Who needs to be able to talk when you have eyes that say "pwease daddy?"
Alex has his first ride in a shopping trolley in the toddler seat....and he's 4 days off of 6 months old. He loved it, because he got to see the colours on the shelves!
He was giggling ll the way around the store. Bless.
For some reason I need to go back and buy all the cuddly toys for him...His....eyes.....told.....me.....to....do.....it......
The jury is out, but this could be Chris' first 100. I would put money on it.
I'm pretty darn proud of her!
The right hand diagram shows one low shot that appears to be out of the 10 ring, but the ammo we use cuts avery smooth hole and can be misleading. Sometimes the hole will not even touch the ring due to the smooth hole cutting ammo, yet still "gauge" as in. After checking this particular hole with an optic gauge it appears to actually be touching the ten ring, and therefore counts as "in".
So until the markers score it, this is a 100/100. We'll know for sure in a few weeks/months!
I've had a few days off of work this week as I have been feeling rougher than industrial grade sandpaper. My nose is now leaking worse than a New Orleans levi, and my head is fuzzier than a 2 penny chew found stuck behind the sofa....
Any way, to get some fresh air to try clear my head, we went for a walk (that is Chris, Alex and me). The lake was the obvious destination, so armed with stale bread we went off to feed the geese.
Click on the above photo and check out "The Lake" set of photos.
My head was less fuzzy by the end of the stroll, but a day later and I still feel like poop. I think I've cleared the major chunk of it, so now I am recovering and starting to feel a bit better.
Another stroll with Alex and Chris today should help a bit more - hopefully enough to face work tomorrow - A backlog of work on my mind isn't going to help!
It annoys me when individuals do the old "I may have the flu, but I can still work" thing. They have no respect for others. I suffered from some pretty serious illness a few years back, and that made me pick up whatever was around very easily. I still suffer today, so I don't take kindly to these people who bring illness into the workplace. Heros? -NO, idiots, YES.
Even worse are companies that stop sick leave because individuals have ruined it for everyone else by milking the system. In this day and age there are not many people who can take unpaid leave or SSP leave when they are ill, which basically forces them to work through an illness (and spread it). My mate has been going to work with the flu for the last week - God knows how many people have it now! How does that help anyone? He has no choice in the matter.
I work in aviation, and with a fuzzy cold remedy influenced head, I don't want to think what mistakes I could make if I went in. Like I said, it doesn't make you a hero, it makes you an idiot.
Finally the WW1 1917 Lee Enfield crossover No.1 MkIII(*) has passed it's tests and has become MY WW1 1917 Lee Enfield crossover No.1 MkIII(*).
This is my Christmas present from Chris and Alex. I've wanted one of these for a long time now, and the recent open day shoots at the NRA just added to that desire.
If you've ever shot one, then you'll understand - if not, then I'll try to explain. It is a piece of history, and this one saw trench action. When you bring this gun up to aim and fire, you feel very insignificant, as the history envelops you. It is a humbling experience and not a "let's go shoot stuff and pretend we are soldiers" type rubbish.
Guns kill, and this one is more than likely to have some blood in its history. Just holding this makes me think of all of the people who gave their lives, and still give their lives for peace - but the First World War and its bloody battles are bought that little bit closer when you fire an Enfield No.1 MkIII.
It's not so much "Yee Haw!!!!" as it is "Bloody Hell, what were they thinking..?"
I have to say I've been looking forward to seeing JT and her family for some time now. We don't get to see each other very often but at least we blog in contact (*grin!*).
Blue dolphin....I found it in the garden. You'll know ;-)
20:39 - NRA (UK) Open day and the 1 1/4" elephant gun
Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!
Ouch!
This has to be the most amazing firearm that I have ever fired.
It was a great NRA open day....but far to foggy for any long range shooting at the start of the day....so we drifted (Ed, Chris and myself) to the black powder shotgun area. Whilst waiting to try out some of these vintage guns, I heard...then spotted this beastie...
This beast is an 1874 elephant gun. It takes more powder than 4 large shot guns and places it in one load. It then takes 4oz of lead shot and packs it tight.
Stand tight, pull the trigger and try to stay upright....
It is a 1 1/4" bore - which in modern terms puts it at over 2 1/2 times the size of an Army anti-material (anti vehicle) sniper rifle....and well over 3x the size of the infamous 357 Magnum ammunition.
If you've ever heard of a 303 Lee Enfield...thats around 4x smaller than this elephant gun....
I was lucky enough to fire it 4 times. 3 times with a full load.... The first shot was "only" with a 3/4 load...and it still kicked worse than anything I have ever fired! Not many people can lay claim to have fired a full load elephant gun like this.
I am proud to say that I was one of three allowed to use this with the full shot load (only because I had handled the previous lower load and had come back for more...). Several other people shot it with reduced loads, and some were even turned away due to inexperience with guns. To give you an idea of the power it has and the respect it requires: The club that owns it hasn't ever shot it, and the owner has never shot it - it was too daunting for them. This is it's first time since the 1800's. The owner, although he doesn't shoot it, is good enough to loan it to the club.
An NRA shotgun coach shot it with a 3/4 load of lead and then went up to the full load, and said it was over double the kick...and it almost took him over backwards. He said it would be best if I didn't go to a full load.....but then again I had earlier been warned away from even using it on a 3/4 load, which I handled pretty well. Heck - Lots of the shotgun guys said to not even try it, because it is just right for sending you to hospital with more collar bone bits than intended...
Well...I'm pretty big, and my stance was good and tight. Yes, it kicked like nothing on earth, and you have to hang on for your life - but if you hold it right it doesn't kick or punch, but it pushes. Imagine someone thumping you really hard.....now imagine the same force, but without the punch....imagine it as a push. It doesn't hurt so much. So if you hold it right, you'll feel an immense kick - but as a push, not a punch.
A couple of my friends (Adrian, Rebecca and Richard "Raak" also tried it out, and they loved it as well (after flying backwards as they fired it....all being smaller than me - see, being weighty has an advantage!!!)
You can see where most of my fun was had, but we also tried the military rifles (modern and vintage), and the Western revolvers and gallery rifles. This was The first time with anything bigger than a .22 for Chris....and she loved it.
Here is a shot of one of the local Herons....just before it participated in the local take away "Goldfish".
Quite wonderful to see such a magnificent bird from your own window...and also quite good to know they are around to share the blame of the missing fish....
Oh dear....We have no idea where this flapping gold morsel came from, but Spice certainly enjoyed it.
All of it.
Flippers and all.
I can only apologise to who ever owned this fish. There are a heck of a lot of cats in the local area, so you can't really blame the cat. With so many cats around (and the Herons...) you really need to put mesh on your ponds.
I've just been up in the loft and found this. It's about the size of two soccer balls...so not a small one...
It looks oldish...and there are a couple of dead waspies up there, but I don't know about these things.
I do know that poking it with a short stick ISN'T the recommended way to check if it is active...and this goes double because to get away from it I have to get from one side of the loft to the other, then drop down onto a free standing ladder....which is not good for a quick get away.
A well, a trip to the DIY store should fix the problem....or I call the council on Monday.
Today I took part in my first ARPC team shoot at Worplesdon. We managed a very respectable 3rd. I averaged 95.5, which was alright, but I know I can do better.
I did manage to win my division in the Surrey 50m though, which is a result.
