Entretien

Day 2 of the 6 day shift cycle. Shift 4:00 till midday
Press - Mulder
Tiles made: - Demi Ronde 33 Noir 4000
Dry Tiles unstacked: Demi Ronde 33 Noir 4000

The empillage and depillage sections were closed today for maintenance. That meant that no-one could unstack our chain for the kiln. So when the chain was full we had to stop. That left an hour for cleaning up. I spent it on my knees grubbing about under machines and sweeping out stuff that hasn't seen the light of day since de Gaulle died.

More rain. misery. The weather forcast says sunny spells coming up in the next few days. I need it or my grapes will rot on the vine.

Back to normal

Day 1 of the 6 day shift cycle. Shift 4:00 till midday
Press - Mulder
Tiles made: Demi Ronde 33 Noir - 4000
Dry Tiles unstacked: Embout de Ventilation, BV/Paille/SL/Ochre/Cuivre

Nounours & Gege (Jayjay) came back today after 2 weeks holiday. Thank God. While they were away it has been hell. The mouleuse for the DTP broke. BROKE. A big chunk of the cast-iron casing fell off because some charley was running it with the clay too hard. So it was completely dismantled and sent back to Holland for repairs. In the meantime we had to use the STP to make the rives normally made with the DTP. It was hell - we don't know the STP so well, nor do our team's mechanic & sparky.
And because we were short staffed by everyone taking leave in August we had a bunch of new interimaires. SOme of them can cut it, but others are hopeless. Even the ones that aren't useless, it takes weeks/months to pick up all the little intricacies and quirks of the systems.
Laurent & I will be changing team in September. It's a promotion for Laurent and he asked if he can take me with him, which is very flattering.

My bust finger (see posts below) gave me a bit of gyp, but otherwise it wasn't a bad day. 4000 is OK given the 5 canges in colour we had and the press being badly set up at the start of the shift.

There is a notice on the board saying that because of decreased production in the accessories dept (that is, us) The stockyard is getting dangerously low on accessories. This could lead to sales of regular tiles being cancelled because there are no ridge/edge tiles to go with them. Our dept now has priority on all repairs and personnel.

All these tomatoes

August has been a wash-out. After a fantastic July, with heatwaves and continuous sunshine, the last month has been grey, wet and cold.
Nevertheless, the garden thrives and needs constant mowing. And the tomatoes! Cherry tomatoes coming out of our ears and these enormous "coeur de boeuf" beasts that taste amazing. Lots of juicy flesh and not much empty pip area.

Ow! Ow!

Last night, after a few too many glasses of wine I tried to unjam the chain on my son's bike. I had already done this once earlier in the day, using tools, but in my "relaxed" state I just grabbed the chain and pulled.
It came free and sliced thrugh the top of my finger and nail.
The bike was flung across the barn & I went back into the house for some more cabernet sauvignon and a plaster.

Stop Sylvia Browne

Robert Lancaster, who has been so successful with his website to stop the fraudulent Dr. Kaz deMille-Jacobsen (she claimed to have survived the collopase of the North Tower of the WTC and was then touring churches around the world telling of her "miracles") has launched a new campaign and website:

Sylvia Browne, well known in the USA where she appears regularly on the Montel Williams show and Larry King Live, claims to be psychic.

According to her website (I won't link to it, you can google it if you wish):

Sylvia Browne is the #1 New York Times best-selling author and world-famous psychic who appears regularly on the Montel Williams Show and Larry King Live, as well as making countless other media and public appearances. She is also the president of the Sylvia Browne Corporation, and founder of her church, the Society of Novus Spirit - which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2006.

Sylvia is a Spiritual, soul-level healer. She reaches into your soul, washes out the pain, repairs the damage, then gives you the courage and direction to continue your journey through life. Everything Sylvia does is by the grace of God.

When Sylvia Browne does a phone reading for you (at $750 a pop) she:

reaches into your soul, washes out the pain, repairs the damage, then gives you the courage and direction to continue your journey through life. Everything Sylvia does is by the grace of God

Unhappily, Sylvia Browne has made some blunders live on TV. She said that the West Virginia miners were alive, when that tragedy was unfolding while she was on air.
Sylvia Browne also told a women in the audience on Montel that her boyfriend's body would never be found because it was "in water". When the woman then siad that he boyfriend was a fireman who had disappeared in the WTC disaster on 9/11, Sylvia Browne had to backpedal furiously.

Rob's new site is still under development but check it out often as it grows. If you have any vid clips or links to Sylvia Browne's pathetic attempts to make people think she has psychic abilities, contact Rob through his stopkaz site.

The Meshoui

Many villages around here have an annual fete or meal. The village of Massignac has an annual Meshoui (pronounced "Mesh-oo-wee") Lamb and young goat spit-roasted. Held outdoors in lovely summer weather, some 400 people have a communal meal.
It is excellent.