The last George Gently

This is becoming a habit; an addiction. So, in the 60s, pavements were paved with paving stones. At that time, tarmac was a road thing.

And the wall in the picture is pure 80s.

And did I mention PVU windows and doors?

Maxwells

We’ve relied on this local DIY shop since we moved to Gateshead.

You could get pretty much anything from the place. We’ve bought plaster, cement, tile adhesive, wood, plywood, chipboard, silicone, bolts, screws, nails, paint, varnish, padlocks, and a door (we’ve certainly missed something).

We’ll so miss Maxwells.

More George Gently

This is becoming addictive. The metal sheeting with holes simply didn’t exist in the 60s.

1990s I think.

UPVC windows weren’t really a thing then either.

George Gently

While feeling tired after a shift a few days ago, and not wanting to put any real effort to find something on TV, I defaulted to Netflix.

I randomly picked George Gently, about which I knew absolutely nothing, it having passed me by when it was aired on whatever channel it was aired.

I’d not previously known that the series was set in the Northeast, in the 60s. It’s not particularly good, or indeed bad, but I’ve continued to watch now and then because it’s easy viewing. And, perhaps, there’s the northern nostalgia.

It must be pretty difficult creating 1960s scenes sixty years after the fact.

Here’s an example. From memory, plastic drainpipes didn’t exist in 1964; at least not in the Northeast. And those boxed-in external meter cupboards didn’t start appearing until the 70s. The house door’s not very clear in the picture, but I’m pretty sure that’s an 80-90s door. I could be wrong.

And now an Italian army surplus jacket from the 80s. They were quite fashionable, being more modern than most surplus in the 80s.

Rust

I’m sure I’ve written about rust in the past. But when you’re daft enough to buy an old van, that’s what you get.

So, a few years ago, we had a scrape.

And then we opened a bar, so we didn’t check on the van often enough. The cover had blown off that particular corner in a storm and the damaged bit was exposed for a few months.

Which resulted in.

It looks bad, but it was a lot worse. Fortunately, panels are available.

Needs a bit of work, but …

Fat Freddy’s Drop

I’d been so busy with the bar and working in the garden, that I’d forgotten I was going to a Fat Freddy’s Drop gig a few days ago.

Fortunately, I was reminded with a couple of hours notice.

Shed

After failing to take into account the drying time for the new cement screed, the first couple of coats of paint on the shed walls took ages to dry due to the dampness in the air.

It’s looking better after the third coat, but there’s still a lot of work to do before the shed can be used for anything.

Shed

I resumed work on the shed today, after I finished the internal render a couple of weeks ago.

The rendering I started around two and a half years ago.

Which followed the wall rebuilding in 2018-19.

Next week (I can only manage a day a week at most) I need to level the floor, before I can finish painting.