The Microphone (OSM Ind. Product Ref: 0011)

The microphone works as well as any mid-price dynamic microphone works and was used to record a lot of the source material for the BigMetalTower recordings.
It was surprisingly easy to put together as its essentially a table lamp or, to be more accurate, a collection of bits from several table lamps:

The Microphone (OSM Ind. Prod Ref: 0011)

I'd like to fit a press-to-speak switch in the hole on the base but, at time of writing, no suitable switch has turned up in any of the bins on my regular round.

'Cast Iron' Masks (OSM Ind. Product Ref: 0010)

Experiment from beginning to end.
Papier-mache with a 'rusty' finish.

'Cast Iron' Masks (OSM Ind. Prod Ref: 0010)

Considering these were exposed to damp conditions they've survived quite well. They need a re-finish just to bring them back to tip-top fettle.

Unintentional Satire?

On scanning the T.V. listings I noticed this programme currently being broadcast on BBC 1:
Pointless Celebrities
I had hoped that, during these harsh economic times, we may have turned to eating 'celebrities'.
I can dream I suppose.

The Relic (OSM Ind. Product Ref: 0009)

This object was the product of a long, and mostly accidental, process.
I'd originally intended making a "One-Eyed Yellow Idol"  (well, more like a golden idol with a green LED eye) mentioned in The Green Eye Of The Little Yellow God.
I'd spent about 3 days bashing J. Milton Hayes' dramatic monologue into my memory and thought I'd have a go at making an illustrative diorama to celebrate.
I filled a plastic protective bubble, that had originally covered an artist's posable wooden mannequin, with plaster, sprayed it gold, drilled a hole to hold the LED, decided it wasn't really what I'd seen in my imagination and discarded it on a wall in the garden.
For about a year the rain rained like rain on it, the sun shone on it and the wind blew on it.
It, somehow, migrated from the top of the wall into a flower bed and ended up getting buried.

Some time passed.

I was preparing the flower bed for planting when I began to dig up pieces of dimpled broken plaster.
I collected all the surviving pieces, cleaned, re-assembled, mounted them and ended up with this:

The Relic (OSM Ind. Prod Ref: 0009)

It's still one of my favourite pieces and, one day, I might get round to fitting the green LED in it.

Bulk-Head Lamp (OSM Ind. Product Ref: 0008)

Another lamp featuring an 'illegal' bulb and all built from re-claimed materials:

Bulk-Head Lamp (OSM Ind. Prod Ref: 0008)

Both this lamp and the Squirrel Cage lamp feature a dimmer-switch as the bulbs look much better with less power running through them and, at full whack, they they do tend to verge on the blinding.
I'm not sure what the hooks on it are for though I did hang my shed key on one of them for a while.
I'm also not sure what kind of bulb I'll use to replace the existing one when it eventually gives up the ghost.

Plasma Ball c/w PSU (OSM Product Ref: 0007)

Once again manufactured from items re-claimed from charity shop bins, this construction was my first attempt at a 'cast-iron' paint effect (which fooled several people, until they picked it up).
It's a combination of two separate builds, the re-housed plasma ball and the power supply unit, which I finally joined together about a year ago:

Plasma Ball c/w PSU (OSM Prod Ref: 0007)

Of absolutely no practical use what so ever of course, but I enjoy watching people's reaction to it, fear usually.

Here's a little movie of it in operation:

Voltmeter (OSM Ind. Product Ref: 0006)

Volt Meter (OSM Prod Ref: 0006)

I think this is the first item that has a 'bought in' component.
The gauge came from a Chinese site and cost 99p with free delivery.
I had hoped to build a companion ammeter but have yet to find a suitable mounting.

Perfume Atomizer (OSM Ind. Product Ref: 0005)

Perfume Atomizer (OSM Prod Ref: 0005)

I originally described this construction as a "perfume bottle atomizer air bulb invention" but I'm sure Captain Beefheart had something completely different in mind when he wrote "The Old Fart At Play".

In a perfect world it would be filled with either Lily of the Valley or Parma Violets perfume (my Granny's favourites).
It does have some kind of yellow fluid in it but I'm not in a rush to find out what it is.

Squirrel Cage Bulb Lamp (OSM Ind. Product Ref: 0004)

Bit of a 'no-brainer' this one, the most difficult part of it's construction was sourcing the braided mains cable (which I ended up rescuing from an abandoned iron).

Squirrel Cage Bulb Lamp (OSM Prod Ref: 0004)

Of course it's now very difficult, if not impossible, to purchase squirrel cage bulbs (150 watts) and energy saving bulbs, at this time, won't work with dimmer switches.
Still one of my favourite constructions.

The Pin Head Toy (OSM Ind. Product Ref: 0003)

My first stab at a toy.

Pin Head Toy (OSM Ind. Prod Ref 0003)

When the red button is pressed the Pin Head flashes red and the whole assembly vibrates engendering squeals of delight from the button presser.

The Minion Hood (OSM Ind. Product Ref: 0002)

As all megalomaniacs with ambitions of world domination know, minions are a absolute necessity if you hope to get anything done.

That doesn't mean you want to look at them as this might engender feelings of compassion or even sympathy.

This handy hessian hood, c/w individual identification number, is the perfect way of depersonalising the loathsome little creatures.

(Also available in children's sizes). 

Minion Hood (OSM Ind. Product Ref: 0002)

N.B. the OSM Minion Hood is NOT available in either rubber or leather.
(You disgusting pervert!)

What Do You Mean, "Reality"?

I've just returned from an exploratory visit to The Engine Shed at Ford.
I'm looking for ideas for my proposed model railway layout.
The shop has it's own large layout in the middle of the shop which I stared at intently.
The layout seemed unremarkable, as layouts go, then I started to notice things.

On the station platform a woman in a red coat stood next to a pig and a dead man:

The fat bloke in ladies underwear:

Contrast those scenarios with the completely sensible depiction of a cow driving a tractor:

and the woman with the horse:

The Speaker Cabinet (OSM Ind. Product Ref: 0001)

OSM Ind. Speaker Cab (Prod Ref: 0001)

This speaker cabinet was the first item off the production line.
There was no particular plan just a vague idea of what I wanted to achieve.
All the components were sourced from bins around the Bognor Regis area usually at the back of charity shops.
I was quite taken aback when this object was rated as one of the Top Ten SteamPunk Hacks by Apartment Therapy.
I changed the bulb on the original build for a 'glowing orb'.
In a perfect world I'd change the function of the orb, from just random colour changes, to a sound-to-light device.
It works well and still gets used on a regular basis.

Front View

Glowing Orb & Tweeter

Ports and Speakers

Tweeter

Speaker and Cab Lock

If In Doubt Announce The OSM Ind. Product Retrospective. (Updated)

It's all very well rattling on about all the things I'm selling but, it does occur to me that I should maybe take stock of the items I intend keeping.
To that end I'm going to catalogue all the (surviving) creations I've made.

Over the next few days, couple of weeks maybe, all posts will be devoted to an item by item exhibition of the unique products produced by the mutant lizard slave workers of OSM Industries.

Stand by for brains in jars, smiling cats in temples of bones, cardboard clocks and parp-o-phones.

Excuse me, I have a lot of polishing to do.

Update:

Having gone through the potential exhibits for my catalogue I find I was maybe just a little rash in saying all posts over the next few days, or weeks, would be related to the retrospective.
Turns out that plan might take up to 6 weeks and I do intend doing other things that might need logging during that period.

eBay Sale: The End.

I trudged to the Post Office with the last of my eBay sales today.
In the rain.
I've come to the conclusion that eBay's far to much like hard work.
It's the packing-up that's the killer.
It takes me hours and hours and I'm rubbish at it.
For this last lot I painstakingly weighed everything, made the postage calculations  as accurately as I could and still lost money on the carriage charges.
Several items didn't sell, some surprised me, some didn't:

• Brass Mask (surprised)
• Lion Brass Plaque (surprised)
• Two Brass Door Pull Handles (unsurprised)
• Brass Nut Crackers In The Shape Of Ladies Legs (very surprised!)
• Brass Sun God Figurine (neither surprised nor unsurprised)
• Working Replica Davy Lamp (surprised)
• Ornamental Oil Lamp (unsurprised)
• Glass an Brass Tea-Light Holder (unsurprised)

I can't decide if I should re-list them or not.
I'll sleep on it.

As I left the Post Office the sun came out and weights lifted off my shoulders.
I've still got a long way to go before I finally get rid of all my surplus possessions but I think I'll try a car-boot sale next.
Typing that last line made me think 'recipe for disaster'.

After the Post Office visit I did my tour of the 'crap' charity shops.

• Alexander Theatre  Charity Shop
• FourSight Charity Shop
• RAFA Charity Shop
• Oxfam Super Saver Charity Shop

In yesterday's post I mentioned that my childhood ambition was to become a secret agent.
In Oxfam I bought an appropriate lunch box for 99p:

It says 'Secret Agent' on it.

Pod Life.

iPod Touch as Perfect Drum-Machine

I make no apologies for my devotion to all things 'pod'.

I put up with the sneery condescension of contemporaries and am quietly amused by the similarities in their disdain to the comments I received if I got caught, horror of horrors, reading books during tea-break when I worked in a factory.

In those days the most vehement criticism came from work-mates, I subsequently learned, couldn't read.

Prior to my first pod, when I spent a good proportion of the day marching from door to door delivering and collecting charity bags, I would carry a personal CD player then, later on, a Mini-Disc player.

Both of these devices had downsides.

The CD player was bulky and, even with the anti-skip function selected, would skip.

The Mini-Disc required content preparation and by the time I'd selected and recorded the disc I was already bored with it.

The other problem with those formats being they seemed to be tailored toward music rather than speech content.

I bought a 4 gig iPod Mini (I had 'Outa-Spaceman On The Beam And Gone' inscribed on the back) I loaded it with audio books & pod-casts. 

(The mini was instrumental in my developing a love of Hooting Yard.)

I traded up to a 30 gig iPod 'classic' and filled it with all the philosophy books I didn't have the time in this life to actually 'read'.

Next came the iPod Touch which I've been using for about 18 months.

The iPod Touch is the best toy box I've ever owned and, along side audio books and podcasts, what have I filled this most modern of modern technology with?

Well, the past as it happens.

I used to love my ITT portable mono cassette recorder.

I'd record TOTPs by placing the it in front of the T.V.'s speaker and replay the recording on the bus to school the following morning.

I had a brief flirtation with photography during the 1980's using a Polaroid Land Camera but had to give it up when I couldn't justify the price of the films.

I tried my hand at being a film maker using a super 8 movie camera and if I thought the price of Polaroid films was bad imagine my shock at the cost of movie film development.

I've already waffled on at length about my obsession with crappy old drum-machines so won't say anymore about them in this post.

The past seemed like everything I wanted just not the way I wanted so those are the sort of devices, in the form of 'apps' I've put on my current pod.

The cassette machine has become Retro-Recorder.

The Polaroid has become Hipstamatic or, sometimes, Retro-Camera.

The super 8 movie camera has become 8mm Camera.

The drum-machine has become FunkBox.

This is the world I imagined I'd live in all those years ago when I read the comic TV21, which seemed less of a comic more of a newspaper from the future, when I was a child .

I didn't get to be a secret agent, my chosen career path at 8 years old, but I did get the kind of  equipment Agent 21 used in his adventures every week.

Or was it deadly toys Agent 21 used?

Three Pictures to Remember a Day By.

I did a spot of temp work at Goodwood House today.

It's Georgian Treasure chest:

Sadly I couldn't think of anything interesting to write about standing in a cloakroom all day other than no one seems to wear cloaks anymore.

Blue Plaque Spotting No. 6: Tony Hancock.

I was out on a route march, as part of my back rehabilitation programme, striding, well, more lurching toward the Bognor Regis suburb of Aldwick.

On passing the Royal Norfolk Hotel I noticed this plaque:

The plaque really is blue but, after a random shake of Hipstarmatic, I got this.

I've walked past the Royal Norfolk Hotel many, many times before yet not spotted it which worried me a bit because I'm usually quite observant.
Having done a little bit of research it seems that the plaque only appeared late last year.
Tony Hancock was in Bognor during the filming of The Punch and Judy Man.
I can't say I'm a Hancock fan but, although I've seen the film a long, long time ago, I'm tempted to give it another viewing just to see what Bognor Regis looked like in those days.

Attack Of The Pod People In Bognor Regis Library.

Seen today on a visit to Bognor Regis Library:

I'm going to order the DVD version of "Invasion of the Bodysnatchers" in the hope it has that sticker on the cover.

The Perfect Drum Machine. (Updated)

I've watched the development of the drum-machine over the last 30 odd years go from the strict-time dance machines, usually found in home organs, to the uber-machines of today.
I've owned many of the lower-end machines and they still remain my favourites of the breed.

I began to take drum-machines seriously around 1978 when I found it nearly impossible to find a drummer who could play more than one type of rhythm, could play at a consistent tempo for more than 2 minutes and who owned a kit that didn't take up a whole room.

The first drum machine I laid hands on was an Electro-Harmonix Rhythm 12 I bought from a junk shop in Leeds:

It was a basic preset unit that offered a limited range of beats the most hilarious of which was preset 12 "Reggae".
It wasn't the answer I was looking for.

Things were beginning to move in the world of the drum-machine around that time and during 1978 the Roland Corporation released their CR78 CompuRhythm which changed the game in that it allowed the user to programme 4 of it's memories (so long as the user bought the programming button add-on).
The downside of the CR78, for mere mortals, was the price.

In 1980 Roland's subsidiary company Boss released the DR55 Dr. Rhythm.
Even though it's now considered a 'classic' I never really liked the sound of it. Far to harsh for my taste.
It had another downside.
It allowed the user to programme the bass drum, snare drum, rim-shot (ha!) and accent but not the hi-hat which could only be switched between 8's and 16's and didn't have an open hi-hat option.
I did end up owning one for a while but it wasn't my first programmable machine.

My first machine was The SoundMaster Memory Rhythm SR88.

The picture is of a later variant of the SR88 which provided clock and step trigger outputs allowing the machine to control other devices.
More on that later.
The version I had came in a pale blue case and didn't have the trigger outputs.
Four fully programmable soft analogue sounds (BD,SD,HH,CY), allowed a fill variation to be added at 4, 8 or 16 bars and is still to this day my favourite drum-machine ever.

My approach to these machines was not to consider them 'drummers' but percussive instruments in their own right.
I developed a system of programming involving some element of chance based on this thinking:

Each bar memory had 16 steps (4 x 4).
Each step could be on or off.

I drew the variations (X=beat 0=rest) sets 01-08 start with a beat, sets 09-16 start with a rest:

01: X000     09: 0XXX

02: XX00     10: 00XX

03: XXX0     11: 000X

04: XXXX     12: 0000

05: X0X0     13: 0X0X

06: X0XX     14: 0X00

07: XX0X     15: 00X0

08: X00X     16: 0XX0

Usually I'd button-hole someone and ask them to give me 2 numbers between 01 & 08 and two numbers between 09 & 16 and those variations would become the bass drum patten.

Another set of four numbers would become the Hi-Hat patten.

The snare drum would be put in at beats 05 and 09 then, using a variation from the 01 to 08 column and stretching it over the 16 steps, I'd add the Open Hi-Hat.

So, a beat using pattens 01, 13, 5 & 14 for the bass drum, 05, 09, 06 and 16 for the Hi-hat, 06 for the open Hi-hat and a Snare drum on the off beat would sound like this: SR88 Demo Beat which is nothing out of the ordinary but demonstrates the principle.

Another method was to just use one variation per drum per patten and run the drum-machine through an echo pedal which produced some fabulous beats.

The lack of any way of directly synchronising the drum-machine to my Wasp synth & Spider sequencer became frustrating so I traded my first SR88 for a Boss Dr. Rhythm but I was never happy with it and as soon as the upgraded SR88 appeared I dumped the Dr. Rhythm.

I look back on that period of about 2 years as being the most fun I've ever had during my whole involvement in electronic music.

I've owned lots of different drum-machines since then, some of which I can remember:

• Roland TR808
• Roland TR707
• Roland TR606 (c/w TB303 acid-machine)
• Yamaha RX21
• Boss DR110 
• Boss DR220
• SoundMaster ST305
• Mattel Synsonic
• Korg MiniPops Jnr.
• Boss DR202 Dr. Groove.

but, given the choice and the huge amount of cash I'd need to buy one nowadays, I'd chose the SR88 every time.

I've downloaded the individual drum samples of the SR88 and used them in the Reason programme which allows me to press a button to randomise the patten but it's just not the same somehow.

Which brings me to the point of all this memory lane business.

Since I bought an iPod Touch I've wondered why no one's come up with an app that features all those Bump, Tish, Pop, Ticky, Ticky analogue drum-machines I love.

Then, last Thursday, I found someone had.

It's called FunkBox (rubbish name) and even though it doesn't feature my beloved SoundMaster SR88 it has a version of the classic Maestro Rhythm King Mk II which is all I'll ever need and can be heard here:

Update.

Having had an exchange of emails with the very helpful Mr. Chris Kerns at Synthetic Bits (FunkBox developers) I have the SR88 samples installed which now makes FunkBox the perfect drum-machine.

(I did add an apology for suggesting 'FunkBox' was a rubbish name.)

Katherine Higgins (sigh..)

Linda says she looks like Margo Leadbetter crossed with an ironing board I am of a somewhat different opinion.

Image courtesy of The LightBox

The Check Up.

As a man of a certain age I have attracted the attention of the NHS.
Two months ago I received an invitation to...
"Ring Today To Book Your Free NHS Health Check - Don't Miss Out!"
The general idea being to identify potential health risks which, left untreated, may cost the NHS lots of time & money to put right.
Along with the cunningly worded invitation there was a form to fill in.
I like filling forms in especially the ones with multiple choice questions requiring me to tick boxes.
If I come across a question that doesn't have an answer, c/w tick box, that applies directly to me I write my own answer, draw a tick box and tick it.
The questionnaire asked questions like:
Name? Yes, I know this one and can write down the answer as long as I can remember where I left my reading glasses.
Age? This question requires some basic calculation. I was born in 1958, it is now 2012, subtract one from another and the answer should be my age. I can answer this question if I can remember where I left my calculator but need to find my glasses first as the calculator has a small keyboard and an even smaller display.
There were some questions about how much exercise I take I was able to answer without having to add alternatives.
And that was it, for the first page.

Pages two and three asked questions about my 'alcohol intake' (I'm not sure if my 'alcohol intake' is the same thing as my mouth).
This section was frustrating as there were lots of questions with tick boxes but I couldn't answer any of them because, even if I did know where my 'alcohol intake' was, I think the last time I had an alcoholic drink was sometime during October last year.
It's not that I've stopped drinking alcohol it's just I don't have the time (or the money) to indulge anymore plus I've noticed my behaviour becomes unpredictable if I drink more than several 'units' and a hang-over now takes me at least two weeks to recover from.
My questionnaire completed I waited for my appointment at the health centre.

I don't subscribe to superstitious mumbo-jumbo but having a medical appointment on Friday 13th made me feel just a teensy bit uneasy.
With my tintitus screaming, my body twisted into full Quasimodo mode by my back 'flare-up' I waited in the waiting area:

Waiting Area 'C'

Time was I could read lots of out of date magazines whist waiting in the waiting area but magazines cause bird-flu and are no longer tolerated in today's modern health care environment.
I read a leaflet about bladder control (or lack of it), another about bowel cancer and another about vaginal irritation before I was summoned.
I like nurses, even the ones who smile like maniacs, make eye-contact feel like being clamped in a vice and never seem to blink, ever.

I had my finger pricked, my blood taken, smeared on a slide and put into a machine. I had my blood pressure measured, which gave me pins and needles in my fingers, and was asked if there had been any history of heart disease or diabetes in my family (no & no).
I began to notice the phrase "for a man of your age" being repeated over and over again like a mantra.
My blood pressure is very good "for a man of your age".
My BMI is very good "for a man of your age".
(The machine went 'PING!")
My cholesterol level is surprisingly low "for a man of your age".
In fact, my cholesterol level in the lowest the nurse had ever seen "for a man of your age".

The conclusion, drawn from statistical analysis of men of my age, is that, should I continue to follow my current life-style, I have a less than 3% chance of developing heart disease.

Which made me begin to wonder about the hideously painful fate that lay between me and the door marked EXIT.

A Disturbing Development.

A few years ago I came into possession of this:

It's Gandy Dancer.

The other day, for no apparent reason, I bought 8 double 1st radius HO/OO curves, enough to make a complete circle.

Over the past months I've been constructing small track-side buildings.

These are danger signs who's warnings are all to clear.
I'm planing building a model railway.

Serves Me Right For Trying.

Up early to pack the amps I received payment for and get them off to the Post Office.
A clever person would have done this when the item passed the reserve.
I was wrestling with bubble-warp, sticky tape, warping paper, a cardboard box and an amplifier when I felt that little 'tweak' in the bottom of my spine that's the prelude to a world of pain.
I'd 'popped' my back.

I began to work in a frenzy but only managed to pack the first amp before I could hardly move.
I then discovered, after rummaging through every draw and cupboard in the flat, there wasn't an ibuprofen tablet to be found.

Getting the boxed amp down the stairs from the flat was not fun and took me about an hour.
I it loaded my new 'G.T.'shopping trolly and headed off for the main Post Office in Bognor:

The journey usually takes me about 20 minutes.
Today it took me about an hour and a half.
There was more hilarity when I had to lift the package out of the trolly onto the scales in Post Office.

When Linda got home she went to her medicine box and gave me some of her tablets.
I didn't question her, I just took them.

I'd write more but a huge purple rhinoceros wants me to play a game of connect four.

Trying To Do Something More Interesting.

I'm having a day off eBay.
Well, sort of.
I was alarmed by the toaster I intended listing on eBay when it began smoking and set off the smoke alarm last night.
I waited till Linda went off to work this morning, opened all the windows, plugged it in and had another go.
It smoked a bit more then began to behave itself.
I'd sprayed it with a stainless steel cleaner some time ago, although it's made from aluminium, and I think it was the residue of the spray that caused the smoking.
It did occur to me that the fumes may be toxic but I'm sure I've breathed worse things in my life.
Tomorrow I'll have a go at making toast with it.

That wasn't particularly interesting so I experimented with making a basic slide show with iMovie.

That wasn't interestingly interesting so I prepared a Hooting Yard pod-cast.
Now that was interesting but it won't get published till Thursday.

Then the interesting thing started to happen.
The first lot of my eBay sales can to an end today.
It went quite well.
Tomorrow will be full of interesting trips to the post office.

eBay Campaign Day 7: Electrical

This eBay business is starting to feel like an uphill struggle.

Today I had intended to list the Smiths Selectric Mantle Clock I restored and the Vintage toaster I posted about recently.
I was preparing to make a short video, in my own inimitable style, featuring me making toast with the toaster.
During the 'rehearsal' I plugged the toaster in and switched on.
The pall of smoke the toaster produced set the smoke detector off.
My feeling is that the fluid I used to clean the toaster was the cause of the excessive smoking but I'm going to wait till tomorrow to investigate further and test all the wiring.

I looked at the mantle clock.
Now, I know how to set it in motion but describing how this is achieved to anyone else has defeated my limited powers of description so I decided not to put it up for sale.

This left me with four items to sell:

Vintage/Retro Electric Light Switch:

eBay sale listing

JHS Headset Microphone:

eBay sale listing

Stylophone Electronic Organ:

eBay sale listing

Stylophone Beat Box:

eBay sale listing

I think I'm going to give this lark a rest for a couple of days and do something more interesting instead.

eBay Campaign Day 6: Lamps and Lights

Two of the items in today's lots have been providing the lighting in my shed for the last couple of years.
I'm keeping hold of my hurricane lamp as we do tend to have the odd hurricane or tornado here in Bognor Regis.

Working replica of a Davy Lamp (ex-shed):

eBay sale listing

Ornamental oil lamp (it worked before I lost the wick):

 eBay sale listing

Ornamental Davy Lamp:

eBay sale listing

Green Glass Oil Lamp (ex-shed):

eBay sale listing

Powell & Hamner 'Chieftain' Carbide Cycle Lamp:

eBay sale listing

Glass & Brass Tea-Light Holder:

eBay sale listing

Tomorrow: Electrical

Easco Valve Amplifier Demonstration. (Warning! Contains Scenes Some Viewers May Find Disturbing.) Updated.

Update:

I've just noticed I said I was using my iPod Touch to provide the music when, in fact, it was actually my old iPod mini.

The track is "The Big Wha Hoo" played by The Midnight Car Park Ramblers.

Hee, Hee, Hee...

Linda's gone off to bed in a 'grump'.
She's gone off to bed in a 'grump' because she's convinced I've forgotten to buy her an Easter egg.
I know she's been doing the tour of all the hidee-holes I use (that she knows about) looking for evidence of chocolate eggs and not found any.
But I am a cunning fox, oh yes.

Earlier today I found a pad of William Morris print samples on 120 gsm linen paper I bought at the V&A.
I thought I'd have another go at origami and made several basic boxes using the linen paper.
Then I had a brain-wave and raced off into Bognor, bought a bag of mini chocolate eggs, some fluffy yellow chicks and made these:

cheep, cheep.

Linda did find the empty Mini-Eggs packet in the bin but I told her I'd eaten them all.
Now then, how long do I leave it before I give them to her?

The Place Where "Sea Girt" Used To Be.

I was in our local (in)convenience shop the other morning, behind the counter 'S' was having a bit of a rant about a new development that was beginning to rob the sunlight from her little garden.

A while ago I took a picture of the building that occupied the space:

Sea Girt

Although I can't say for certain, I'm sure 'Sea Girt' was based on two railway carriages placed side by side.
When it came up for sale I was almost tempted to start playing the lottery on the slim off-chance I might win and be able to afford to buy the building.

It was sold with planning permission for a 3 or 4 story development.
I walked past the site today which now looks like this:

I think I really preferred the original building and wonder about the future for the rest of the area:

Time will tell.

I advised 'S' about how she should make her concerns known to the local planning authority (I used to be a local councillor) but my feeling is it's now to late to do anything.

eBay Campaign Day 5: Brass Things

I was tempted to put all my brass bits and bobs into a large box and take them down to the scrap metal merchant.
I've still got a huge amount of the stuff so I still might end up there.

Three (very small) Brass Monkeys:

eBay sale link

Large Brass Syringe:

eBay sale link

Brass Ornamental Lion Plaque:

eBay sale link

Three Fishing Bait Tins:

eBay sale link

Three Brass Scale Weights:

eBay sale link

Two Brass Door Pulls:

eBay sale link

Female Leg Nutcrackers:

eBay sale link

Small Brass Sextant:

eBay sale link

Brass Sun-God (Aztec ?):

eBay sale link

Six Small Brass Lion's Paw Feet:

eBay sale link

Tomorrow: Lamps & Lights.