Don't Bleed on the Wood

13/08/2026

A few times in your lifespan.
Someone just steps, or is thrown, into your pathway.
These "chance meetings" will sow the seed of MASSIVE changes in your life. It is human nature to "fight shy" of change as it is usually an upheaval, for good or bad it is uncertain, and we like certainty.
In 1972 this man became my Woodwork Teacher at Monmouth Secondary Modern School. I recognised him from being in town, but had no concept of just how much this man would influence My life in such a positive way.
Mr "Dickie" Lucas is a bloody hero. A proper "educator" .. not teacher, teaching is a stuffing in process .. education is drawing out!
He saw stuff in us that he opened doors to free ..
You can't buy that at any cost. I wish he knew .. to anybody who has been "educated" .. congratulations WE are lucky, LUCKY people.

02/08/2026

28/07/2026

As most of you know. The Dereliction of Duty by all Political Parties in regard to our Trade Education is a major "thorn in my side". We should never have removed the practical education curricular activities .. "activities" being key to this .. from schools. Britain has no Trade Education. The CITB is there to ensure that it, and only IT, can dictate who can or cannot work in construction jobs. A protection racket, akin to letting Ronnie and Reggie run the HMPS. I have very little faith in The Makerfield Messiah .. I believe he's full of sh t .. let's see.

27/07/2026

Big Government or Big business .. No big business whether it be Amazon, Tesla, Microsoft or whatever! Can take money from you other than by supplying you with a service or goods that you voluntarily agree is worth the value they are asking, and you pay it. Amazon can not send "enforcement officers" to your door to arrest you for not paying them. They can only get money from you by giving you something you believe is worth buying. Business can get Government "help" from imposed tariffs, but no business can get anything from you without you giving that money to them, EVER.
That is not the case with Government. Government will send people to your door to take your money. They even do this before you can hold your money! This is why they are so keen to get a purely digital currency in place. Regardless of whether you are getting "value for" your money or not. There is no Government Money until they seize it from you, either at source (before you see it) or as taxes that are just another branch of organised crime.
We should limit the size and scope of Government. When you lose YOUR choice in favour of THEIR over reach. The nation suffers.

27/07/2026

thanks to whoever left this awesome giant sheep outside the museum! we're sure nothing bad is going to happen :)

(Happy The Odyssey day to all who celebrate!)

26/07/2026

A blast (well saw) from the past!

Heading to Líthica, Pedreres de s'Hostal Mares sandstone quarry today.

Don’t worry I ain’t got my hammer & nicker with me 😂

26/07/2026

Katie Mander and Adam Lynch .. we should build you one in the Di**le ..

From medieval times until surprisingly recently, it was common practice to wash sheep before shearing. Unlike sheep dipping, which was carried out to control parasites, washing was intended to remove dirt, grit, and much of the natural grease from the fleece before it was clipped.

The process usually took place one or two weeks before shearing. Flocks were driven through shallow, dammed-up streams or purpose-built washing pools, where teams of farm workers scrubbed and guided each sheep through the water. Although washing reduced the fleece's weight, clean wool commanded a higher price, making the extra labour worthwhile.

Sheep washing was one of the busiest and most important events in the rural calendar, often bringing entire villages together. Hundreds of sheep might pass through the wash over several days, creating a scene of constant activity that few people alive today can remember.

The practice began to decline during the early 20th century as the premium paid for washed wool fell. While many sheep washes had disappeared by the 1920s, some farms continued the tradition until the end of the Second World War. With the arrival of mechanical shearing and modern wool-processing methods, sheep washing gradually became obsolete. Today, fleeces are cleaned in specialised wool-processing factories rather than in village streams.

26/07/2026

My mate Jake Thackeray sang about this .. the Monmouthshire version.
Yan, Tan, Tetherum, Metherum, Pimp, Letherum, Setherum, Hotherum, Dotherum, Doc ..

Yan Tan Tethera is an ancient sheep-counting system once used by shepherds across Yorkshire, Cumbria and other parts of northern England.

Rather than counting “one, two, three”, shepherds used words such as yan, tan, tethera, followed by methera, pimp, sethera and so on.

The system is thought to have its roots in the old Brythonic Celtic languages, including the now-extinct Cumbric, spoken in northern England before disappearing around the sixth century.

Remarkably, the counting method survived for well over a thousand years after the language itself had vanished. It wasn’t just used for sheep either.

Knitters in the Lake District also used it to keep track of their stitches, and it remained part of rural life well into the 20th century.

Although rarely heard today, Yan Tan Tethera remains a fascinating reminder of Britain’s ancient past and the traditions that endured long after their origins were forgotten.

21/07/2026

.. BEFORE I START ..
!! Rant incoming warning !!
This is never going to de a rectifiable situation because of the total lack of appropriately skilled Tradesmen with the level of skill required to fix the problem, and not just use "gripfill" or "repair resin" .. which is a recognised repair by the bloody National Trust!!

20/07/2026