Industrial fitting

The day starts with a site survey by a company that does screw in foundations. This might be how I mount the next load of solar panels. The rain has started and I leave the surveyor to his unpleasant task.

Nick and I load up the van with tools and head over to Kerry’s unit in Tweedbank. She’s out delivering, giving us the space to properly fit the condensing hood.

The hardest bit is finding solid timber to screw into. Nick uses a combination of builders logic, tapping with a hammer, and trial and error to find two joists running in the required area.

He drills two rows of four holes in the hood and we prop it in place. Only one of the eight screws doesn’t bite into wood on the first attempt - and it does when he puts it in at an angle.

All done and dusted by midday, we stop in Gala for lunch at Cafe Recharge. The food is all donated and you pay what you can afford. A really good idea, and not a bad lunch.

The weather is hideous and just keeps getting worse. I drive through deep puddles and darkness to Penicuik. There, I jump the bus to Edinburgh where I’m hosting Tim Ottinger presenting at the monthly branch BCS meeting.

It’s a great presentation, with a small but engaged audience. The pizzas arrive on time - and there’s some left over too. We have a swift 80’ at The Doctors before heading for the bus. It’s still raining, but not as hard, and some of the big puddles have begun to drain.