Mackays Make the First Brass Headed Coach Screw
I did try to make one myself, but I didn’t have a strong enough die to cut the thread after I’d taken the head off the coach screw. So I took the screw and nut to Mackays in Cambridge, when I visited the city on Tuesday.
They are basically a very good tool shop, but they also have a small engineering workshop out the back.
This is what they created for me in a few minutes.
Brass Dome-Headed Coach Screw
Unfortunately, they didn’t have any of the unobtainable oversized washers.
But it installed perfectly to screw the staircase to the wall.
The Installed Coach Screw
Note the old brass-painted one at the left. I’ll now be ordering another two.
The Dafs Are Out
Or they certainly are in the Thames Barrier Park.
Daffodils in the Thames Barrier Park
This park is one of London’s hidden gens, in that it has beautiful modern gardens, the river, the barrier and of course the coffee.
The Best £1.85 Capuccino in London!
Possibly! No! Probably! Today I was cold and as I walked through the Thames Barrier Park back from the Thames Barrier to Pontoon Dock station, I had one in the cafe in the park. It was in a china mug too!
The Cafe in the Thames Barrier Park
I’ve not had one better, since I had one for a Euro in the backstreets of Naples over three years ago.
Shoreditch High Street Station is Now Connected to Spitalfields
I had to go to a party in Spitalfields last night and took the Overground to Shoreditch High Street station.
The last time I walked between the two places, it was a tortuous route crossing a couple of main roads on bad crossings.
Now they’ve opened up this well-lighted underpass.
Underpass to Spitalfields at Shoreditch High Street Station
Just turn right out of the station. If you turn left, you’ll see these lovely Victorian brick arches.
Victorian Brick Arches at Shoreditch High Street Station
I do think that some of the gaps and missing links in the London Underground and Overground systems can be fixed by well-signed walking routes.
The 7th July 2005 Memorial Plaque at Russell Square Station
This plaque is in the foyer of Russell Square Station
Meomorial Plaque at Russell Square Station
It sets exactly the right tone.
There is Still No Busway
This bus in Cambridge makes a haunting plea!
Wot No Busway!
The Cambridge Busway still shows no sign of being opened.
Some estimates have put the opening as far away as 2047. What a way to celebrate my hundredth birthday!
A Two Man-Hernia Job
In the 1960s, the amount of effort required to do a job with lifting used to be measured in man-hernias.
IKEA's Two-Man Hernia Label
This packaging on an IKEA bookcase, clearly identifies this as a two man-hernia job.
Shopping on the Bus
I tend to do one big shop a week early on Tuesday or Wednesday morning, as that means I can enjoy Waitrose in Upper Street, without queuing too long and then walk to an empty 38 or 56 bus to get me home.
A Week's Shopping
The bags this week weighed 12.1 kilos between them, but as I only have to walk about 200 metres in total and then carry them upstairs, the exercise is probably good for me. I could order on line, but then I like to see what I buy first.
You’ll notice I use a Tesco long-life bag. It’s the easiest to carry, with large comfortable handles.
The Anonymous Widower 