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A new hope?

Pic of the week 28/2/21

Two significant events this week …

  1. The weather turned. It’s stopped raining, its warmed up and the sun has shone, and …
  2. on Monday Boris Johnson announced that all children are to return to school from the 8th of March.

The latter led our Head to change tack, and (physically) re-open the school from Monday 8th. Combined, both have led to a sense of hope and excitement, a sense that different days are coming.

So one more week of remote learning, and then two weeks of school, before the Easter holidays.  I think it is the relentless “groundhog-ness” of remote teaching that makes its so difficult, so to have an end in sight has, in me at least, generated an excitement that has been lacking for a while.

This time next week I’ll be polishing my shoes!

(In other news, I took advantage of the good weather today to mow the lawn for the fist time this season.)

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Half Term

Pic of the week 21/2/21

And so half term draws to a close …

Nothing major to write home about – after all, we’re still in lockdown 3, so there’s not much you can do – but I definitely needed the week off.

I’ve run a few times – did another 10K today: little/no wind and on the flat sections was starting to post a semi-respectable time.

On Thursday Becky & I went for a long (10K) walk – very pleasant, and even enjoyed some warm spring sunshine on the skin. But, about fifteen minutes from “home” (the car) the sky went black and hail lashed down. It was painful – particularly when a blob of ice would strike the tip of an ear!

On the whole, the weather has warmed up this week, but it has been fairly wet throughout. However, when the rain stays away you do get a sense that spring may be round the corner – the days are lengthening and bushes and trees are starting to bud up.

The decision has been made to shorten this term by a week and add it on to the summer term. So only four weeks more of the groundhog of remote teaching: coupled with the improving weather, a sense of hope is beginning to permeate my world. (Although the 7 week first half of the summer term will be long!)

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Micra Alternator

Pic of the week 14/2/21

The Micra has had a tough few months. At the start of December the brake master servo sprang a leak and the brakes stopped working (fixed that.) Then, just before Christmas, the exhaust tail box dropped off. I got National Tyres (at the bottom of the hill) to do that, but the couldn’t get the parts until the new year, so it was early January before that was fixed. Driving it the short way home, the car was making a hell of a noise, and both Becky and Sam commented on how the car didn’t sound right when they used it.

Some (pro-longed) fault diagnosis led me to conclude that it was the alternator – confirmed by removing the fan belt and firing up the car – no noise. Spinning the various pulleys, it quickly became clear it was the alternator (I think the bearings on the drive clutch had “gone”).

Anyway, was just taking it on the occasional short, round the block trip to keep things ticking over whilst I researched how to change the alternator, hoping to make it to half term, when I’d have a little more time. But about 10 days before half term, on one short such spin one lunch time, the alternator seized completely, belt disintegrated, and I made it home on what was left in the battery.

I’d already bought a “new” 2nd hand alternator and last weekend began the job of removing it.  In theory, simple: remove belt (already off as broke whilst driving), two electrical connections and two bolts.

But life is not that simple.

The alternator was buried behind heaps of “gubbins.”

Car up on sticks, remove driver side wheel & wheel arch, to access belt – easy enough. But then I realised I would have to remove a headlight, tensioner puller, much of the front bumper, a few air pipes just to get access.

And eventually I got access, and I eventually undid the two bolts.

But …

The lower bolt could be removed as there wasn’t clearance between it and the chassis. Now we came to the most nervous bit.  Jack under the engine (plank of wood on the sump) and tentively loosen the three engine mount bolts. Carefully, bit by bit, lower the jack. Eventually there is enough clearance and the bolt slides out.

Now just jack the engine back up … but (I think) my trolley jack had settled into the ground and I couldn’t get the engine back up.  Beginning to get a little concerned at this point. Then, have a brainwave. Get a concrete block and the tyre changing jack and use this to raise the engine back up. Still some fiddling and faddling to realign the engine mount, but loosening it “car side” gave me the necessary play. Phew!!

Now just whip out the alternator and put in the new one …

But no, the old alternator took some crow barring to get it out, and then some dexterous manhandling to get it out of the car, but eventually I emerged triumphant, dead alternator in hand.

Thought I’d pop the new alternator in and secure with top bolt and call it quits for the day, but I just couldn’t get it to fit.

Long story short, when you tighten the alternator in place, it draws through two bushings to provide a tight fit – so tight you can’t get an old one back on, YouTube & the internet told me to hammer the bushings back through, but they weren’t going to budge.

So I bough a new alternator (£120 compared to £20 for the 2nd hand one) and this weekend I fitted it. Went in like a glove, top bolt in securing it in place. Now for the difficult bit – lowering the engine to allow the bottom bolt to go in. I took my time, was cautious and no dramas, engine dropped (say 1cm?) bolt inserted, engine re-lifted, mounting bolts tightened.

Put everything back together – fitting the belt was difficult, v tight. Hopped in car ready to start her up to check all OK, turn the key: nothing.

Battery dead. Tried jumping her, but still nothing. Left the car on trickle charge and at 10pm, before going to bed, she turned over, but didn’t start, then battery died.

Left her on charge overnight.

In the morning, got expectantly in. Nothing, nada, zilch. Took the battery negative cable off, left for a minute, put it back on. Dashboard lights up -promising – turn key, turns over, sparks into life. Fantastic!

But then I noticed the wheels turning when not in gear. Odd. Feared I might have completely screwed something, but a quick internet search suggested that this is normal with both wheels of the ground.

Spent an hour or so rebuilding the front of the car (headlights, bumper, under tray, wheel arch) wheel back on, drop it off sticks, fire her up, voltage check – alternator kicking out a healthy 14Volts +, and take her for a test drive. All good, and I’m one happy hector. Frustration at times, but on the whole I’ve enjoyed myself, and a great deal of satisfaction derived from a job well done!

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10K

Pic of the week 7/2/21

Its been strange week, Tuesday was (actually) Groundhog Day and it certainly lived up to its name. A low point in lockdown – weather was cold and damp, everything was just “bluhh” and everyone in the house was just fed up. But this is the key – recognising when you reached the nadir, so you do something to lift you from the gloom and despondency. I ran on Wednesday lunchtime, only 5K but everything was better after that. Music is my other route out of the doldrums, but running is better; I think I am addicted to endorphins.

On Saturday morning I went for a lovely long walk with Becky, walking to essentially the corner of Ham Wall.  Although cold, the sun shone and the spirits lifted. A lockdown bonus is that I would never have known some of the places that exist on our doorstep.

And today I went for my Sunday morning run. I was planning on doing my 7K, with a possible 1K extension, but for the first time since my back injury, running was becoming easy again, so I did my full 10K. Not swift, but managed a sub 50 and, despite the last two Ks being a little difficult,  it was a bit more like the cruise of old. Looked back at my stats for last year and I first ran 10K on 23rd Feb, in a time (slightly) slower than today’s so that’s encouraging – I perhaps haven’t regressed as much as I feared.