Stalked a muntjac (just for fun). A doe wandered onto the cricket field while I was out with Iggy this evening. When she got to within about 50 yards of us she caught our scent, got spooked and ran off into the meadow behind the clubhouse, so we circled around to get downwind of and behind her and managed to close to within about 5 yards of her. I did my best impression of a muntjac bark to freeze her in place and bring her head up, then let her go on her way. Iggy was amazing. Despite having no training in stalking, he stayed behind me, tuned into my body language/hand signals and most importantly, didn’t give into the temptation to chase. I wish we were allowed to hunt with bows in the UK as I don’t have guns anymore and I love venison but for ethical reasons I don’t eat farmed mammals. View attachment 356590
Well after a couple of weeks where the bots have been relatively quiet (approximately 10 a day) theyve now stepped it up a bit and so far this morning I have had to deal with 110 bots. And it’s only 9.20am! Cnuts!
Received notification of a flash sale from Ecoflow’s UK distributer. In the sale is a 130W, rigid, single sided, solar panel, designed for the roof of an RV, that will charge the Ecoflow Delta inverter batteries I use in our folding camper. I’m not an impulse buyer normally and certainly not internet only offers that seem far too good to be true but for £20, I had to take a punt given the RRP is nearly £400. So far seems genuine, I have received confirmation emails from Ecoflow UK, their “delivery partner” and PayPal. Might just pop up to COSTCO and treat myself to the latest generation, Ecoflow Delta 3, which is on a very special, less than half price Andy
Bought a scooter for running about on. Something to not worry about if it is occasionally left in the rain, or parked in bike parks when nipping into town. Something useful, under seat storage. I decided against some of the Yamaha X-Max scooters - as they start getting expensive, which defeats the care-free objective. Chose this 2026 Suzuki Address 125 - absolute bargain ! I had one as a loan bike recently, when the mighty "Z" was in for some tyres - what a hoot to ride !
No idea what that handbag is Anyway going to put a couple of red and white Yoshimura stickers on it ....look good I reckon ...
Have to ask, what do you expect to power with a 130w panel? With solar you very rarely get the quoted output. It won’t run much and it won’t recharge an Ecoflow Delta 3 in a sunny day. 1800w will probably be 1400w usable so not even 10hrs of full sunshine will top it back up again. Check out the mathematics and your expectations before parting with the cash. Not to mention the payback period for a part time usage item. Solar, it can be good but it’s worth a reality check. Maybe you’ll need a few of those panels or 1 or 2 big 600w panels on the top of a camper.
Had a checkup yesterday with a dermatologist at my local hospital. Had a basal cell carcinoma removed from the bridge of my nose last December. Unfortunately was told there's still some there and they'll have to do another round of surgery. Have an appointment with the surgeon in October (slow grind of the NHS) to discuss, did some research on him and it looks like this is his speciality. Hopefully they'll do Mohs micrographic surgery which I only learned about yesterday.
Thanks. Was fearing that, like in December, they'd want to operate there and then. This would have resulted in me having to cancel my Ireland tour in a couple of weeks and not be on the bike for a month or more. Instead, with that early October appointment hopefully resulting in surgery in early 2027, or even before, it'll be in the winter and won't impact my riding. During the recovery wearing a helmet isn't advised. Small mercies...
I had BCC a couple of years ago and some was missed. If I were you I would insist you have Mohs micro surgery. It uses much smaller margins. Important for any areas on the face etc smaller wound. Plus you know on the day all the BCC has been removed. No need to go through another procedure. I can’t under why Mohs is not offered as the first treatment as it gives the best outcome for the patient.
@Bumpkin, best of wishes with this. At the risk of being shot down in flames by some of the more politically minded members on here, if you want it done much sooner have you considered asking for a quote to have it done privately? You’ll probably find it’s the same surgeon, and might not cost anywhere near as much as you think. Look on it as doing your bit to reduce NHS waiting list times. I have been really impressed with Bupa over the last couple of years having had to use their services a couple of times for complications from long term injuries. I’m lucky to have it through work, and it’s the main reason I continue to work enough hours part time to qualify rather than retire early. As you get older and probably need medical help more often, you just can’t argue with a telephone appointment 40 mins after requesting one, an in person consultation 2 days later, and keyhole surgery the following week followed by 8 x physio sessions.
@Sam1199, good morning Sam, the RV solar panel purchase is a bit of an opportunistic experiment (and a no brainer for £20 ). The Ecoflow Delta 3 (March 2026 manufacture) charging system is limited to a maximum 500W solar input so is not suitable if you are looking for a solar charging only solution. This year is our 4th season using a Delta battery as a UPS for the folding camper and it’s been great. The experiment is to see if the panel will keep up with the fridge (about 80W consumption) if the hook up generator has a wobble whilst were are track side. Might just buy another 2 whilst they are cheap, regardless Andy
Best of luck with getting rid of that issue Bumpkin. Something you could definitely do with being gone..........
Thank you for the reply and suggestion. I have thought about private treatment and will revisit that thought in July once back home from my trip. Though I would actually prefer the surgery over winter for the reason stated, the NHS option seems to fit that agenda. Basal cell carcinoma wont spread to cause cancer elsewhere thankfully, it may grow in place over an extended period though. With a house move on the cards (negotiating an offer on mine at the moment, fingers crossed) I'm going to be digging into some reserves as it is. Ideally I want to all but fully retire next year once the dust has settled and erosion of the pot is something I want to avoid if possible. And yes, the surgeon is based at the local Nuffield hospital, he's also a senior clinical lecturer at Bristol uni med school. Sounds like the right man for the job, which is promising.
Thanks Tony. A common thing apparently. Was given the option to just leave it but as the lovely dermatologist said I was still quite young it would be best to get it removed and not have to worry about it growing over time.
We’ve started getting them come into the garden, they walk right past the lounge window without a care.
