Workshop in this weather..?

Summer of 76, I was in my reckless youth then, and a group of us did the Lyke Wake Walk on the North York Moors, a walk of some 40 odd miles across the moors to be completed inside 24 hours. It was absolutely scorching, we were drenched in sweat when the sun came up at 4.00 am, we started early hoping it would be a little cooler no such luck. 76 was a scorcher of a year and yes we completed the walk having to skirt round areas on fire where the peat was burning underground.

Dave W

"Those in the UK just think 'Summer of 76'" ...

and the winter of '47!! For those too young to have been around, we froze for about 12 weeks and had 10' snow drifts in Cornwall!! and rationing and a fuel shortage as well ... ah! the good old days!

rgds

Bill

I was around for the winter of 47 but don’t remember it having been born in 46, remember my parents would recall the tales of hardship during that icy winter.

Dave W

Regarding the winter of '47 ( way before I was born I hasten to add!) go to Youtube and search for the British Transport film 'Snowdrift at Bleath Gill'.YI first showed this to the school railway society as a 16mm film borrowed from the British Transport Film Library more than 50 years ago.It is still great!

Nick

Excellent, did you see that one of the commentators was Derek Guyler! "I'll get you Blakey!"

And while on the subject of memorable winters -

1963 when with my brothers and sisters we created a superb slide around a corner of the path that surrounded our house - full speed and then almost on one elbow as we went round the corner - unfortunately this was the corner where patients came in through the gate leading to my father's GP surgery.....!

After the first casualty we all got belted and the slide was salted!

Andmuch later on in 1982 when my flatmate at uni came back from Christmas to find that while his car (1963 mini) ould start it was frozen to the ground and stalled every time you tried to move it!

The '47' Winter film footage was Talking Pictures TV a while back. Not around that year, but the 62/63 winter remains in my memory.

'76' was a fair experience for me, being at Gatwick and dealing with the issues of reduced Aircraft Performance due to the higher temperatures towards the end of June into July. The BAC 1-11s had to carry Demin Water and pumps to the Channel Islands for use on the return flight. Restricted Take off Weights were imposed on HPR Dart Heralds even !. Looking back on it these days, it was really an enjoyable challenge. Love the heat.

back in the big freeze of the early 60s I was at secondary school. Right down one side was a fairly steeply sloping path, so we made a very long, fast slide. Then along comes one of the physics teachers, not to close it down but to ask if he can have a go! Happy days indeed.

Edited By duncan webster on 04/07/2018 18:44:36

**LINK**

7 1/2 minutes of steam and snow in ‘63.

Would the UK cope, with weather like that, in these days?

One of my jobs in ‘76 was to measure the flow of the river so that we did not pump it dry, for process water in the works. It got close.

Born in 1943 so don't remember 1947 although my parents did have some photos of it. Do remember another winter a few years later which seemed to last for weeks on end - it wasn't the 62/63 winter - when we used to frequently go sledging. I suspect I must have been around 9 or 10 so 1952 or 1953. 8 seems a bit young to be allowed out sledging, but I do have a suspicion that 1951 was a bad winter.

1962/63 I was working as a GPO linesman on top of the Pennines. The overriding memory was of the cold, and the inaccessible side roads. Not much fun in an unheated minivan. Nor was it much fun sliding downhill out of control.

1976 was the year my elder son was born, so we delayed our holiday in a hired caravan until 2 weeks after the fine weather broke!

Duncan, I was at secondary school in the late '50's, and like you, some of us created a long slide down the middle of the boys playground. The problem was that the slide ended where it came up against the external wall of a stone built corridor running along the bottom of the playground. I have a vague memory of someone changing their appearance by failing to stop early enough!

NDIY asks would we cope today with the 1962/63 weather. Answer is that whereas in '62/63 it was everyone for him (or her?) self, and if you got stuck, then better get the shovel out because you were on your own. Today, we wouldn't be allowed out, the Police would simply close all the roads.

This ties into another thread. winter of 62/'63 a colleague and I were on shift Boxing Day. Picked him up at Hounslow West on my new'ish Ariel Golden Arrow and headed out to Heathrow. All went reasonably well until we came to Henleys Corner roundabout where the previous day's traffic had rutted the snow which had then frozen solid overnight. Seems he wasn't a habitual pillion passenger and when we got to the office they sent him to the VIP lounge for a medicinal brandy because he was literally 'green round the gills' First (and last) time I saw someone looking like that.

Winter of '82 have a pic of my young daughter standing on top of my parents garage, a good 12ft high and completely buried. Snow-drifts in our part of W.Wales were so deep the snow-ploughs could not get through and JCBs had to reduce the drifts first. Power was off for 10days.
DaveD

Currently my workshop is being used as a paint shop for our new doors, with the current weather the paint is drying at an amazing pace even with the door open (too fast really), brings a whole new meaning to the old saying of “like watching paint dry”.😳

I was too young to actually remember the winter of 1947.

In the 1962/3 winter I was into my Apprenticeship and travelling to work by train (BR Apprentice free travel) which was quite an experience, my Father travelled about 15 miles each way to his work on a motorbike, nuff said!

I think we had more snow in the winters of the 60s than in some of the later decades.

1976 what a great summer that was with seemingly endless hot sunny days, that was also the year I met my Wife!

Edited By V8Eng on 04/07/2018 21:41:20

In the summer of 1976 I took my A levels. After that, while waiting to go to Aston to study Electrical Engineering & Electronics, I worked at the Candy Tile factory in Heathfield, Devon (It's now British Ceramic Tiles and the largest tile factory in the UK). Then there were two conveyor belt kilns, Bisque firing and Glaze firing. In between the kilns were all the workers pressing the clay, putting them on cranks, taking cooked biscuit off the cranks, printing and glazing them, putting them on glaze cranks, taking the finished tiles off those, packing them. Sorting first's second's and scrap at several stages. Basically working their cotton socks off between two bloody great 100 yard long kilns.

The entire workforce had a vote and decided to work from 06:00 to 14:00 without a break, rather than 08:00 to 16:30 with a half hour lunch. It was still bloody hot, but at least fewer people fainted...

A bit late to the party on this thread, Workshop is a single flat roof garage. A couple of years back when I was off work, I insulated the ceiling and metal up and over door with foil faced Celotex insulation. Now the coolest place in the house. Shame I haven't got time for any time in there though.

Mark it seems I was just across the road from you in '76 working as a fitter at W. L. Vallance. I have to remember the year well as it was when I got married!!!!!!! Workshop at the moment (well before the rains came) just crept to 26 I am so glad I put the insulation in the roof. My 4000 gallon pond was up to 25. Anyone for boiled Koi

Lionel

Small world! I was living in Ashburton and went to school at Newton Abbot Grammer.

I was living at Bovey and went to school in Ashburton. It is indeed a small world.

Lionel

... I insulated the ceiling and metal up and over door with foil faced Celotex insulation. Now the coolest place in the house. ...

​Same here, all walls, ceiling space, roll up door & entry door, walls boarded up with 12mm OSB & infilled with same Celotex between studding, cooler than outside at the moment & maintains a temp of approx + 6 - 8 * in winter when temp. dropped to -2*.

George.

Just taken the water temperature in my Koi pond, currently reading 24 degrees, it takes an awful lot of sunlight to raise 3,000 gallons to that temperature. If I wasn’t feeling so lazy I could get out my calculator and work out how much energy is needed to raise 3,000 gallons by one degree, it’s too hot to think straight at the moment, very humid as well we have had a yellow weather warning for imminent thunderstorms here in East Sussex, feels like one is brewing, at least I might not have to water the garden this evening as a bonus.

Dave W

From memory "I think" it takes 8.33 BTU,s to raise 1 gallon of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit so to raise 3000 gallons by 1 degree F one would assume 24,990 BTU,s. To raise 3000 gallons to 24C..? well lets say an awful lot of energy, its a good job we dont have to pay for sunlight Dave...

Out of interest Dave what water temp can the Koi tolerate, I have always assumed that they are a cold water species.

Edited By Ron Laden on 05/07/2018 15:36:55