aware that I still have much to learn and to improve my skills hence taking my time with this build.

I have started on two figures for the planned small diorama, one a resin figure as I plan to model this as a late 1940 armoured car in the North African campaign against the Italians.

I had planned to airbrush it but so far I have brush painted the initial light stone stripes in but not shown here. Yesterday I received the delivery of a kit for another planned diorama involving the LRDG kit I bought last month although I also have an Italian Breda 20 mm gun somewhere in the post to add to it as well.

The other delivery is for a future planned Gotha G IV aircraft build from WW1 using the old cheap and very basic kit in the picture below.

The weather has been colder of late and remains damp most days with lots of rain at times, a typical English winter in these parts. With very little daylight it's nice to batten down the hatches, stay warm and either read or model. Next week I have the car booked in for a winter service and I plan to tidy up the garden, prune some more from the tree and generally prepare for next spring. The plan is for any tomato, cucumber and chilli plants to go into the smaller pots, transplant a couple of the larger plants into larger pots and use the raised bed for flowers to attract bees and butterflies. Sue still wants the Willow tree down and I don't like removing trees as they are sorely needed. I might compromise and cut it back. The pigeons are no longer nesting in it so that excuse is now gone! We have also been informed by the friend whose cat is pregnant that the kittens were born this morning. So far just the three, two white and one black kitten so we'll find out more in the next few days how they are doing and which one we will have. 

Just for Scott, here's Sherlock attacking the screen and if you find any cat scratches on you...spooky!

TTFN.

 A week at work I do not want to repeat as lots of driving in bad weather on bad roads, lots of visits and constant pressure as staff off again with covid and demands for a service continue to increase. This was also brought home to me in a ligature training session yesterday where unfortunately I broke down as the hanging incident from two years ago was brought up and I was asked about it. I thought I had put that to bed but clearly I haven't and for me, it's an indication that I am very stressed. So I am very happy to now have my days off and I have booked extra days off next week for a car service and a break from work. The other good news which I intended to keep until after next Wednesday is that my role will change. I have been asked to run the clinics from next February and give up my caseload. It will be busy and the routine involves driving out to various clinics / homes to perform the various tasks but it will be purely clinical and I am following the route of a previous colleague who did this until she retired. I have become increasingly aware of the youth of lots of new staff and my recent loss of interest in the students are also indicators of my gradual preparation for the next phase of my life. Not a negative perspective but a realistic one as it tells me I have served my time and preparing for that next phase.

This little bugger is causing problems for Sherlock as he is growing bigger and Sherlock has become a quivering anxious wreck, literally shaking with fear. We don't allow Jerry in and Maisie had taken to chasing him away but didn't this morning, hence he wandered in but left when I shooed him out. He hasn't been neutered yet and that might be one reason why Sherlock is afraid of him. Happily, Sherlock is now kipping on a pile of clean laundry and we have left him there as he is settled. I am taking a complete break today, having awakened at 5 a.m. but surprisingly chipper in mood and looking forward to doing as little as possible and possibly doing some model painting later. But after several days of rain it is currently sunny outside and it might tempt me out for a walk.

TTFN.

 An update on the Rolls Royce armoured car and the chassis has been assembled although I misread the instructions and I had to correct a major error. The superstructure is glued together but only dry fitted on the chassis as I have to paint the interior as well as much of the chassis. 

The aftermarket kits are shown in the second photo and the figure is a LRDG character although in this case I am considering the initial formation of the Long Range Patrol which consisted of New Zealanders, Rhodesians and British troops. He will be a New Zealand soldier and I will add other figures to the diorama and I will paint the vehicle in a Caunter colour scheme. I have painted a vehicle in this scheme, the Stuart tank and it makes a change from plain greens and sand colours.

The stowage kit and the figure will take time to paint and for me painting is the enjoyable part of modelling as it brings the subject to life.

I have booked odd days off during the last week of November through to the new year so that I will have started my three day weeks already. I realised over the past year that by Thursday each week I am exhausted and I have to admit I do give 100% to my face to face work with people and it is very tiring emotionally and mentally. I plan to pop down to see my mum but also need to start on the redecorating so the extra days will help as well as the extra days for modelling, reading and walking. The plan for redecorating is to do it it in stages and pace ourselves but it would be nice to get the lounge completed for (Look away BW!) Xmas and then chill over the holiday period. Time to dig out my DVD of 'A Christmas Carol' with Alastair Sim playing Scrooge ready for the lead up to it all. We will have our usual quiet Xmas as I really cannot stand all the noise and nonsense around it and No.1 son will be away for a couple of weeks.

TTFN.

 An interesting week at work, very busy with too much driving on dreadful roads, very heavy rain and winds plus lots of roadworks. The latter is the 'fun' part as detours in one case brought me to another set of roadworks necessitating a further detour! Add to that the inevitable road traffic accidents and morons in insulated large SUV's doing twenty over the speed limit and it's  very uncomfortable at times. On a positive note, it is now confirmed I will work three days per week from the first week of January and I have had an offer of a job change within the same team which I have agreed to. Hopefully that will happen as although I will be busy, it will reduce some aspects of my role and will possibly make my last couple of years in the job manageable. We have also had a budget from this government which I am still digesting but the two years of lockdowns, paying people to sit at home, trashing the economy, not dealing with the financial crisis back in 2008, etc...is the main reason for this budget, not the 36 - 48 hours of Truss and Kwasi. My only hope is that the state pension age is not changed again in the next four years as I am knackered now and the gods know what I will be like four years from now.

Here is a photo I found on social media from a photographer (Ian Black)  of a group of Lightnings flying over Grimsby during the 1980's. These aircraft were based at the nearby Binbrook RAF base which is now an industrial site. Speaking of aircraft I ordered a very cheap kit and it arrived in the post this morning...

It is a WW1 Gotha G IV bomber and as the photos show, it is a very basic kit with very basic instructions, hence the cheapness. This is likely to be my next build following the Rolls Royce Armoured car diorama and it will severely test my modelling skills if I want to make a decent build out of it. Lovely! Scratch building and lots of research required and I do have a book regarding this particular aircraft which I will dip into. This kit model is from 1978 so it has been hanging around in someone's attic or their stash for many years and sold off after their death. A pertinent reminder to stop adding to my stash and crack on with the builds.

'M'off to do me chores.

TTFN.

 

I ordered some new T-shirts from the States a couple of weeks ago and they arrived this morning. They are  from Strange Familiars, a podcast I have followed for a few years now and I have signed up as a patron for the site as well. There is certainly a sense at work that I am weird when colleagues have told new students that I am interested in the paranormal and I use this to suggest they consider what is and isn't madness. I haven't done this with the latest tranche of students as sadly I haven't had much to do with them over the past several weeks. Some past students have been delightful and have been open minded. I only ask that they think and question what they are taught or have learned, not just in psychiatry. It's odd really that after thirty seven years working in psychiatry I have very little faith in it. I prefer social and psychological approaches to most of it and as ever, money and resources generally end up going elsewhere. I remain fascinated by people, by their experiences and by madness itself. I have ordered a new book about the history of London asylums as social history of treatment of the poor and marginalised peoples does interest me. I remember having the opportunity to read some of the old records at Friern Hospital during my training and I do wonder where those records ended up. Allegedly, one of the inmates was Jack the Ripper but I don't believe there was enough evidence to state that for sure.

I have been reading up on the Rolls Royce armoured car in the desert and East Africa as well as building and painting more sub-assemblies for the model. I had intended to do some decorating today but Sue has barred me for the moment because of my health issues until I have several days off and plenty of recovery time! One day painting and then a couple of days rest has been agreed for both of us and I agreed it is a more sensible approach. I have booked some odd days off over the next couple of months for this and to pop back down to Essex to see my Mum, this time staying overnight. Back to the podcasts...

TTFN.

 The good news is that from the first week of January I will be working three days a week, Monday to Wednesday and four days off a week. A very welcome move and after the last few weeks I can't wait. As I've said several times in earlier blogs, this will be a gradual move to my retiring fully from nursing and being a full time grumpy old man. I am watching old episodes of 'Last of the Summer Wine' for instructions about living as a full time pensioner. It seems to involve being a nuisance, somewhat daft, crashing a variety of homemade vehicles into hedges and spending time in local pubs. Sounds good to me.

Speaking of homemade vehicles I have started on my latest much anticipated build, the Rolls Royce Armoured car. I had a very early night last night and I was up at 04.45 this morning so an early start on this build in between the cats showing an interest in what I was doing!

I have bought some aftermarket kits (shown above) for a New Zealand trooper and stowage aboard the armoured car.

Work so far on the engine and the wheels and if built closed down, the engine is unlikely to be seen so I won't be super detailing the engine with paint. I plan to build an armoured car circa 1940 in the Western Desert fighting against the Italians. There is an Italian car, the Camionetta Sahariana which I would love to build and add it to a diorama for this but it is rarer than hens teeth and wasn't used until later in 1942. 

This build should keep me busy for a couple of weeks but from January I shall have more time for modelling but also for walking as I want to start rebuilding my core strength for walking. For today, I have shopping and necessary chores to attend to and a catch up with various podcasts and music.

TTFN.

This silly sausage has been reluctant to come in today, running away from me each time I tried to bring him in when he wanted to come in. I'm not sure what has happened but I assume a combination of the fireworks, Jerry the silver tabby and possibly a run in with some unfriendly human outside has contributed to his current elevated levels of anxiety. Maisie has cottoned on to his anxiety and I observed her stalking him at one point. After half an hour asleep in my arms when he finally came in soaking wet he is currently fast asleep on Sue.

 I like this time of year, the nights drawing in, the crisp crunch of leaves underfoot and scent of smoke from garden fires and those clear nights when one can gaze at the stars. I don't mind when it is wet and windy, it's autumn and I expect that as well as anticipate the cold weather. I do struggle with my night vision so driving becomes more of a chore in the evenings. I do like a firework display but I tend to stay in these days to keep the cats company, keep some gentle music playing and even leave the volume on during the TV adverts so the cats don't hear the loud bangs. Maisie isn't particularly bothered as her early life as a feral street cat seems to have acclimatised her to noise apart from the hoover which sends her scurrying for cover. Unfortunately, Sherlock is frightened of everything especially anybody including us at the front door but when he falls asleep he is incredibly chilled out as seen in the above photo. Poor little bugger, time to order the Feliway in.

TTFN.

 A busier work week than usual and I am heartily glad to have my weekend off. In good news it looks as though my request for a reduction to working three days a week is finally going through. I suspect it will start in the new year and I am ready to step down further. Another step on my journey to finally retiring from work. We have also ordered a new front door which is being made to measure in Scotland of all places! I had mistakenly assumed it would be made locally as the fitters who measured it and will eventually fit it are local.

I finally ordered some accoutrements for the cheaper than fish and chips (Inflation!) Recovery Vehicle I bought recently. 

I also ordered some resin boxes, barrels and assorted storage for this model and I have some figures from a couple of years ago for this planned diorama. I've made a lot of aircraft over the past year so back to vehicles but in this case a necessary support vehicle.

I find as I am watching very little TV apart from old British comedies i am ploughing my way through books and have now received some more second hand books, including a wonderful reference book.

The only problem with great reference books like this one is that inevitably I will hanker after the flying boats I read about and the to buy list is getting longer. Old flying boats like the Singapore, Saro and London are very rare to find as model kits. Rarity equals expensive and usually in the USA or Japan so P&P is also added to the expense. Writing of fish and chips and we have ordered a fish and chip takeaway for this evening and we will spend the evening trying to calm the moggies down as the Guy Fawkes fireworks are exploding all around the locality and will do now for the next several days. 

TTFN.