Author: Phil Lengthorn

Operation Cutty Sark Day 12

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

Firstly I would just like to reiterate how thankful I am of my little sister for the gift of the Airfix model of The Cutty Sark. Never before have I had soooo much fun! It has taken all my willpower to avoid smashing up the frigging thing and throwing it in the bin!

Day 12 has progressed to the completion of stage 10 of 19. Stage 10 brought the same problems: stupidly silly small %#€$#@ pieces, ridiculously baffling %#€$#@ instructions and increasingly %#€$#@ troublesome painting….

This month’s project has definitely tested my patience. On first sight it may actually seem as though I’ve not done much since the last post, but look closely and you should see more rubbish cluttering up the deck, how the sailors in the 1860s managed to avoid falling over all the crap I’ll never know….

The actual Cutty Sark is due to reopen on 26th April in time for the extra tourists the Olympics will bring. This in only 4 years after the fire that destroyed it in May 2007, thanks, in part, to a £3.3m gift from an Israeli shipping magnate, although I would be amazed if they have had the same problems I have had to deal with.

The Cutty Sark Trust will be pleased to hear that I will be holding off my relaunch until the end of April to avoid any possible media clash. At the moment I am in negotiations with various personalities that have shown an interest in conducting the relaunch. Although I can share the names of some who haven’t made it through the first round of negotiations: Jimmy Saville, failed to attend meeting; The Queen, apparently she’s too busy this year; Lawrence my neighbour, mowing the lawn; President Mugabe, not feeling too well.

 

Boat Race via Twitter

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

Due to a rather eventful race I thought a blog dedicated to the Boat Race via Twitter was in order. All posts appeared on Twitter during what was, I think, one of the most entertaining races I can remember.

My first tweet about #theboatrace sums up what I always think….

https://twitter.com/#!/phillengthorn/status/188605244148695041

But then, thanks to Trenton, Twitter really came into its own….

https://twitter.com/#!/TweeterofWit/status/188619756331479040

https://twitter.com/#!/themiltonjones/status/188634185299279872

https://twitter.com/#!/uk_teacher/status/188624223223287808

https://twitter.com/#!/Agent_Rush/status/188619240901840897

https://twitter.com/#!/MirrorFootball/status/188619844596412416

And this probably sums up what everyone was thinking….

https://twitter.com/#!/TweeterofWit/status/188622921097424896

Overall an interesting afternoon watching #theboatrace, and thanks to Twitter a very entertaining one!

 

Operation Cutty Sark Day 6

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 3 Comments

Stage 9 of 19 is now complete. “You’re nearly halfway!” I hear you call. I know technically you would imagine that we are about halfway done, but having looked ahead in the instructions, you are wrong. Not only are there still 1000s of pieces to assemble (exaggeration I know), but it looks like I may actually need a PhD to complete this month’s project.

Problems occurred since last blog entry: stupidly small pieces, holes not big enough to fit pieces and badly moulded plastic pieces, to name but a few. Close-up of deck shows some very shoddy model building…

But I’m passed hoping it is going to be a work of art that will end up in Tate Modern or on the Fourth Plinth at Trafalgar Square. Although, having someone attempt to build The Cutty Sark whilst sat on the plinth could actually be quite entertaining, however it may not be for family viewing (I’ll drop Boris an email).

Stage 10 requires yet more small pieces to be added to deck before we look to assemble the masts and associated stuff. Not to forget loads more painting. This is how it looks at the moment…..I realise it looks much the same as a couple of days ago…..

I think I need a break from The #$@*$@* Cutty Sark!!!!

 

Operation Cutty Sark Day 4

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment

This isn’t going too well, it even prompted me to tweet…..

https://twitter.com/#!/phillengthorn/status/187515549704654848

Stages 2, 3 and 4 were small assemblies that needed to be made and then added later in the build. Only problem was that they all required assembling half a dozen ridiculously small parts. The assembly of these small sub-assemblies require either two people with freakily small fingers; or two miniature sized people of the Tom Thumb variety. Together with the fact that the instructions aren’t exactly clear as to what you should be sticky where you can probably guess that the assembly of said sub-assemblies didn’t go too well. The pieces are so small that they seem easier to stick to your fingers than any other piece of the model. After lots of swearing, a broken scalpel and aching back, stages 2, 3 and 4 are complete……

So 4 days down, I have even begun painting the odd bit. That’s another thing, why do airfix make the model out of shiny plastic? It is impossible to paint. The look I’m going for is the ‘just been risen from the seabed’ look.

The facts: 4/19 complete, 26 days to go…….I think I’m doing alright……

Operation Cutty Sark Day 1

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 1 Comment
Well here we go, April’s Project is about to start….

Thanks to my sister, build a model of The Cutty Sark. Let’s just remind ourselves what we’re aiming for:

Day 1 started off reasonably well, emptied box without too many problems, laid out contents and began looking through instruction booklet. That is when I realised that ‘Operation Cutty Sark’ may not be as easy as I first thought. Firstly, there are loads of bits, over 200 separate parts. Secondly, although the instruction booklet breaks it down into 19 separate stages, each stage requires loads of parts to be painted and assembled.

Assembly began and parts 1-5 went well, hull was glued together, with the help of a couple of pegs. But then I had to glue the pointy thing at the front on, which had to go through a small hole. But because of some sort of design fault (and definitely not the way I had assembled it) this required a bit of strategic plastic trimming….

But I managed to sort it. Day 1 complete, a total of ten pieces assembled. So after 1 day I’m probably just about on schedule…..

 

 

A-Z of New Music: A Reflection

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I’m pleased to say that I can tick off March’s Project as complete! I have managed to listen to 26 ‘new’ bands/artists over the past month, and just as impressively I have managed to blog about them each day. Due, in part, to friends suggesting new indie bands there was definitely an indie feel to the music. Although this did make me question what ‘indie’ actually is? Not mainstream? Independent? Do ‘indie’ bands need a sub-genre? Indie-pop, indie-rock, twee-indie? Even now I’m not entirely sure. All I know is that I’ve had the pleasure, and in some cases, the misfortune, to listen to a variety of music:

Only two bands got a cheer: Allo Darlin’ and Urbantramper. Both great finds, both forced me to buy albums off iTunes, and both on the list of bands to see live.

Ten bands got a thumbs up. Of these bands, Boy Mandeville and Louise and the Pins got the closest to a cheer. I’d definitely like to see Boy Mandeville live at some stage.

Six bands left me undecided. Mainly because they were a bit heavy on the rock or they were a bit the same as everything else around at the moment.

Four bands got a thumbs down for various different reasons: too boring, too much 80s funk, don’t mix jazz and hip-hop or just plain Yuck.

Only Four bands left me with head in hands. Probably due, in part, to the genre, but also the fact I may be getting old.

April’s Project requires me to build a 1:130 model of The Cutty Sark, but it least I will now have some new music to listen to whilst I’m painstakingly glueing!