Statins take another bashing & I start a new wood stack

Statins once hailed as the wonder cure all drug  is now, after a 10 year study branded "controversial" in this Sunday Express article.  The Government Drug Regulator however says the benefits of statins are considered to outweigh the side effects - - - Mmmmmm - - - 

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THis pic fronts a story in the Telegraph with the headline David Cameron to force EU crunch meeting as migration crisis deepens "far right" groups staged a 5 hour riot in Dover yesterday and made it quite clear they did not support the migrants coming into the UK.  The story also relates that in Stockholm far right groups attacked migrants and handed out leaflets indicating further attacks would follow.  I suppose the Dover riot had to come and i'm surprised this type of thing took so long in surfacing. - - - 

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A rather unusual story this one, A british helicopter pilot is shot by Elephant poachers  in Tanzania, it would appear that Roger Gower was shot at while searching for poachers in his helicopter near a dead elephant and was hit by a poachers AK47 bullet.  He crash landed the chopper but was dead when rescuers reached him.  

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It was pretty cold as i  ventured down the hill to the logging area yesterday 

 I had intended to clear and level a 2ft area alongside the whole of the fallen wall where i am going to stack the wood from the copse of trees.  

 it was so cold though in the wind that after I cleared a short level area I determined that it would be better to start swinging the maul to smash up some of the wood and get a little warmth back into my cold fingers.  Of course the sun then came out and it wasn't so bad after all 

 the beginnings of a wall take shape I'm going to tackle the bits of trunk on the other side of the track and then call it a day 

The clouds return and it does look like it might rain as i step back to admire my handy work, it might not win any prizes but its a great way to dry and season the wood.  I'll cut a piece of black plastic sheeting today to cover just the top of the stack

There are a couple of Robins who come and look what i'm doing and often they will be around me if i'm disturbing the ground when they go looking for food.  I started putting some bird food in the shape of Robin mix on an old piece of tree trunk that i couldn't smash and although i had never seen them feeding the food is always gone next day.  As i was leaving yesterday i observed 2 of them in the trees near to where the food was and as i got to about 30 yards away i watched them both swoop on top of the trunk and start to feed - - - 

Its taken LM a week to get used to the new settee maybe he didn't like the colour, but he looks to have claimed his spot now 

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TODAYS WEATHER
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it appears to be snowing up in Scotland and i even saw a few flakes in the air as i drove back from logging yesterday.  The radar is showing the light rain falling right now 

we are at the small red dot in the middle of this netweather display so it looks like the rain could be with us for a while to come yet - - - 

 Its cold again this morning and what with the breeze and light rain its not going to be a day for many outside activities - - -   

A fully clouded sky on the weathercam so rather grey and gloomy right now 

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Enjoy the day 

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PM's not so successful negotiating takes a beating & we have a Daffodil in bloom

The Express and a number of other newspapers pour scorn on the PM's negotiating skills to secure a better deal for the UK, more support for Brexit campaign although it doesnt look to robust right now - - - 

The Mail carries a tale that will not surprise many that lots of people queuing up at Calais to get into the UK are anything but migrants - - - 

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The BBC have this story  about overnight snow in Scotland caused by an "Arctic Blast" of cold air which can be seen on the pic above.  The Met O indicates that the snow could have "prolonged spells" overnight, the familiar tales of closed schools power outages and ferries not running litter the article.  Its looking like the effects of Storm Gertrude could be around until late Sunday at least - - - 

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I hadn't emptied out the pond filters in a while and with the cold but half decent weather yesterday i decided to give it a go.  I replaced our old Hozelock filter with a 

 new one last july, the IR on the old one gave up the ghost years ago.  I'm not all that convinced about how IR light is meant to clump the smaller algae but the foam pads in this filter work great and are so easy to clean. 

up to my armpits in pond gunk i noticed that at least one of our Daffodils has been fooled by the warm weather.  I bet its changed its mind this morning because the Temp is currently 4.5c - - -

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 We had a short period of heavy rain around 04:00 and its been lighter and off and on since.  Looking at the rain radar we look to be getting very narrow bands of it for a while 

No moon again on the weathercam so its 100% cloud right now.  The forecast is for a windy but mostly dry day with some light showers between 12:00 and 17:00 - - -

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UPDATE 08:10

08:10 and the cloud does look to be thinning out, slightly!
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Enjoy the day 

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VAT on food! & man up tree

The Express headline this morning looks to be a Brexit inspired one because this has long been a bone of contention that we have VAT exempt and zero rated items in our economy.  I cant see the government even thinking of falling into line on this one! - - - 

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this image fronts a Metro Story about more dire weather to come this weekend this time its Storm Gertrude thats set to give us a battering with winds of 120mph and Temps down to minus 15 in Scotland.  A blast of "Polar Maritime air" is to blame and with high winds into the mix it's going to be a chilly few days 

This Sky News story  gives an idea of the severity expected from Storm Gertrude, it reports that the schools in the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland will be closed today! 

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Here's a strange one although once explained it makes some sense! Recycling jobs are at risk because the slump in oil prices has meant its cheaper to make plastic from oil than using the recycled item.  Pity we are not seeing the price of fuel follow the downward trend in oil! - - - 

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It was cold yesterday as the Temp dropped way below the 6c overnight that it was forecast.  Walking through the frosty grass on the way to the logging site i could see the sun high up on the other side of the valley and wondered when it would reach me. 

 i already cut down a couple of the hawthorn bushes on the right of the fallen wall in this shot 

 I'm also coming across lots of stones which have fallen from the wall and are amongst the bushes which are getting smaller as i near the gate.  The track is strangely wet but i suss out the reason by walking up to the gate.  The land to the right of the gate is higher and as the water seeps down hill the track is an easier option than flowing on down the field.  I think it will dry quickly once we get rid of all this wet weather 

 at last the sun reaches me as i tackle the larger of the bunch of trees right next to the wall in the copse.  I have laid the cut trunk on the right of the track and it can be reduced to firewood and join my new pile once i clear the ground on which it will stand 

The copse is on 2 levels and this being the higher one I'll tackle it first.  The first job though will be completed tomorrow.  I need to bring a spade and level a strip of ground about 2 feet wide all the way from the pile of wood right up to the gate to the field.  My intention is to stack the wood from the copse alongside the wall.  

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On my return home Sally points through the front window at the trees across the road.  They are on the dreaded "cycle path" route and some have been earmarked for removal 

We had heard they would be removed and hoped that the view we had of the hillside from our garden would return.  Over the 20 years we have been here the trees have gradually grown and interrupted the view just to the right of our chimney in the middle of the shot 

having missed out normal lunch day we popped up to The grouse and as usual it was in full flow even as early as 12:10 .   The view from the car park was a little more in the way of calm than the Tuesday when I walked the White Edge in the wind and rain. 

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returning home the man had climbed up a tree and was felling it in 3 foot lengths due to its proximity to a house boundary fence and the fact that the other way if it was felled in one go it would be tall enough to fall on the railway line and fence.   I do hope the mass of trunks to the left of his perch are going as well because they are right in the middle of our view! - - - 

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 We have had a noisy windy night from the beginnings of Storm Gertrude but the Temp is still in double figures and set to remain so until dark. The wind has dropped just for the moment but is expected to be quite strong for most of the day 

nothing on the weathercam pic at the moment, i could see the moon again earlier when gaps in the cloud allowed but its lookinjg like 100% cover now.  So a windy blustery and anytime showery day is likely for us today! 

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Enjoy the day 

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More EU lunacy & The shed gets the chuck out treatment

Another lunatic EU scheme is highlighted on the front of the express with a plan from skint Italy to have a reserve of cash to pay out of work people who are that way through Eurocratic ineptitude - - - 

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A Mail Story this one of a  bloke firing a rifle underwater at himself ,  you'd like to think he experimented first? although he's only stood a short distance away the bullet doesn't even make half way towards him! - - - 

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Spurred on by my clear out of old clothes i determined yesterday to have a go at my shed which is the old converted wood shed.  Its pretty small anyway and had begun to look like a stuffed suitcase because in the short time since i converted it more and more has gone in there.  Utilising an old 6 foot long wooden box and the small chest of drawers replaced by my new wardrobe i managed to redistribute some of the items littering the shed and threw out stuff that really shouldn't have been kept - - - I should do the same with the attic - - - maybe later! - - - 

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With the book "finished" I am now in touch, by referral, to a "literary agent" and once the upcoming hols are out of the way will be getting to grips with showing off the manuscript and discussing the plan to publish it.  After talking to a friend who has published it looks like it might be "A long and winding road" in the words of the Beatles hit by the same name.  Mind you i suppose after all the work it took to get it down on paper it will be no problem!

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We were meant to lunch yesterday but Sally had her itinerary changed so i decided to walk the white edge to The Grouse have a pint and then return via Froggatt Edge 

As i drove up through Chatsworth it seemed that i was following a downpour because in parts the road was flooded and Curbar edge was wreathed in mist and rain clouds.  

Climbing the hill to the Curbar Gap car park the situation improved 

 Once again water is flowing down the road and there's a rain shower heading to my left onto Curbar edge 

 the wind is very strong and although the Temp is 12c it feels cold looking into wind 

 I'm almost being blown off my feet a few times and have to change hands with my ski stick because it keeps getting blown in front of me as i walk,  even the normally firm sandy White Edge track is looking a little soggy, testament to the amount of rain recently.  I pass a group of about 10 walkers coming toward me who look to be not enjoying the windy conditions. 

at this point I am almost at the end of the edge before the track down to the pub.  As i take this pic into wind I am physically blown back 3 or 4 steps and so set an even quicker pace to get off the ridge.  

There's a warm welcome in the pub which has a full lunchtime crowd, the drinks have increased in price by 10p but hey who cares! I joke that i hope the pensioner discount has also risen! 

 suitibly dried out warmed up and fortified I don my wolfskin jacket for the return trip and eye the squalls rolling in from the South West on the still very strong wind. I spot this shower coming towards me from about 2 miles away 

 In a couple of minutes i am engulfed such is the speed that the thing is moving at.  I encounter the same group i saw just before the refreshment stop and they look a battered and soggy lot!  

 just short of Curbar Gap i get a final dousing from this squall racing toward me before i walk down the road a short while to Cyril the van 

Of course being back at the truck it now stops raining where i am but left of the shot behind the tree another squall is heading towards Chatsworth. 

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Looking at the forecast for today i might just do an hour or so logging to clear a space alongside the copse wall for my next log pile before the rain is forecast early afternoon 

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not much by way of any local rain at the moment on the XC weather chart
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 Colder than forecast yesterday for this morning, it did sink to 1.5c around 05:30. A 4mph breeze is going to feel bitterly cold out there this morning.

A great weathercam pic of the clear sky with the moon heading towards Nine Ladies hill.  The morning is likely to be clear of rain but there are hints of a shower or two from the developing clouds around 15:00 ish
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Enjoy the day 

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Work till you are 80? - - why not? & Time to throw a few clothes away!

The Express front page story is littered with a litany of reasons why  people will have to work until they are 80, healthier lifestyle, living longer generally, & cashing pension pots are just some of the reasons. - - -  Work till I'm 80? nothing wrong with that, i think for too long we have been "conditioned" to retiring at 65.  The writing has been on the wall longer than i care to remember that this is just not so unless you plan and provide! - - - 

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the headline on this BBC story is Leaving EU would cut migration by 100,000 says migration watch I would hope so!!! bit of a no brainer really 

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A very blurred pic i know but check out this short video from the Pacific coast of Chile, giant waves crashing on shore scattering watchers and turning over the car in the pic - - - 

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this is the storm rain radar pic from yesterday lunchtime when Storm Jonas did a split and the worst of the rain missed us completely

this is the http://www.xcweather.co.uk/ wind projection right now and it has to be said we might have been spared yesterday but last night wind gusts had to be at 50mph a couple of times judging by the noise.  Its all a bit calm now but more rain and wind are on their way today 

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the current rain chart has large areas getting it right now and there's more sweeping in from the West during the day 

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with the storm threatening it was a perfect day to erect my new wardrobe which meant almost emptying the bedroom to do so.  I never knew you could get so much dust underneath a divan bed!  Anyway in typical IKEA fashion i followed the 10 page instruction and eventually there it stood in all its glory.  

Now it has to be said I am no "snappy dresser" in truth i hate throwing clothes away until they are metaphorically "falling off my back".  But after emptying out the previous drawers that i kept things in it was "time for the bin bags" 

Long loved T shirts and tops went willy nilly in the bag along with a few pairs of trousers.  In the End i finished up with a modest 2 bin bags for the old clothes dump down at the shop, I could have been more brutal but I feared an anxiety attack!   

I did however find that i have 2 pairs of jeans when i thought i only had 1.  I found 6 pairs of walking/hiking type trousers when in truth i normally wear my wolfskin trousers most outings. I even went up into the attic and had a chuck out from there and with my new found space in the wardrobe some items were transferred to it from there.

Buoyed with this success i contemplated my sock drawer which had not yet been scourged but decide it might be too stressful and called a truce with my clothes for the day.
Donning a pair of jeans and a checked shirt i have not seen for years let alone worn i did a song and dance routine of "I'm a lumberjack" for Sally before dumping my clothes at the shop.  I  ventured in and didn't feel an ounce of guilt buying a bottle of wine on one of our dry days! 

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 almost 12c even now although that is the top temp for the day the wind is a modest figure right now too

Nothing on the weathercam just yet but it is raining quite hard now.  Forecasters indicate the Temp will go from 12 to 6 by 18:00 as well as the wind dropping to a max of 25mph around the same time 

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UPDATE 08:00

blustery and rainy just about describes the weathercam pic now, i can see it being like this most of the day, i might still stride the hills later across to the pub! 

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Enjoy the day

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