Today's Weather

Brrr - to quote an old Royal Marine colleague, it's " ****** chillers" this morning.  I had to de-ice the car this morning so Mrs C could drive to work in a nice warm car.

Currently 0C with a forecast high of 7C and clear skies.

Surprising reports there.

It's absolutely Spring here in Budapest.  It's only maybe 250km from SimCityAT and we're having a mini-heatwave by January standards. It's been up to about 14C and really nice sun.  Sunrise 07.12h and Sunset 16.42h. High pressure, low humidity.

I was out walking the La Doggia (I made that up) and I'm able to ditch the heavy coat and just use a hoodie for on one of my usual circuit within a forest.  I can see some plants coming out, even some with flowers.  Truly excellent news.   

I've jacked in my job as I'd had enough of it. I'm really relieved.  Like the snow in Spring sunshine, the stress of dealing with f**kwits has melted away.  I've got a list of things to do now and the Spring is the time to do them! Re-invigoration!  I might even go to the shed - never go in it during Winter. Happy Days.

Surprising reports there.
It's absolutely Spring here in Budapest. It's only maybe 250km from SimCityAT and we're having a mini-heatwave by January standards. It's been up to about 14C and really nice sun. Sunrise 07.12h and Sunset 16.42h. High pressure, low humidity.

I was out walking the La Doggia (I made that up) and I'm able to ditch the heavy coat and just use a hoodie for on one of my usual circuit within a forest. I can see some plants coming out, even some with flowers. Truly excellent news. 

I've jacked in my job as I'd had enough of it. I'm really relieved. Like the snow in Spring sunshine, the stress of dealing with f**kwits has melted away. I've got a list of things to do now and the Spring is the time to do them! Re-invigoration! I might even go to the shed - never go in it during Winter. Happy Days. - @fluffy2560

Update - 5C, but feels like -2C, as far as I'm concerned, the only good thing about the weather here atm is the air quality is excellent, which is good news for my COPD.  I'd like to be able to claim that this was the reason I chose to live here, but Mrs C may see this one day and call me out.  When we chose this place, I had no idea what COPD was, let alone chose a place to live that would have any bearing at all on health issues.  Seriously, I've lived and worked in Northern Norway - it is not cold in the UK, just people don't dress properly.

Sorry to hear about your job driving you to leave it; I assume you're now looking at retirement?  I've never looked back and as long as you can afford it, then it's not a bad thing.

Surprising reports there. It's absolutely Spring here in Budapest. It's only maybe 250km from SimCityAT and we're having a mini-heatwave by January standards. It's been up to about 14C and really nice sun. Sunrise 07.12h and Sunset 16.42h. High pressure, low humidity. I was out walking the La Doggia (I made that up) and I'm able to ditch the heavy coat and just use a hoodie for on one of my usual circuit within a forest. I can see some plants coming out, even some with flowers. Truly excellent news. I've jacked in my job as I'd had enough of it. I'm really relieved. Like the snow in Spring sunshine, the stress of dealing with f**kwits has melted away. I've got a list of things to do now and the Spring is the time to do them! Re-invigoration! I might even go to the shed - never go in it during Winter. Happy Days. - @fluffy2560Update - 5C, but feels like -2C, as far as I'm concerned, the only good thing about the weather here atm is the air quality is excellent, which is good news for my COPD. I'd like to be able to claim that this was the reason I chose to live here, but Mrs C may see this one day and call me out. When we chose this place, I had no idea what COPD was, let alone chose a place to live that would have any bearing at all on health issues. Seriously, I've lived and worked in Northern Norway - it is not cold in the UK, just people don't dress properly.Sorry to hear about your job driving you to leave it; I assume you're now looking at retirement? I've never looked back and as long as you can afford it, then it's not a bad thing. - @Cynic

Yes, I was just fed up with people really.  Arguing with me about stupid stuff.  I'd had enough.  It had to come to an end sometime and yes, I am looking at retirement.  I will be eligible in 2026 so not really long to go and we can afford it.  I was involved 6 years there. I met some interesting people. I made a difference but new brooms came in and I was not enamoured of their methods.  New brooms, clean sweeps.  It was my way or the highway so I took the highway before I started becoming postal.     

Maybe something easy will come up I can do part time.  My  Dad retired and they (no idea who, don't remember) put him into a training college to tell 16-years what to do and to do some skills transfers.  Like he gave a toss as he was just counting it down!  I feel the same now. 

Meanwhile, we have sets of clothes according to the weather.  Winter time, it's like big furry boots and furry coats, thick gloves and hats and multiple layers.   We swap to lighter clothes in the Spring and by Summer around May, we're all in T-shirts and shorts way into October.  It rarely rains past May.   All the winter clothes get cleaned and put away. So I tend to agree, people don't have the right gear.  The UK is particularly ill suited and ill disciplined for tougher conditions like bad weather.

The FWS (Fluffy Weather Station) is showing 5.9C and it's very sunny.  Sunset 16.53h and Sunrise was 07.03h.  Slowly but surely we're getting longer days.  Barometer showing partial cloud and low humidity.

I was outside doing the bins and all the birds are tweeting.  I can see some daffs coming up.  Daffs first, Tulips second, then everything else. 

In my new found freedom, I can start fixing up a bird box I can see from my office window.  The birds like the look of it but never actually move in.  One of our other bird boxes (we have three) is super popular.   Maybe tomorrow I'll get this unpopular one off the tree and repair it.

Monday it's an optional funeral out in the sticks. I might go along for the ride if it's not raining.  I didn't know the deceased but Mrs F has been invited, it'll be free food, bit of a look around and you'll never know who you'll meet. 

It's 11.45am here at Fluffy Towers.   The FWS is showing 2.4C, slight breeze from the SW at 2.9 m/s.   Pressure steady.   Sunset 16.58h and sunrise was at 06.58h.

I think we'll do a short dog walk today.  The Fluffymeisterin pooch is always up for walks.  I wonder if I could fool her by putting her in the car and driving around the block and then taking her out.  Would she notice I wonder?  Would she think she's been for a walk or not?  Difficult questions for a Sunday.

14.25h here at Fluffy Towers and all is well.

The FWS is showing -1C and we had a smattering of snow overnight and some of it has stuck.  There's a slight breeze of 2 m/s from NNE - say the North Pole or a politically chilly Moscow.  Sunrise was at 06.52h and sunset a more interesting 17.04h.  We have more than a month before our clocks go forward and life outside can return.  30 March 2025 as it happens.

I'm not optimistic for decent weather until March.   Not very happy about that.  There's always stuff to do and places to be but the weather is not helping with plans. We've multiple bags of garden waste is piled up and cannot be taken away until March when they start doing that again.  Previously we'd have burnt it.

Dog walking is postponed until it's warmer. I cannot say the Dogmeisterin is that bothered by the look of her slumbers.  She's snoring sometimes and making dream like grunts. Chasing rabbits or other dogs in her imagination.  Or dreaming about us. Who can say?   Other times, she's laying cross legged on the floor observing our comings and goings.  If we move, she comes with us and hangs around looking hopeful.  Typical Goldie.   

18.20h at Fluffy Towers.

5C, steady pressure, wind 1.3 m/s from NNW,  sunrise 06.22h, sunset 17.30h.

Later in the week, we could see up to 16C.   Now Spring might be properly upon us. However, we were walking the dog in the forest but it didn't seem so Spring-like.  Some tweeting birdies but nothing like it should be.  And the trees look decidedly leafless.  Very few shoots.  Garden is the same apart from some obvious leaves on some tough bushes..   No sign of the grass growing.  Maybe be thankful for small mercies.

Looks like car repairs should begin Wednesday.  Need decent temperatures to lie on the ground looking at the gearbox.  I usually lie on sheets of Ikea cardboard.

Really sunny, 12C,  strangely low UV, no sign of clouds but dropping pressure (rain expected no doubt), quite low humidity, sunrise 05.46h and sunset 17.56h, breeze from the SSW 2.6m/s and half-moon.

Weekend is almost here.  Tomorrow will be gardening if the weather holds.  Some bush tidying needed.   The grass is starting to grow.  Better check the lawnmower. 

I don't quite feel Spring is here, not yet but might be here soon.  I was outside oiling a latch and I was only in a T-shirt,  shorts and no socks (just Crocs). It was very nice in the sun. 

And only a week or so before the clock change.

Weird weather once more.   Big swings in temperature.

A massive drop from yesterday's 20C to only 5C today with frost expected tonight. 

Gossip around here says fruit farms will be affected.

Right now, it's 5C but with wind chill, more like 3C.   Wind is 3.0 m/s from the NNW (explains the cold).   

It's very sunny indeed and very few clouds but no UV warning.  Looks great but brrr...... 

Sunset 19.20h, sunrise was 06.12h.

In other news, 2024 YR4,  the asteroid that was going to hit us in 2032 (possibly) has increased its chances it'll hit the moon instead.  Impact on the moon might be observable from the Earth.   

13C here atm, forecast for the coming week is a slow rise up to 19C next weekend, then a few rain showers; typical spring time weather for around here.  Nighttime weather is still a bit cold, but so far the flowers have survived.

13C here atm, forecast for the coming week is a slow rise up to 19C next weekend, then a few rain showers; typical spring time weather for around here. Nighttime weather is still a bit cold, but so far the flowers have survived. - @Cynic

The cold wind has blown all the cherry and plum blossoms off my trees.   

It's disappointing as they were so very nice and colourful. 

I'm going to have to console myself by going to the shed to tidy up.  I'm going to need a coat.

13C here atm, forecast for the coming week is a slow rise up to 19C next weekend, then a few rain showers; typical spring time weather for around here. Nighttime weather is still a bit cold, but so far the flowers have survived. - @Cynic
The cold wind has blown all the cherry and plum blossoms off my trees.
It's disappointing as they were so very nice and colourful.

I'm going to have to console myself by going to the shed to tidy up. I'm going to need a coat. - @fluffy2560

We still have our blossoms in the garden, but the more spectacular stretch of road out to Monk Fryston has lost theirs.

The weather is a bit weird atm.  We're seriously considering; things like solar, EV etc, the whole environmental thing.

Our temperature keeps on fluctuating, had super weather, I actually went for a small hike into the vineyards near me with a T-shirt, by the time I got home roughly 8pm it was still pleasant. So 23°C to a drop of 4°C is a shock.

I hear that the UK is going to have a storm soon with snow?

@SimCityAT

Nothing that I've heard of; monthly outlook link.

@Cynic

Some Atlantic storm brewing. I will try and see where I saw it being reported.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/u … t-34978288

Not the one that says snow, will keep looking

@CynicSome Atlantic storm brewing. I will try and see where I saw it being reported. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/u … t-34978288Not the one that says snow, will keep looking - @SimCityAT

Here's a link to a complicated map showing a massive depression mid-Atlantic.

Move the slider at the bottom to show the movement of the depression, how it's depicted to break up and show intense rain coming this way but it doesn't quite reach Budapest.

We still have our blossoms in the garden, but the more spectacular stretch of road out to Monk Fryston has lost theirs.
The weather is a bit weird atm. We're seriously considering; things like solar, EV etc, the whole environmental thing. - @Cynic

Considering installing solar, buying EV?  Please say more.

I've had those kind of plans for quite some time but we're not quite ready for it.   We're including rainwater run off storage of about 5000 litres (as I have said before here).  We have very dry summers.    I think for solar we'd need a bit of work here.  We don't have a South facing area to get the best input.  We might have to have motorised panels to track the sun and large battery capacity.    The EV I'm waiting for the mileage to go up.  Needs a reliable 500 miles worth of range to make it truly useful.  With the solar panels, charging the car will cost almost nothing.

We still have our blossoms in the garden, but the more spectacular stretch of road out to Monk Fryston has lost theirs.
The weather is a bit weird atm. We're seriously considering; things like solar, EV etc, the whole environmental thing. - @Cynic
Considering installing solar, buying EV? Please say more.
I've had those kind of plans for quite some time but we're not quite ready for it. We're including rainwater run off storage of about 5000 litres (as I have said before here). We have very dry summers.  I think for solar we'd need a bit of work here. We don't have a South facing area to get the best input. We might have to have motorised panels to track the sun and large battery capacity.  The EV I'm waiting for the mileage to go up. Needs a reliable 500 miles worth of range to make it truly useful. With the solar panels, charging the car will cost almost nothing. - @fluffy2560

Thoughts of Chairman Cynic

Solar - UK Government are subsidising through the Energy Companies (we use EDF) so unless the Hungarian Government have an Ed Miliband who's determined to bankrupt the country like this current UK Government is, may or may not be relevant.  We have a massive south facing roof.  So, for our needs, 10 panels, 1 battery, 1 Inverter and EV recharging point on cheap (subsidised Government tariff) circa £8k.  Number of batteries is based on our usage (there's 2 of us plus Boris), we could add additional batteries if we want.  Energy company will buy our excess at market rate (so, how much we pay), but you don't need a battery to do that.  Interesting chat about recharging EV, I thought we'd use solar for that; advice was that we would make more selling that to the energy company and use the subsidised rate to charge your car - it's cheaper; you can change that at a flick of the switch.  You place the panels with a view of optimising for future use if it becomes beneficial to have more battery/panels.  Over 6 years, we'd save £28k (that's sales talk, so I think a large pinch of salt is required).  Bottom line is having lots of batteries is not necessarily a good idea unless you have something to do with it in the period of darkness until they recharge.

Heating.  It's something we're looking at, but we already have a modern gas boiler with a 10-year warranty and having updated all our windows a few years back, there is not much value in looking at these ground heat pump thingies.

EV - we are looking at Skoda.  First point, they all come with at least 2 batteries, one replaces the fuel tank and provides power for the electric motors, the other is a 12v battery pretty much like you have at the moment - this runs the car systems.  Bottom line is all these cars are more expensive (to buy and insure), further, the price of the car is the price of the car; if a car costs £40k (that's what we're looking at), it becomes a discussion about how and when you pay the £40k.  Operationally - check out the Skoda website, they have a very useful bit that takes you through the performance of their EVs in certain circumstances, So, summer, spring, winter how full the car is and what you do in the car.  Every time you flick a switch (lights, radio, heating, aircon etc), you are reducing the range of the car.  We had a worse case scenario of needing to get to Germany from the UK in the middle of winter, with a full car, using heater, aircon, sat nav etc); we wouldn't get there on a single charge - we would in our current car.  So, it becomes a battery discussion, you can uprate the batteries for more range, but it cost more - 500 miles is a pipe dream atm - to do that you'd need more storage, so more weight, less range.  The car does come with a very useful app that warns you when you need to charge, where to go and how much, so apart from that, it's a car.

You also have to consider fuels (petrol or diesel); the fact is that unless the Government subsidise fossil fuels, then market forces will dictate how much you pay for a litre.  If 50% of your local cars are electric, then your local garage is going to lose a significant amount of his turnover and profits, so garages will close as costs increase.  If, like us, you have one local garage, we would then have to drive 20 minutes to fill up and the cost will have gone up everywhere and some of those garages will also have closed.  Fossil fuel powered car enthusiasts with fossil fuel powered engines such as yourself will struggle, you'll still get fuel, but it will be expensive, even more so as usage diminishes, as so will the refinery capacity.  If you want an operators view of what will happen, speak to the truck/tanker manufacturers (like Volvo), they've been bench testing this for many years.  When I first spoke to them (15 years ago), they were of the opinion that a 38t truck would need a trailer the size of the truck just to hold the batteries (they were lead/acid in those days); today they have viable options (but the price has gone up).  Lithium batteries have helped, but there is a finite amount of Lithium in the world and they are playing with alternatives (gives you a clue as to why Trump is interested in Ukraine and Greenland), not that they have any Lithium, but they do have lots of other exotic materials that may path the way to the future.

I wrote a paper on this for my MBA, but then I quit working and it's now 5 years old, I was surprised at how much I got right.

Thoughts of Chairman Cynic Solar - UK Government are subsidising through the Energy Companies (we use EDF) so unless the Hungarian Government have an Ed Miliband who's determined to bankrupt the country like this current UK Government is, may or may not be relevant. We have a massive south facing roof. So, for our needs, 10 panels, 1 battery, 1 Inverter and EV recharging point on cheap (subsidised Government tariff) circa £8k. Number of batteries is based on our usage (there's 2 of us plus Boris), we could add additional batteries if we want. Energy company will buy our excess at market rate (so, how much we pay), but you don't need a battery to do that. Interesting chat about recharging EV, I thought we'd use solar for that; advice was that we would make more selling that to the energy company and use the subsidised rate to charge your car - it's cheaper; you can change that at a flick of the switch. You place the panels with a view of optimising for future use if it becomes beneficial to have more battery/panels. Over 6 years, we'd save £28k (that's sales talk, so I think a large pinch of salt is required). Bottom line is having lots of batteries is not necessarily a good idea unless you have something to do with it in the period of darkness until they recharge.Heating. It's something we're looking at, but we already have a modern gas boiler with a 10-year warranty and having updated all our windows a few years back, there is not much value in looking at these ground heat pump thingies.EV - we are looking at Skoda. First point, they all come with at least 2 batteries, one replaces the fuel tank and provides power for the electric motors, the other is a 12v battery pretty much like you have at the moment - this runs the car systems. Bottom line is all these cars are more expensive (to buy and insure), further, the price of the car is the price of the car; if a car costs £40k (that's what we're looking at), it becomes a discussion about how and when you pay the £40k. Operationally - check out the Skoda website, they have a very useful bit that takes you through the performance of their EVs in certain circumstances, So, summer, spring, winter how full the car is and what you do in the car. Every time you flick a switch (lights, radio, heating, aircon etc), you are reducing the range of the car. We had a worse case scenario of needing to get to Germany from the UK in the middle of winter, with a full car, using heater, aircon, sat nav etc); we wouldn't get there on a single charge - we would in our current car. So, it becomes a battery discussion, you can uprate the batteries for more range, but it cost more - 500 miles is a pipe dream atm - to do that you'd need more storage, so more weight, less range. The car does come with a very useful app that warns you when you need to charge, where to go and how much, so apart from that, it's a car.You also have to consider fuels (petrol or diesel); the fact is that unless the Government subsidise fossil fuels, then market forces will dictate how much you pay for a litre. If 50% of your local cars are electric, then your local garage is going to lose a significant amount of his turnover and profits, so garages will close as costs increase. If, like us, you have one local garage, we would then have to drive 20 minutes to fill up and the cost will have gone up everywhere and some of those garages will also have closed. Fossil fuel powered car enthusiasts with fossil fuel powered engines such as yourself will struggle, you'll still get fuel, but it will be expensive, even more so as usage diminishes, as so will the refinery capacity. If you want an operators view of what will happen, speak to the truck/tanker manufacturers (like Volvo), they've been bench testing this for many years. When I first spoke to them (15 years ago), they were of the opinion that a 38t truck would need a trailer the size of the truck just to hold the batteries (they were lead/acid in those days); today they have viable options (but the price has gone up). Lithium batteries have helped, but there is a finite amount of Lithium in the world and they are playing with alternatives (gives you a clue as to why Trump is interested in Ukraine and Greenland), not that they have any Lithium, but they do have lots of other exotic materials that may path the way to the future.I wrote a paper on this for my MBA, but then I quit working and it's now 5 years old, I was surprised at how much I got right. - @Cynic

Thoughts from Fluffy Town:

I dunno, the 500 mile range could be a possibility by say, 2030, given the rapid rapid charging developments by BYD.   Lead acid batteries were never going to cut it.  Maybe you'd get 20km range with a small car and maybe 10 batteries.  Not very useful.  It's all about energy density. There's a lot more bang in petrol than there is a lithium battery at the moment.   They could start making more efficient bio-fuels available and then we'd all run our ICEs on vodka and chip oil.   Here, we use E10 (10% ethanol) for the petrol cars.  Seems to work OK.  People can do that production of home diesel in the UK up to something like 1000 litres a year.  You just need a chip shop to produce enough waste oil.   

Anyway 40K seems a lot for a car.  We bought a new car (petrol, 1.5L) about 4 years ago and it cost maybe £20K.   It's a biggish car and seems quite thirsty.  So much so, I prefer to use our diesel car.  My hobby car is an absolute guzzler so I only use it sometimes.  But it's a beautiful thing.  If the batteries in the EV are dead, it's scrap. Maybe it only lasts 10 years.  That's very high cost motoring.   I did see a guy on You Tube repairing his Prius batteries.  It was possible to do it.  But I think newer ones have no chance to repair for an average DIYer.

I think the subsidy system here is  different. I don't think we'd get money from the government.  I suppose no money back from Orban as he wants us to use nuclear to pay back our prospective overlord Vlad Putin in Russia.   My neighbour paid out £11K or so for 18 panels plus associated gubbins.  He says it's working very well, he has no batteries, but he says he can run the entire house and airco during the day.   He calculates under 10 years for payback.  He also has a dog but it's not called Boris.  No Boris bonus there, as it's called something else like Pizza.

It's a bit of a red herring about Greenland and the raw materials.  Apparently rare earths are not actually that rare and the US has plenty. It's purely an excuse for a land grab there (and in Ukraine).   If one looks at the potential sea lanes over the polar cap there, there are several - one Russian, one Canadian and another one in international waters.  None of that is in US territory and surely the Canadian one is allied anyway, so  that's a very stupid reason to annoy Canada.

BTW, there's a news article this weekend circulating that there's billions of tonnes of lithium under the Salton Sea in California.  It's an environmental disaster there now so they'd pile on more crap on already decaying situation.  It's almost like the disaster around the Aral Sea.  I didn't keep the link but it's Google-able.

It's very sunny (but no UV warning, why not?) but the wind is maddening.   

We're looking at gusts between 30 to 50 km/h.  About 3 m/s right now (~11 km/h).

Currently 11C (with chill factor 8.5C) 56% humidity, clouds expected, full moon, sunrise was 06.02h and sunset will be 19.27h.  Excellent to have summer time.

Apparently next Wednesday and Thursday, it could be up to 25C.About time!

Friday, so the weekend cometh, enjoy it!

Still  too windy outdoors to enjoy being outside.

Might give it a go later and run another errand.

In Las Vegas it is already 96F! That is 37C?

No thanks!

Nice day here; clear skies, 17C, but feels like 25C out of the wind.  Did all my chores first thing, going out for a meal tonight.

Still too windy outdoors to enjoy being outside.Might give it a go later and run another errand.In Las Vegas it is already 96F! That is 37C? No thanks! - @Marilyn Tassy

96F is 35C.   Easy to do -   (F-32)/1.8. 

Even easier, 0C is freezing (water) and 100C is boiling (water).  Kind of rules of thumb, comfortable house temperatures are 21-23C.   Of course, humidity matters.  Not that we have much humidity hereabouts.  I would think it would be low humidity in LV and rather pleasant, even if 35C.

Well, apart from that I've been in the garden doing stuff. I started out wearing a jacket and it wasn't long before I was in a T-shirt.   One of my thermometers said 21C. I managed to tidy up quite a bit even though  it was like being in wind tunnel.    I managed to move a fair bit of firewood and also repaired the step on my shed door.  Far too exciting for a Friday afternoon and much too blowy for me so I gave up in favour of a cup of tea and (zero sugar) biscuit.

Nice day here; clear skies, 17C, but feels like 25C out of the wind. Did all my chores first thing, going out for a meal tonight. - @Cynic

Very good.  I think we'll end up in McDs or BKs but not KFC.

@fluffy2560

I try to avoid those places, but there was a couple who looked suspiciously like Mr and Mrs Cynic in our local McD’s last week!!!!

@fluffy2560 I try to avoid those places, but there was a couple who looked suspiciously like Mr and Mrs Cynic in our local McD’s last week!!!! - @Cynic

Oh me too.   I feel my arteries clogging up just thinking about it.

I find it a bit nauseating but my lad's 15 and he couldn't think of anything better. 

Maybe there's a Mr and Mrs C clone factory nearby? 

I don't mean these imported cheap clones from China subject to a 1000% tariff.

I mean local ones constructed from clogs and black pudding.  Easy to find out, see if they pass the Boris test.

Fantastic weather today.

Already 22C at midday and expected to be mostly good into the weekend other than Friday (heavy rain).

Barometer is showing steady higher pressure.  Weirdly my fancy weather station is not showing any UV warning. 

I'm planning  a gardening, dog walking, DIY and car fixing blitz over the Easter weekend.

It's really nice.  Get out there and enjoy the warmth while it lasts!

25°C now...... Listening 🎧 some music before someone else pisses me off.

Just got home from a walk about and food shopping at our local Lidl.

Very nice outside. The wind was too much for hubby,s allergies, always a down side to everything;

I got some compost out of the compost heap.   That's for Mrs F's herb garden.

I tidied the shed a bit by putting stuff away.   I really need to be more organised over there. I could solve a lot of things by being tidier.

I was under the hobby car looking and not finding a persistent and annoying oil leak on the gearbox.  This leak has been going on for years.   As it's so old, no-one knows anything about these cars now.  I'm probably (and somewhat reluctantly) an expert on the model and marque.   I think it's possibly leaking from the oil cooler inlet pipe which has a brass quick fitting.  Bit of PTFE (Plastic Tape For Engineers) tape around the threads might solve it.  It's a household plumbing solution.  If I had a lathe, I could possibly make a new one.  It could be a gasket leak through one of the bolt holes. I put some sealant goo on the bolt and tightened  all the bolts up. 

I repaired my homemade bird feeding table - I had to replace the plastic bit where the birds actually eat stuff.  It had broken off.   I replaced it with a bit of aluminium and sprayed it the same colour as the other bits.  Looks quite good.  I hope the birds like it.

I was thinking of mowing the grass or doggy walking but Mrs made an appointment for me to jump start her cousin's car.    So not able to do those small pre-Easter "relaxation" jobs.

Well, weather here has gone back to what feels like 5C in this wind.  We've finally bitten the bullet and taken on a gardener to do the weeding and pruning.  I can't do it any more and Mrs C is still working, it's not fair to expect her to do it on top of everything else.  90 quid a month cash in hand for the local gardeners apprentice (I was surprised to find out there was such a thing); 6 hours a month, we pay him above minimum wage, and he gets a garden to use for his project work.  I was a bit concerned when we had a conversation about weed recognition.

Well, weather here has gone back to what feels like 5C in this wind. We've finally bitten the bullet and taken on a gardener to do the weeding and pruning. I can't do it any more and Mrs C is still working, it's not fair to expect her to do it on top of everything else. 90 quid a month cash in hand for the local gardeners apprentice (I was surprised to find out there was such a thing); 6 hours a month, we pay him above minimum wage, and he gets a garden to use for his project work. I was a bit concerned when we had a conversation about weed recognition. - @Cynic

That's not a bad price to get things done in the garden.  I doubt we'd need more than 1h a week for maintenance  IF it was all in a decent state.   Tomorrow it's grass cutting so that's 1 or 2h gone immediately.  The grass cuttings will go in the compost with a bunch of cardboard I've added now I more properly know the rules -  1/3 green, 2/3 brown.   I need to go over the lawn to get the invasive weeds out.   Some areas are absolutely lush and others look rather frayed and worn.  Have to work out what is wrong.

Mrs F has told me we'd get complaints or low grumbling if we mow the grass on Good Friday or Easter Sunday.   It wasn't like this before.  Maybe in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, it'd be frowned on doing DIY on a religious holiday.  But it was never an issue until maybe 3 or 4 years ago.   We feel we have to self-censor ourselves. Under Orban, it's becoming more like Gilead each year.   

Tomorrow it could be up to 26C.  Cool!  No, Warm! Err....you know what I mean....

Broken cloud with 15C here today; with the wind it would feel like 5C if you're out in the open, but my office is south facing and I have both wall and Velux glazing, so it's nice and warm.  Easter this weekend, weather is meh over the bank holiday, with rain forecast on Monday, but it looks OK for the egg hunt on Sunday.

Broken cloud with 15C here today; with the wind it would feel like 5C if you're out in the open, but my office is south facing and I have both wall and Velux glazing, so it's nice and warm. Easter this weekend, weather is meh over the bank holiday, with rain forecast on Monday, but it looks OK for the egg hunt on Sunday. - @Cynic

We're at  23.5C here right now.  Grass is now cut.  I got about 2.5 wheelbarrows of heaped clippings.  All gone in the compost heap.   I moved a couple of plants around too.  I've left the next bits for Mrs F.    She wants to get more grass seed sown and put some fertilizer on.   We've also got some poppy seeds to sow too.  We're sprinkling them around as a memorial to my dearly departed WW2 soldiering Dad.

We've got a warning for thunderstorms and heavy rain to start at 16h.  It's quite accurate normally.  I cannot see me going dog walking as we've not even had lunch yet.   And the rain will come before we've sorted that out.

Temperatures will drop a lot over the coming days.  Clouding over, rain and lower temperatures just in time for holidays.

We a rain forecast for today, I did try and cut the grass the other day, but pulled something trying to start the mower. The first start is always the same after it's been in hibernation. No rain tomorrow, so will give it a try again. It's 15°C now and it's only 7.15am.

We a rain forecast for today, I did try and cut the grass the other day, but pulled something trying to start the mower. The first start is always the same after it's been in hibernation. No rain tomorrow, so will give it a try again. It's 15°C now and it's only 7.15am. - @SimCityAT

We had a massive thunderstorm last night.  It was quite spectacular.   Torrential rain too 14mm since midnight.  I seem to be the only one who noticed it.   Temperatures have dropped to 14C and a breeze of 2 m/s from the South.  Cloudy.  By late afternoon, the sun might come out again to dry everything up.  No dog walking as she'd come back super muddy.  And wet dog, pfff, not very attractive.

Starting the lawnmower, always a problem.  We have an electric one.  But I do have two-stroke petrol chainsaws. I take them out once in a while during winter, start them and run them for 5m just to make sure everything is working.   We've usually have problems starting after they've been laid up. 

I have an emergency two-stroke generator as well.   That's a bugger to get that going. I have some "starter" spray which works pretty well - just spray into the air intake.   That usually gets it to turn over.   Choke position very relevant on two strokes.   If I can get it to seem to start on choke, I immediately turn the choke off.    If that doesn't work,  I just leave it for 10 minutes and try it again.    That usually works.

Very nice today, super sunny, 20C already at 09.45h, high of 22C expected.    Sunrise was 05.43h and sunset is at 19.42h.  Half-moon.   Steady pressure. No wind. No rain expected but will cloud overovernight.   

Rain tomorrow but not much expected. Everyone will be back at work so not much of an inconvenience. 

I was however planning to be outside to paint a cupboard.  That'll be postponed due to prior commitments, blatant laziness and just general befuddlement.

Overcast 11C here; forecasting rain for later on.  Family arriving from Germany later today; will have to blame them for bringing the weather with them.