Picnic No1

 Weather forecast predicting Wind 11mph. Precipitation 30% and Temperature 14 degrees. A picnic had been planned so a picnic it shall have to be. We're gonna be heading for bandit country....overt'  border in the County of Lancaster. For it's told on them there hills above the village of Wycoller is 'The Atom' one of a series of four Panopticons. (Modern sculptures at view points across the county.) This one built in 2006. Apparently it once had huge polished steel ball in the centre which is no longer present due to vandalism. Hey ho...sign of the times we now live in. 

O.S. Map reference SD9363239290 (all numeric format 393633 439290

Click here Wiki MiniAtlas

The Wycoller area was known to have had settlements as far back as 1000BC.  Neat!

Picnic fare consisted of - Tongue in white rolls with lashings of Belgium mustard, Hard boiled eggs, mini Coronation chicken pies, celery sticks, crisps and a salad assortment. Brew today - Loose leaf tea - Twinings Breakfast Blend. 

The wind had certainly picked up by the time we arrived in the car park. Coats on and zipped up a look through the different windows of The Atom was a necessity. A 30 second walk that's all it was to be inside The Atom. Didn't take long before Mrs C was heading back to the car.......blown to bit's and ready for that cuppa hot Twinings, get that kettle on our Albert. The open rear hatch and boot area now having been reversed under a large tree was a good shelter from the wind for the spyder stove and it took no time to get a boil up, add 2 spoons of loose leaf and then an extra for the kettle (pot) 

By the time the brew was infused and Mrs C had butter'd rolls and plated up the rain was approaching. Hahahah today no worries, there we sat eating our picnic and enjoying the weather looking out into a drizzly Lancashire from the comfort of a warm motor car.

On't way home calling at Woodbank Garden Centre. Harden Road. Harden. we met Elvis. Seemed happy enough flying amongst all the old lawnmowers fixing in the ceiling and pinching feed from a bin. Even said 'Hello'. 

Mission accomplished. 'Let's picnic like it's 1969' is now reality. Look forward to hearing about your picnic trips.

Till next time safe adventures. Alb

 

Getting picnic ready Part 2

 Greetings. Here's part 2 of the project to make my Military Boiling Vessel picnic ready. As discussed on the previous blog page the 24vDC power requirement coupled with a potential power draw of 50 amps would certainly be making conventional auto wiring rather warm at the very least. I did discuss searching for a 12vDC solution. Read on to discover what's been arriving at the workshop from overseas during the last few weeks.

First through the letterbox a 12v DC immersion heater. This hopefully will fit into the hole that the tea tap has occupied for the last 40 years. I wasn't expecting the chinese immersion heater to have the same fixing threads as the british made boiling vessel tap but actually eyeballing the 2 x parts would give a better indication of the plan of action. The immersion heater has a M16x1.5mm thread pitch. The boiling vessel has a slightly larger 3/4"x16 UNF thread. Luckily the immersion heater is smaller and can be inserted into the vacated tap hole. Normally an adapter would be made that had threads internal and external to match the pair.

Hum.....the threads are not a million miles from each other and any adapter would have very thin walls. I'm thinking that cutting the second thread would be impossible due to the wall thickness left after created the first. Now what Albert?

After some thought I have a plan. I did say I'd set out on this mission with no guarantee of success. Don't want to be tripping at the first hurdle though do we.

What I'll do is turn an external piece and an internal piece separately that once accurately sized hopefully slip one inside another. I can maybe then solder the 2 x together.?? Sounds gentle enough to me.......

With this in mind I've purchased the relevant taps and dies for cutting the threads and a bag of brass nuts that are already threaded M16x1.5mm which will save me half a job and also provide half the brass I need too. 

That's it for now peeps. Thanks for tuning in...

Getting picnic ready Part 1

 Hopefully most of the forthcoming picnic outings in 2026 will be on a motorsickle.  Travelling light with little equipment. (Bread, butter and potted meat) Proper outback/wilderness stuff. But...I will begrudgingly make the effort to use 4 wheels now and again. This will be a necessity when moving heavy weight picnic hardware. (Sorry - all on the top secret list at the moment)

However - Let me take this opportunity whilst the weather is not picnic friendly to share with you my last years chrimbo present from Santa. How does he know what I really neeeeeed.??? It needs getting picnic ready......

An M.B.V. This fascinating grey box is a Military Boiling Vessel. Rare as hens teeth. These were fitted in British tanks and armoured vehicles after WW2 and still are right up to present day. A clever idea that sprung from an unfortunate incident in Normandy during WW2 The blighty tank crews had vacated their vehicles to brew a cuppa and have a bacon sandwich. Little did they know that a German Tiger had seen their lack of attention and preparation. Sitting ducks they were. Huge losses occurred. I've pasted a link to a detailed account at the end of this page, hopefully you'll get that far.

So, I've got the legendary boiling vessel complete with tap for filling a tea mug. Did take the opportunity to purchase from a different seller the electrical lead complete with military amphenol plugs to enable connection to any passing Chieftain I may encounter. Ok, so you spotted it needs 24v DC and can draw 50amps. when in the armoured vehicle.  Holy-moly!!!! Not likely to be plugging this war ready kit into the Nissan then!!!!

As always I'm writing before having succeeded to get it even warm, but where's the excitment if you know the end chapter? I've 3 x options as far as I can tell....Plug it to a 12v DC slave battery and see if it will warm up, although current draw on 12v will be huge. Second option, find a 24v DC slave battery. Third option is somehow convert to a 12v DC heating element and still run from a slave battery.  Whilst I'm studying options (obviously for little expenditure) I'll get the inside a bit more up to a food cooking standard, and look out for any batteries I can use.

Link below to the Battle of Villiers Bocage and it's role in the invention of the Military Boiling Vessel

Perfecting the art of brewing tea

Press enter or click to view image in full The Centurion design drew from the British Army’s experiences in North Africa. It went on to become one of the most ubiquitous main battle tanks, serving almost everywhere the British had any influence: Iraq, India and South Africa, to name a few countriesThe tank came fitted with a boiler vessel, or bivvie—a cuboid kettle powered by the tank’s electrics. The unit became an essential subsystem for all British Army armor. Today the Electrothermal-made “Cooking/Boiling Vessel FV706656" is fitted to all the Army’s main fighting vehiclesThe basic concept of the boiling vessel has not changed since the 1950s. The large container quickly boils and maintains the heat of a gallon of water for drinking, washing and heating tinned and retort rations.

Keep checking in for picnic news and progress report on the Military Boiling Vessel.

 Welcome to 'Let's picnic like it's 1969' 

The '60s, a period in time when the fastest car on the road was the Morris Minor. Outings to the seaside were a biggest adventure ever and stopping 'en route' at the side of the road for a tomato sandwich made with buttered thick white sliced was customary. 

I'm here to encourage not only remembering that golden age but give practical advise on making this possible again. Join me social historian and vintafake engineer Albert Crackleport through the jottings of this blog and be part of  the birth of a new movement that will shake the very core of todays social lifestyle. Of course I'll be expecting you to participate too......(warning - once experienced though there will be no going back!!!!)

As your scribe I will endeavour to find scenic roadside locations worthy of any travel guide. I'll then record and let you know the O.S. map reference to pass on to fellow picnicers. 

Watch out for update......