Mandy arrived home last night a little late as the was storm force winds on the Irish sea, we quickly got settled back into routines and I had the best nights sleep for a while. We had domestic chores like washing and shopping which involved a trip to Handforth Dean near Manchester airport. It was pretty hectic in the shops, we picked up a couple of toys for gift Sunday service this weekend at St Oswalds. At least we now have dinner through to Sunday and then Monday its the opera at the RNCM. Between jobs I've been downloading the DVD orders, we sent out the early ones on our way to the shops but there are already a few more collecting.

I did some more cine scanning, eventually achieved a 100% immaculate copy of a reel with not the slightest hint of a speck of dust. It is hard to know what really needs cleaning, obviously it doesn't hurt for it all to be clean but the instructions are Chinese machine translated and pretty thin anyway, a little more in the way of clues would have helped but it looks as if I've now fully cracked the process and the results are stupendous. The downside is the slow speed of scanning, when I start on the 400' reels it will be an all nighter but no damage ensues it just turns off if it breaks or comes to the end.

The grouting in the bathroom reached phase three, I decided not to have any more silicon on joints but grout around the edge of the tiles, this should avoid any chance of mould growth. Getting the shower section to look complete has been a three attempts so far, the slope for drainage and deterioration of the original grout has made it complex. A last clean up tomorrow should see the job finished, quite shattered after that and shopping, the damp seems to have gotten to my knees which are weak and wobbly at present, mind you they are ok when I'm filming all day! I'll resume getting the digital downloads on the PMP shop pages and also get the Mansfield and Chesterfilms edited. I did get the A500 west trucks film trailers on Youtube earlier today. A few covers to get done as ever. Shots from Chesterfield today.

Its all a bit of a dash around this evening as Mandy arrives home about 8 this evening from Ireland and I've a few more jobs I want to get finished before she arrives like the finishing touches to the grey grouting in the bathroom which was a monster of a job last night and I sweated blood getting it all cleaned up ready for the cleaners coming today, it looks good so far and just a few last touches in the shower section which has got the most wear. I had to do the whole room as they didn't seem to make the light grey I used before. Just checking through my current account and I have ample to take care of the big box or two of models I'll collect from Yardley Wood at Boyle Street on Saturday.  We'll be at Manchester again on Monday for the RNCM winter opera, I noticed from their website listings for next year that the spring opera is a Phillip Glass opera, now that will be well modern, this one though is Poulenc's Carmellites.

It was really good today at Mansfield, I got 70 minutes of film in one shot, as ever super friendly drivers, its a good month really other than the Alpha coach driver at Lancaster, Stagecoach overall seem with Blackpool and Trent to be firing on all cylinders on the friendly stakes! The trip to Chesterfield was as equally friendly, it took a little more effort but easily accomplished. The trip to Mansfield this morning was grueling and equally the short distance to Chesterfield, worst was the Satnav troute it chose back home from Chesterfield, a bit too cross country as even the supposed major routes have lower speed limits than the smaller routes. Super day though, a backlog of editing DVDs and getting covers done thats normal though. I wonder what sort of weather we'll get next week? Shots from Mansfield -

A few decorating and domestic jobs to get on with and had a rough night so didn't rush to get up this morning, it was full sunshine, blue sky so stuick close to home and in the morning went to the A500 west near Crewe a spot I've used a lot of times over the years but I don't think I've done much there for a while. There was an amazing amount of lorries buzzing back and fro and I think it was the best session I'd ever had there albeit the wintry watery sun doesn't help.I got back and caught up with weekly chores like getting ready for the bin men tomorrow and cleaners come on Thursday. I got the new shelf unit erected in the small bedroom. Picked up a huge tub of expensive grey grout, its all B&Q had, was geing to Morreys at Holmes Chapel but there are severe traffic delays from roadworks so came back via Middlewich and then to Northwich. I'm already editing the film from today lets see what the photos came out like, it wasn't perfect positioning for stills and the sun but video was first class. Hoping still to cover Mansfield and Chesterfield although yet again it could err towards a bit of sun first thing.

Busy day looking ahead at tomorrows weather, may be last minute decision on any location. I got all the DVD orders ready and stamped and dropped them off this afternoon using the gpo mail sack Lawrence gave me, I didn't get there until schools out rush hour so just dropped it off as instructed. I've put the undercoat and later top coat on the shelf unit I made for the small bedroom, its taking quite a while for the top gloss coat to dry but hoping to get it fixed in place by Thursday. I put the grout refresher on the bathroom floor tiles, might have made some difference, need to get some more actual grey grout and some white refresher. There were a couple of marks from the building work on the ceiling in the new showroom, they have now had six coats of paint and still they keep showing.

I finally reviewed all the recent cine films I'd scanned, a huge problem, dust! I'm now doing them again one by one and examining each when complete as there is a lot of dust in the air. I'll have to keep giving the machine a blast with the air canister. I managed to get these DVD covers done, it didn't take that long other than for printer inks and the like running out. I've researched the Cyprus potato harvest for the trucks illustrated in CVC, I guess the optimum time is May its down near Larnaca, might be worth a punt. I'm also gathering film for possible use in next years VE day celebrations for the 75th. I'm also trying to get my head around a possible visit to some hard to get to or 'difficult ' countries for next year. Mandy is back home Thursday night. I edited the Blackpool and Lancaster DVDs hence the rush to get all the covers up to date.

Last night before bed I decided as there wasnt much on tv and I'm avoiding the news at present that I'd put together the film for the show I'm doing at the beginning for Feb for the local Jaguar club, got it all done before 11pm then to bed which for once I'd remembered to put the electric blanket on beforehand so it was ultra cosy. Woke up just before th3e alarm this morning so had a leisurely breakfast and gentle drive up the M6 to Lancaster arriving just in time for all the school, university and college services plus the rush hour such as it may be in those parts. I couldn't believe the light, it was as near perfect as you could expect at this time of year, just still not even a breeze and around 0 or so, it was -3 at home, I don't bother with gloves which was fine for filming but not my fingers. I was amazed at the quantity and frequency of the buses and rattled off the film work in double quick time and was soon back at the car getting ready to drive back down to Blackpool.

It was a clear run although it is still a bit of a hike, Blackpool is very much a building site still and the amazing sight is the tram tracks leading into Wilkos store! The sun was trying to get out at first but this soon settled down and yet again In was soon in the thick of it and able to get the required footage in a short time and then have coffee and a muffin before heading home. Both Stagecoach as both locations plus Blackpool transport were all just so very friendly with thumbs up, smiles and waves all the way and the only minus an Alfa coach driver at Lancaster who did the usual trick of pulling up on a corner, opening his window and then start demanding that I delete the shot. I gave him a warm and friendly seasonal greeting and noted he seemed to be on a tinsel and turkey trip, bet its a whole bundle of laughs with that chap but he was just a lone misery among such friendly folk all the way, Lancashire certainly had its good side on today and I was soon heading home.

Dropped the post off at the local post office and then had a go at cleaning the car with all the kit I'd picked up at Halfords on Saturday, I gave it a really good dose of looking at , it will be a shame to go out and get it dirty again. Busy getting more jobs done, disc printer ink ordered, emails checked, more cine scanning, filled in the little bits that needed it on the bookshelf I'd made for the small bedroom, cooked dinner, about to eat and then edit todays films and make sure I look at the weather to see if there is anything I can film tomorrow in such good light. Phoned the Irish tax people who had now sent Mandy a final demand, threatening everything under the sun, bottom line thay had a backlog of cheques they hadn't been able to sort, apologised put a block on any more letters and said they were thinking next year of not sending letters out until they had put the cheques through, only in Ireland ! Photos from Lancaster.

It wasn't too late last night when I'd finished the structure of Bus Spot Ultra Edinburgh but too late to get the DVD made which I left to this morning. Not that many DVDs to get ready to post but there may well be a few more orders Sunday evening as there often is. I've also been getting together the bones of a film show I'm doing in February for the local Jaguar club, lots of pieces I've found may come in handy for other presentations, all I need to do is to finish the second and third parts of the Carlisle truck film for lat Friday, the second of the three DVDs is burning at the moment, as ever a back log of DVD covers quickly appears my least favourite part of the process.

I've been a generally busy boy today, after I got back from St Oswalds where we had a visiting non stipendiary vicar ( not paid!) from Knutsford who is in his day job a film producer - I got back and made a start on the shelf unit for the small third bedroom which used to be the editing suite. I got all the structure done, just some filling and painting to complete, its a bit cold working outside but it gave me some fresh air and after early clear sky it has clouded over. Not so cold this morning just -2.

I've also been running more cine through the scanner up to about 20 reels, while I was doing the shelf a dry joint went through and the pieces separated and it had just run off onto the floor but was still recording, self feeding and thus the good news is that I'll be able to use an old projector as a passive feed for 400' reels and let them run onto a clean surface and then rewind with the projector which will speed it up a lot as the scanner is great at scanning but the motor is weak and the reels rewind loose. This is all good news as I won't need to split the 400 footers ijn two so no splicing needed but I've bought a splicer and cement in case of any joints which need fixing.

So all good news and I can at last get on with some material I'm examining and digitising for the OTA. So all in all just another sort of PMP day, I sleep well at night! I've been thinking about the next Bus Spot Ultra presentation, unsure but requests welcome. Anyone got any transport cine that we can copy, buses, lorries, trolleys, trams etc, the results now are really fantastic. The last batch of shots from Carlisle, fingers crossed the weather this week is light cloud and I get a minimum of four days filming done.

I think I must have been overtired in the end after getting up smartish and having three hours at Carlisle on the back of an early start on Thursday when Mandy set off to Ireland. I really struggled with getting the archive section of Edinburgh Bus Spot Ultra downloaded and on to the editing machine. I tried over and over again until late, eventually after giving up well actually finding a work around I went to bed and in the morning it all became obvious and worked straight away. I got some domestic jobs done first thing and had a long session getting the DVD orders ready, there were twenty separate orders some with several DVDs, I'd got the discs done last night but had to get the covers out and put them together. I dropped them off at our post office, Lawrence gave me a post sack for the next batch, that said there aren't that many as yet.

I went to Ellesmere Port to drop off the log book for Mandys old car with it's 'new' reg after transferring the cherished plate. The queue for the outlet centre was a mile back on the motorway so I went straight to the town centre, stopping to get some car washing kit etc at Halfords, the little IQ is desperate for a clean. Then I had to grit my teeth and put up with a 15minute wait to get round the roundabout to the Honda garage, albeit the traffic was all turning the other way nobody was giving an inch. Battled my way back to the motorway home, stopped and filled up and then back home as it was still sunny and the ice had melted a bit ( -5 this morning) I got on with clearing the back garden borders. I eventually filled the recycle bins and my hands were frozen so tidied up and retreated inside for a cuppa. Then I switched over to editing and still on with it at nearly 7pm but the end is in sight, should have it wrapped up tomorrow. I used the perspex scratch repair kit to remove a few scratches on the cabinet doors, sustained on the last but most difficult section, it seems to have done the trick. Once that is finished I can get the three Carlisle truck DVDs edited. I've looked at the weather again for filming next week, changing a bit but still looking good for a few locations but not the North East. So more shots from Carlisle on Friday.

Today was the day went almost to plan with cloudless skies as promised which looked ready to continue through sunset and another cold night ahead. I got  up about 5.30 had breakfast and pottered up the M6 passing 6 wide loads spread out through the journey each with their own little tailback. I filled up at ASDA and had a sausage butty and cuppa at their cafe then parked up near the road maintenance yard the other side of the M6. It was a while before the sun was up enough to get half decent shots with the video camera, when it did the first thing I noticed was that the volume of cars was greater than usual, this I understand was due to winter sales, orange Friday or something from America. Anyway it was a nuisance rather than a problem and as the day went on the sun and light weren't that far short of spring conditions and I managed to accumulate three hours or so of film which will get edited once I've finished the Bus Spot Ultra Edinburgh. I met one of our friends while filming and got an update on local buses and lorries, yes there are other people who appreciate both types of transport. Just to whet your appetites here are some shots I took while bound up in gloves, scarf, hat and two pairs of thick socks!

Well hard to believe isn't it but another complete 24 hours of rain, at this rate the floods will be back but the sky was getting brighter and the light was quite reasonable this afternoon when I popped the post to the shop and the rest of the time I've been working on the latest Bus Spot ultra Edinburgh plus I've been running off more cine through the scanner. Overfull reels are a pain and with this little machine which has little power in it it might turn out better to use a projector to take up the rewind as on its own it can't cut through butter. I'll do a bit of experimenting when I'm not up to my eyes. The DVD orders are coming in fast again today, if I can get them out as sing;es I can get them stamped up in advance even if I'm out for the day. Tomorrow it will be cold but dry and 100% sunny up in Carlisle according to the BBC, fingers crossed they are right and I'll scoop up a lot of lorries at one of my favourite spots and stop off for a brew at the Penrith garden centre on the way back down.

I struggled with the archive sections today, nothing seemed to go right and at least 10 spam phone calls always at the most inopportune times. Putting them on the blocked list seems to do little to stop it. Perhaps the candidates for the forthcoming election could take on a campaign to get the Philippines government and our BT to take some action as that is where 99% of scams now originate.  That should be helpful to everyone and a vote winner for someone out there. My can could do with a good wash and clean, a weekend job if it stays fine Saturday. A couple of household jobs I'd like to do, shelves for the small bedroom and painting the small area of grey in the kitchen which is looking a bit tatty. Mandy has arrived safely in Ireland with her new car, we got the UK tax bill for the house in Ireland its £2.40 this year a lot more than the 20p last year ( the tax is actually paid in the ROI). The registration docs for the new car arrived, I see the new one is about 2 or 3 years old, no wonder they had one so quick, glad to shift it or what, I'll mention the dusty interior and plastic not pulled off the trims inside as well, perhaps get a valet out of it. So with Edinburgh on our minds, hope to get the DVD done by Sunday if I can.

We have been getting Mandys car packed ready for its first long journey, this time to Ireland to see our friends there, inspect our house and sort out business matters. The weather has been awful, it hasn't stopped raining all day. Lots of DVD orders , all getting turned round within 24hours. The digital downloads are starting to pick up, they make life much easier for us, if only I had a magic wand to put all the back catalogue on. We I've added a lots of photos and documents to the Spencer tree on Ancestry and broken through a few old barriers and pushing back to the 15thC in Sussex and Kent. I've almost emptied another bankers box full of 'rubbish', well its just two into one with a few bits in the bin but getting there. The perils of a spec of dust on the scanner became apparant, it may be that I need to inspect the tiny lens each time I use it, the air dust blower soon shifts, just a pain redoing a reel, even 200' can take two hours or more if very full on the reel. The standard has remained remarkable and I did start trying to find workarounds on the net for 400' reels but despite earlier mentions it seems to have faded to splitting into two sections to process. This only involves one join and could be done on the nearest existing splice, these are every 50' minimun. I'm still looking daily at the weather for a clearance and a chance to get out filming. Here are some shots on a digitised disc I found in the 'rubbish' box!