BrigitDoon's Bomb Shelter

[oddjobby]

Someone's getting an invoice for hindrance. That should sort things out very quickly indeed.

I quite agree Brigit! If more people invoiced for their 'inconveniences' due to other peoples (particularly councils' ) negligence, then I'm sure people would actually learn how to do their jobs properly

[BrigitDoon]

Indeed. These invoices aren't intended to be settled in the financial sense but they do require something to be done about them. My favourite story concerned an artist whose work had been with a publisher for copying. The contract stipulated that the work should be returned to the artist once the copying had been completed. The work mysteriously vanished and its whereabouts proved impossible to locate until the artist submitted an invoice for "lost artwork" whereupon the work mysteriously reappeared.

[BrigitDoon]

I bought a compressor for the airbrush the other week. Tested it this afternoon and all appears to be well. Next project will involve creating a lot of fine fallout in the kitchen

I still need to test this gadget in anger. That means putting paper on the drawing board and this needs preparation...

Firstly, I don't have a drawing board, but a solid flat surface will do. I've had the front of a kitchen cabinet kicking around that I thought might serve the purpose. Hoarding pays off for once.

First, make sure it's absolutely clean and dry and then place a sheet of paper on it, in this case, A3 135gsm from a pad of WH Smiths sketch pad. I don't expect this project to get very far before it runs into difficulty, so I'm not wasting the expensive stuff on it.

Next thing is to get it wet. When I attempted this the first time, many years ago, I followed the instructions in the book and used a damp sponge to moisten the paper. Unfortunately, this interfered with the surface and made it unusable. Once the paint had hit the surface, only the lightest of washes, the sponge-strokes showed up and I had to start again.

Normally, I'd run water through the airbrush but on this occasion, I thought I'd use the water sprayer that I use to keep my lemon trees moist in hot weather. This delivered rather a lot more water than I was expecting, but it seems to have done the trick.

The paper "cockles" at this point and you will see areas of the paper rise away from the board as the paper absorbs the water unevenly. Try to pull gently at the edges to reduce these before moving on to the next phase: applying the gummed strips.



The purpose of these is to hold the edges of the paper to the board while it dries out and straightens. I always add a strip of masking tape across each corner to make sure the gummed paper doesn't come away from the board. Another trick discovered the hard way and a few hours lost.



Moisten the gummed strips with a damp sponge and then watch in frustration as they coil around themselves forcing you to throw them in the bin and start again. Best to weigh them down at each end, gummed side up, to avoid this from happening.

When you have finished, you should end up with something looking like this:





...which then needs to dry somewhere safe. I parked it behind the bedroom door overnight.



The following morning, things are looking promising. The paper has dried flat and there's no sign of it having tried to pull itself off the board.



Flat as Miss Lincolnshire




Next thing to do is decide what subject to paint on it. I don't want to do anything too complicated or ambitious in case something goes wrong towards the end and I will have wasted rather a lot of hours. I don't want to do anything trivial either as there's a reasonable chance I'll create something worth preserving.

[oddjobby]

Very well explained Brigit! How about a wee garden scene, or your lemon trees?

[HollowHorn]

watch in frustration as they coil around themselves forcing you to throw them in the bin and start again.

I'd try scissors rather than teeth next time, B.

[BrigitDoon]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-no ... e-14004855

I know it's wicked and naughty but I can't help smiling every time I read of someone running amok in a JCB. I used to work with a mischievous digger driver and I'll never forget the look on his face when I told him I needed him to help knock down a cottage. It was like that of a five year old given permission to kick over the sandcastle before the tide comes in.

Come the day that I break free of my moorings...

[BrigitDoon]

ATOS have invited me for a medical despite me writing to them to say I want my data off their system.

I phoned them and they claimed not to have received the letter. "It must have gone to our customer services manager."

Still, he had my file on the desk in front of him. So they've got my data in spite of my efforts to prevent them. Section 55 of the Data Protection Act comes to mind, but will Mr Plod take it seriously? Well he's taking it seriously in London just now...

Phoned customer services in Leeds but they've pissed off down the pub.

[Dot]

Just been reading your post about the JCB.

I believe there is a programme this evening on Channel 5 called 'Danger: Diggers at work' 8PM
First episode is about specialist machinery to reduce a Boeing 747 to scrap.

Not sure if it is any good but thought I would mention it.

[BrigitDoon]

Thanks, Dot. Just in time.

I'll get the media box to record it.

[The Egg Man]

Was the third not the stupid attack on Neil Lennon last night?
Its a game of football, why can't some imbicles get that through their heads?
Maybe you need to give him some space in the shelter?

The guy who went for Lennon, in full view of the cameras and a host of cops, is adjudged Not Proven on the assault charge.

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/268432-hear ... il-lennon/

Juries, eh?

[Josef]

He admitted assault. He denied 'racially-aggravated' (it says there) assault, and there appears to have been sufficient doubt to not convict him on that.

He was convicted of Breach of the Peace.

[The Egg Man]

The Crown Office is looking pretty stupid tonight.

The guy's been on remand since the 11th of May. That's very nearly 4 months for what's turned out to be no more than a breach of the peace. The case must have cost thousands.

[RDR]

Was the third not the stupid attack on Neil Lennon last night?
Its a game of football, why can't some imbicles get that through their heads?
Maybe you need to give him some space in the shelter?

The guy who went for Lennon, in full view of the cameras and a host of cops, is adjudged Not Proven on the assault charge.

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/268432-hear ... il-lennon/

Juries, eh?

Obviously nobody briefed the jury about what a racially aggravated assault is.
Scotland's shame goes on.....

[Dexter St. Clair]

The jury found Lennon guilty of being uppity.

[Josef]

Obviously nobody briefed the jury about what a racially aggravated assault is.
Scotland's shame goes on.....

What is a racially aggravated assault, then?

I confess to paying little attention to this story. But as far as I can see from the links posted on here, the jury were well aware what a 'a racially aggravated assault' was, and that was the single reason why he was not found guilty (note : as opposed to 'found not guilty').

As Egg Man noted, the prosecutors cocked it up. If he'd been charged with assault, he'd have been convicted.

To quote from someone whose name I have forgotten, the Justice system isn't about guilt or innocence. It isn't even about whether a crime has been committed or not. It's about the technical relationship between the charge and the evidence presented.

He was charged with a racially aggravated assault, as opposed to assault. He was clearly guilty of the latter. But that's not what he was charged with.