A little thread of calm?

[Chris152]

Amazon have just launched a streaming site which has lots of children's audiobooks for free. You don't need an account or anything, you can visit here and stream them all for free through the website:

https://stories.audible.com/start-listen

It has adult classics, as well as (mostly) school age books

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Great - thanks for sharing, Sammy.
I don't think I've read it but will listen - this one's in the teen section
https://stories.audible.com/pdp/B002VA9 ... c_cntr-3-0
Gombrich, A Little History of the World. He was a brilliant historian.

 

[Andy Kev.]

Thanks for the link. I noticed that some of the books are fairly recent and therefore surely still in copyright. That makes me wonder if it is legal to download them.

There's another matter as well: if the books are still in copyright and if they routinely are downloaded on a large scale, the publishing houses will be reluctant to commission more books and so we all lose out.

Or are there other factors of which I am unaware?

I have no idea regarding copyright or legality, I got the link from another forum. Ifs it’s felt inappropriate then the mods can delete it. Just trying to help and no offence intended.

No offence taken. It's probably just an aspect of it that needs clarifying.

 

[Bm101]

Amazon have just launched a streaming site which has lots of children's audiobooks for free. You don't need an account or anything, you can visit here and stream them all for free through the website:

https://stories.audible.com/start-listen

It has adult classics, as well as (mostly) school age books

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

Great - thanks for sharing, Sammy.
I don't think I've read it but will listen - this one's in the teen section
https://stories.audible.com/pdp/B002VA9 ... c_cntr-3-0
Gombrich, A Little History of the World. He was a brilliant historian.

That's an amazing book Chris. I read it as a young man after a random discovery and it took all the little parts of history I knew and gave them context and a place in time. It's meant for kids but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I kept my copy on the basis that one day I might have kids. I enjoyed it that much.
I duly presented it to my lad with deference. Annnnd he found it a bit dated :roll:
And it is if you are 9 and have grown up with Horrible Histories I suppose. I'll keep it for him. He'll enjoy it in a couple more years.
Go for it.
Regards

 

[Chris152]

Have to say, only being allowed to leave the house once a day feels a bit oppressive. More than happy that the measure exists but having taken the dog for a walk this morning, I suppose I'm stuck now. And I'm pretty anti-social at the best of times.

Some books for the kids and a Kindle ordered and due for delivery soon-ish. As Amazon can keep delivering for the moment (if I've got that right) do you think people can continue to deliver cars? I'm trying to get an old Volvo 240 delivered from Cornwall so the boy can learn to work on it over the coming months, get an MoT in due course and have it as his car to drive. But the fella who is selling and was going to deliver it originally had to self-isolate on account of age as of the weekend, and as of last night the delivery man who I wanted to do it instead is not sure if he'll be allowed to now. Anyone know about that?

 

[sunnybob]

A drive from cardiff to cornwall and back for a car for a lad to practice on...
hhhmmmm, sounds pretty dire necessity to me. :roll: :lol:

 

[Chris152]

I know - but as long as Amazon are delivering books about a Wimpy Kid, ponies etc...

 

[Chris152]

On a less controversial note, potato patch just doubled in size, and that's my garden looking tidier than usual.

Should get another 10 plants in the extension.
I've been out digging in my t-shirt, what a beautiful day.
ps - included in the pic is the boy's last car. can't get rid of the thing.

 

[welly]

My order of wood from Travis Perkins was cancelled this morning as they're now closed. I was planning on refitting my bedroom (I live on a narrowboat, which is calming in itself) and wanted to get the wood in before lock down. Unfortunately was late by a day in my order. So I'm looking at what wood I have available to see what else I can make.

I'm planning to have a go at making a sled for my table saw. I've got a large sheet of plywood which I can use plus various other offcuts for a fairly rough and ready (but hopefully accurate!) sled. Plus I'm going to build a wooden storage box that will live on top of the boat.

So I have plenty to keep myself occupied and will hopefully up my skills a bit in woodworking.

 

[sunnybob]

You have a workshop with a table saw on a narrow boat? wow. :shock: :shock:

But if you want to make some very clever table saw sleds, I can recommend these
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZfyoh5SZ6I&t=25s
You can buy the plans online cheaply, or just steal his ideas. I got the plans and have made two and use them a lot. 8) 8)

 

[Trainee neophyte]

On a less controversial note, potato patch just doubled in size, and that's my garden looking tidier than usual.

Should get another 10 plants in the extension.
I've been out digging in my t-shirt, what a beautiful day.
ps - included in the pic is the boy's last car. can't get rid of the thing.

Don't forget to feed your spuds - they need crazy amounts of fertilizer to do well. I put the same weight of fertilizer as potatoes at planting, and then another go of just amonia later. I.e. I plant 20kg of potatoes, and put down 20kg of 20-20-20 fertilizer at the same time (or a few days before if possible). I then throw another 10kg of amonia around at around 70 days, and harvest at 100 days. I expect to harvest around 400kg, fingers crossed.

 

[welly]

You have a workshop with a table saw on a narrow boat? wow. :shock: :shock:

But if you want to make some very clever table saw sleds, I can recommend these
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZfyoh5SZ6I&t=25s
You can buy the plans online cheaply, or just steal his ideas. I got the plans and have made two and use them a lot. 8) 8)

Alas not a workshop but I do have a table saw! One of the Dewalt 54v ones, which works really well! I've been doing all my carpentry work outside. It's not perfect but don't have to worry about cleanup too much, the wind blows the dust away. Cheers for the link, I'll have a look!

 

[Chris152]

Are these getting there?

The ones in my pantry seem to be producing shoots quicker. But I guess they're no good for planting? I can't get hold of any more seed potatoes, the garden centre's shut. But I'm thinking about getting some seeds by mail and seeing if I can cobble together something in the house/ makeshift greenhouse to bring on tomatoes and other things. Any suggestions on such cobbling very welcome!

And - now have my Kindle! Really pleased with it, tho the area on the left of screen for turning back a page is v narrow - at first I kept going forward, wondering what had happened and having to go back to the start of the chapter to find where I'd left off. Think I've got it now, which is just as well coz Barnby Rudge really wasn't doing it for me.

 

[novocaine]

Chuck em int he ground. While your at it chuck the ones you have in you cupboard in too.
You can cut them up as long as each piece has an eye in it. A seed spud is just an under grown normal spud, normally with a few more eyes to get a good chance of growth.

Glad you're getting to grips with the kindle.

 

[novocaine]

Oh good book for you. The martian by ansy wier.

 

[Chris152]

Oh good book for you. The martian by ansy wier.

Just been chatting with a friend on FB - the Martian came up (he used poo as fertiliser, which'd solve another problem), as did Silent Running!

24 planted, unfortunately none of the fertilizer/ ammonia you mentioned Tn, as I can't get hold of any, and it's reclaimed lawn so maybe this'll lead nowhere. We'll see. But on the plus side, I was wearing my dad's old green Barbour gardening waistcoat, so you never know.

ps Just discovered a load of nice looking black stuff at the bottom of the composter, I'd completely forgotten about it, it's been there for years. I've broken it in to the soil above the potatoes, should wash down ok?

 

[lurker]

Last year I bought seed potatoes as usual and also planted some odds and ends from the vegetable box that had chitted.
Could see no difference in the results.

 

[lurker]

Chris.

I suspect your crop will be riddled with wire worm .
Regarding fertiliser, growmore works fine.

When I plant spuds the spud goes into the bottom of the trench and then a layer of compost on the top. I find that this reduces scab.

 

[Chris152]

Chris.

I suspect your crop will be riddled with wire worm .
Regarding fertiliser, growmore works fine.

When I plant spuds the spud goes into the bottom of the trench and then a layer of compost on the top. I find that this reduces scab.

Oh dear! What have I done to deserve wire worm?? Is it the converted lawn thing?
But maybe putting compost on after was a good thing (scab). I've been trying to not go out to the shops but perhaps I need to get kitted up and head out looking for fertiliser. I can always carefully dig the lot up and start again - it's not like I'm pushed for time at the moment.

 

[novocaine]

Leave them be. Didnt have the fancy stuff to grow spuds in the olden days and it didnt seem to stop people. All the new improved super fertilisers and magic soil combinations will do is improve your crop, none of it will guarantee it.

I still chuck the odd spud in the ground when ive let them go to long in the cupboard. We maybe get 10kg a year this way with no real effort. Not much but its better than them going to bin.

 

[lurker]

Lawns are usually full of wire worm.
And leather jackets (daddy long legs larvae)

Both love spuds

You don’t need any fertiliser until the leafs show
You realise about earthing up?