Imprisonment - Day 84

Imprisonment - Day eighty four
Saturday 13th June 2020

Cars - 8
Motorbikes - 0
Bikes - 1
Dog walkers - 1
Walkers - 2
Runners - 0
Horses - 0
Horse walkers - 0
Molehills - 0
Cycling temperature - 13.1c

I thought it was September when I woke and saw a damp misty morning. Still at least it was still warm and of course as it's the weekend I saw Crossover Man but only once.

When we got back from South Africa Ros ordered a glass teapot with an infuser like the one we used during one of our afternoon teas. It finally arrived today but unfortunately Ros is not having much success as the first one I ordered from China off eBay didn't arrive and we got our money back. This second one was not right as she ordered an 800ml and received a 600ml. So she's got in touch with Amazon and is waiting to hear back from them. I'm sure she'll battle on until she gets what she wants.

I had a more leisurely morning and didn't start work on the Bentley until 10.30. I normally start at nine and finish at six. I finally settled on a lay out for the switch panel and kept double checking that I'd got a place for each switch light and gauge as I didn't want to cut it out and find I'd missed a space for something and I'd have to start all over again. All the electronic nick nacks are things that I have added over the years to help with our long distance trips. They include a Battery Brain which cuts out the electrics before the battery becomes completely discharged. A gauge which displays the condition of the battery in amps. A tyre pressure monitoring system which shows the tyre pressure of all four tyres and beeps if they fall outside a pre set parameter. LED panel lights for the dashboard which are hidden nicely out of sight. Rear hazard warning lights which are a real necessity when we overheat going up steep mountain passes and have to stop. I also have a klaxon horn but have fitted modern twin car horns after an incident where a French lady started back into us in the South of France and did not hear our hooting the klaxon. There is also a digital temperature gauge as the Bentley didn't even have an analogue one. As I said I adapted a bicycle speedo as an accurate speed is needed especially with speed cameras. It also gives more accurate mileage information. There is also wiring for the satnav and finally an twelve to two forty volt inverter which increases the battery power to mains power for charging my my toothbrush.

The switch panel was finished by lunchtime with holes drilled and ready to fit. I was going to cover it in matching blue leather but the leather was too thick for such a small item so I used some thinner black leather cloth and his actually helps to hide the panel in the darkness of the lower dashboard. Wiring it all up after lunch was fun as some wires had fallen off and I had to retrace their origin. Whilst doing this I increased the length of some wires so they would be more accessible in the future. I also replaced some of the remaining screw block connectors with a mixture of Wago and Quick Splice connectors. These connectors are great as they join the wires tightly and a can be done up or undone many times by the flick of a switch. I'm glad to say by close of play the switch panel was in place all wired up and more importantly it was all working. Previously I have used cable ties to tie back the cables behind the panel. The problem with these is if you need to get to the wires you need to cut the ties so I have used lengths of Velcro which can be removed at will and reused. I stuck the wooly side to the car and need to let the Timebond fully dry before I pin back the wires which I will do tomorrow. I will also finish tidying up the wiring in other parts of the dashboard and hand paint round the door arches.