Alfred Chow - Maker of Things

Bore da bydoedd! Good morning worlds! We are taking Mum shopping this morning, and then I need to try and fix the trailer coupling, phone my pension provider, phone a Leicester window cleaner, and figure out what else I can pack to take to storage. It is gonna be a bit busy today. Edit: I also need to pop over to the tyre shop to get three more tyres to match the one we had to get for Midge on Friday, after the motorway blowout. #BoreDaBydoedd#GoodMorningWorlds

We managed to get hit by a bit of flying motorway debris. Midge now has a scratch on the offside and it ripped the rear tyre sidewall. I was able to stop and fit the space saver spare wheel. Tyre gunk wasn't going to fill that sidewall tear! Stopped in Hanley to buy a replacement tyre, £152, that I have now fitted back onto Midge. Midge has thrown up a load of fault codes, while I was changing the wheel, so now parked up waiting for it to reset*. *Turn off, wait 10 mins, and turn back on.

One of those 'other things' that happened while we were in Wales. We were viewing a house and as I went up the stairs I bashed the top of my head on the ceiling because the stair headroom didn't meet building regs. After we discussed it I wanted to check to see if and how it could be fixed and turned to run up the stairs. I think I bashed my head so hard the house shook. OK, so for a fraction of a second I saw black and stars, but was then ok. It didn't even hurt and I don't have a bump or a bruise. I drove us home the next day feeling mostly fine, but also thinking 'That was mild concussion!'. Anyway, three days later and I feel ok. NHS website says that I should be ok. But, yeah, that was quite a bang on my head. Good thing there is nothing useful in there. 🤕

Today I struggled to wake up, So very tired. Had breakfast, And gave Mum a big hug. Took Scout out, Towing the trailer. Went to fill up with diesel, Almost £100! Drove over to Machynlleth, And unloaded the trailer. Had lunch and headed back home. Parked up on the drive, And went into work. Did caretaking, And came home. Tidied up all the ratchet straps, And disconnected the trailer. Researched changing the coupling damper, I shall give it a go tomorrow. Checked on Mum, Then had a gas leak check. Caught up with some videos, And checked out some estate agent details. Very tired now, Best go to bed. #NosDa#NightAll

We have got the bigger engineering lathe out of the shed and onto the trailer, just as the heavy rain started. The lathe is covered up and everything is back on the drive and/or under cover, for now. Good use of the half pallet trolley, the big engine crane, the half ton chain hoist, and a bit of careful shunting of the trailer. Having a Sue on hand makes the whole job easier. Edit to add image.

Bore da bydoedd! Good morning worlds! We are going to Levenshulme Repair Cafe this morning. I am not taking my tools due to a hefty bash on the head that has made me research concussion. The physical effort to move my tools wouldn't be a good idea. So I will be an adviser for the others, and help where I can, even if it is only triage or tea making. Later I want to see if I can do something sensible with some of the crap in my workshop, and plan the next load of stuff to go to Wales. #BoreDaBydoedd#GoodMorningWorlds#RepairCafe

Q4: @MakersHour@cupoftea.social I have also worked in education (hence the learning theme). How would you go about teaching your creative/maker skills to other interested people? A4: I tend to go with a ‘show and tell’ process of demonstrating. The learning is broken down into bite sized steps and worked through in stages with the learner watching, having a go, and asking questions. The processes are then practised and guided until the learner is happy. I would also make adjustments to my methods to suit the needs of the learner at each stage until they were happy with it. #MakersHour

My head isn't with it this morning. Two or three hours of sleep, spread over a whole night, isn't enough.

Achievement unlocked! The car flat trailer is now under the car port, as is the other trailer that lives on top of it. The car port does look a bit like a giraffe having a drink, now! 🤣 There has been a good tidy up and more stuff (Land Rover axles, and Beryl's axles) are now on the trailer for the next storage run.

Today we had eggs for breakfast, As is tradition. Then we decided to run away, But to make running away useful. We loaded some furniture into Midge, To take it to our Wales storage unit. We stopped off at Oswestry services, So Midge could have a charge. We unloaded our stuff into storage, Then went off for lunch. We tried the Drffryn Cafe Restaurant near Foel, It was lovely! We gave Midge another charge at Oswestry, And finally got home. Midge is on an overnight slow charge, And I checked on Mum. Spent the evening catching up on videos, And chilling out. There is stuff I want to do tomorrow, So off to bed I guess. #NosDa#NightAll

@suearcher@toot.wales @Florapis@toot.wales @Janet_52square@sunny.garden That top up of diesel the other day was exactly £10 for 5 litres, but it was 199.9p per litre! So where did my 0.5p go?

@Tattooed_Mummy@beige.party Doesn't it just represent the oriface where their puppet master shoves in a hand to control them?

@howisyourdog@cupoftea.social Oh, I've no idea if they are good or not. They have just been cleaning my MiL's windows unaware that she has died and won't be in to pay them. I just need to cancel their calls and settle up the outstanding bill.

@Stratski@mendeddrum.org @MakersHour@cupoftea.social Thank you. We are being very pessimistically hopeful. We have also learnt about a thing called The Modern Method of Auction for house selling! 😬 #MakersHour

Q3: @MakersHour@cupoftea.social On that theme, one of my reasons for making is I 'Make to Learn’. How do you go about learning new things/skills?   A3: I immerse myself in it, reading and watching videos about how a thing is done, thinking constantly about it, dreaming about it, and sketching and writing about it. I will ‘practice’ the concepts by going round and round in my head how a thing works, and how it can be adapted to other use cases. However, this is practical and physical things, and I can’t seem to do that with abstract and ‘academic’ subjects. #MakersHour

@suearcher@toot.wales @Florapis@toot.wales I was watching gardening videos too, last night. Anything to hold of the bad dreams so I could sleep (a little).

@snaptophobic@mastodon.me.uk Ihope the rubbish removal is genuine, and not one to fly tip all your stuff. But just in case, remove all your identifying stuff, and put in something with their details on. 😉

@Florapis@toot.wales @suearcher@toot.wales @Janet_52square@sunny.garden Back in the 80s in London, I had a friend who owned a truck repair garage. He and his wife and 7 kids decided to pack it all in and emigrate to Australia. The did all the paperwork, had jobs to go to, sold the business and ther home, and got ready to go. Then they were told that though they were all accepted to go except their youngest son, who had Downs, wasn't allowed. They could all go except him, they were told they had to leave him behind. They didn't go. They had to restart their lives in London. That sorta soured my feelings about Australia.

@suearcher@toot.wales @Florapis@toot.wales @Janet_52square@sunny.garden I guess I could have filled up £19.99 of diesel and got 10 litres.

Relatable? Oh yeah! Edit: How many times have I just listened to this? I should have it as a ring tone, if I wanted people to actually call me! https://youtu.be/xhYRoozeSbw

@Florapis@toot.wales They looked really dense. Aside form a bit of ripped bale wrap, they were unharmed and unmoved by the impact.

@Florapis@toot.wales Our host, at the cottage we were staying at, was explaining that she had a car full of straw because it was becomeing a rare and valuable commodity at the moment, and she had to go and buy some for their smallholding. I said we should go back to where we saw the lorry. We could then pick the straw up off the road where it would have eventually fallen off.

@Stratski@mendeddrum.org @MakersHour@cupoftea.social We're hoping all the effort will be worth it too. I have been 24/7 thinking house selling/buying/moving logistics for months now, and it is exhausting!

Q1: @MakersHour@cupoftea.social Good evening (or morning, or afternoon if you’re not in Europe) folks, I hope you’re all well. Who’re you and what new thing have you learnt this week?   A1: Hello, I am Alfred, maker, carer, caretaker, and miniaturist story teller. I have learnt that a hefty bop on the head is not to be taken lightly, even if it didn’t hurt at the time. Also, there is a lovely house in Wales that would really work for us, and I am going to be upset if we miss the chance with it. Tonight’s soundtrack is: Texas – Greatest Hits. #MakersHour

@Florapis@toot.wales I tried them once, a long time ago, and they didn't agree with me. @suearcher@toot.wales

Today we loaded all the tools, And went to Boothstown repair cafe. Did a few repairs, And it was a lot of fun. Did a run down to Chapel-en-le-Frith, To pick up a trailer mover. SatNav chose a convoluted cross country route to get there. We returned via the easy A6 route. Quickly finished loading the trailer, And got it all sheeted and strapped. Had dinner with Mum, Chicken curry and rice. Watched an episode of Vera, And surfed estate agent sites. Time for bed now, Long day ahead. #NosDa#NightAll

@TicklishHoneyBee@twoot.site The other week we met up with a friend who was travelling through Manchester. I offered to help with luggage and go the trolley suitcase. After pulling it for a short way, I folded the handle and carried it. I couldn't stand the noise. Clackity rumbley clackity rumbley clackity rumbley clackity rumbley.... As the little wheels rolled over the paving.

Bore da bydoedd! Good morning worlds! I have to pop into work to check on the contractors in a moment, then we take Mum shopping. I think I will look at repairing the conservatory roof, if it is not raining. Otherwise, I'll spend some time sorting out the next trailer load, and maybe seeing if I can figure out the process of Linuxing MiL's notebook computer. #BoreDaBydoedd#GoodMorningWorlds

@Janet_52square@sunny.garden Those tiny hinges are so fiddly, but I wish there were smaller, more scale appropriate, hinges available. I have used paper strips, folded into the hinge edge, to work like a piano hinge. A bit of gold pen on the visible edge gives a brass appearance.

@drfootleg@fosstodon.org Seconded. @LewisWorkshop@mastodon.online

@ianturton@mapstodon.space Thank you. I am taking things easy, both physically and mentally. Hopefully low stress for a week or two. Straight to A&E if there are any concerns.

@TicklishHoneyBee@twoot.site Oh good luck with that, I hope it works. I wonder if it is vertigo, or those crystals inside the ear canal thing. I was taken into hospital for something like that a decade and a half ago.

@TicklishHoneyBee@twoot.site Oh no! I hope it isn't anything too serious. Whatever it is, I hope you are feeling better soon.

@Dewines@toot.wales It can be fixed, I could fix it, I checked. I think the stair case was put in as part of a loft conversion at some point many decades ago. Neither Sue, nor the estate agent even noticed there was a lack of headroom. But I do tend to run/bounce quite energetically up stairs.

@theolodian@mastodon.social @suearcher@toot.wales We're ruling it out. No room for my workshop and no means of getting machinery in the back, nevermind vehicles and trailers.

@howisyourdog@cupoftea.social Have you tried the British Heart Foundation? https://www.bhf.org.uk/shop/buy-furniture-and-items-for-your-home Also Emmaus do furniture. https://emmaus.org.uk/slc/your-local-emmaus/?region=all

@howisyourdog@cupoftea.social We often go to Bygone Times https://bygonetimes.co.uk/ And Dagfields https://www.dagfields.co.uk/ I guess they will be out of your search area.

@howisyourdog@cupoftea.social They are the sort of places that we would go to if we needed to buy furniture when we move. There, and the various 'antiques' centres that are mostly retro and house clearance that we take days out to mooch around in.

@snaptophobic@mastodon.me.uk Do you fancy hosting MakersHour? That is a weekly thing.😉

Bore da bydoedd! Good morning worlds! No idea, no idea at all. We have been so into moving stuff into storage on Sundays that I have no idea what to do with this one given we haven't planned to do that. So tempting to put a few boxes of stuff into Midge and go to the storage unti anyway. But I guess we could just have a day of rest. Not sure yet. #BoreDaBydoedd#GoodMorningWorlds

@Workshopshed@mastodon.scot What size is your shed? I had a look at your blog about it but couldn't see as some of the blog wouldn't load.

Today we went to the community workshop, And I helped teach how to use a coping saw. Then we went to vacuum water out of a flooded basement, Hopefully for the last time. Then loaded more workshop stuff into the trailer, And sheeted and strapped it down. Emails with our estate agent, Another option on selling our house. Did caretaking, And sorted some rubbish from the recycling. Joined in MakersHour, It was a good one. Very tired now, So off to bed. #NosDa#NightAll

@jarkman@chaos.social No idea what hit us. It hit the rear OS door, then partially split the tyre before being shot across the carriageway. A few seconds later, the tyre burst open.

@mihamarkic@mastodon.social I wonder if I am alone in imagining hobbyists scaling the design and making miniatures, in the same way as miniature steam traction engines? https://electrek.co/2026/09/17/open-source-semi-windrose-puts-its-electric-truck-online-for-free/

@snaptophobic@mastodon.me.uk 😄