The Adlington Post

Last Sunday I went for a drive amongst detritus of the annual inorganic collection...finds included a sleeping bag (new), a pair of woman's hiking boots (good condition), an oil can (with oil), and a couple of old wooden planes - I will refurbish the tools at the Men's Shed North Shore. See: www.mensshednorthshore.org.nz and my Shed blog: www.shedyarns.blogspot.co.nz  

Last week Men's Shed North Shore member Bob Stirk gave us a demonstration of vacuum-forming veneer. This is a process (on a much larger scale) used to make the Americas Cup boats. Bob uses pieces of curved veneer and laminated wood to make some very interesting furniture.   Bob kindly gave me a piece of this laminate to make some jewellery with. See more photos on my Men's Shed blog www.shedyarns.blogspot.co.nz

The annual inorganic collection is on at present here on the North Shore, maybe for the last time if the whingers about the collection "lowering the tone" of their neighbourhoods get their way. Three of my more interesting finds last Sunday were a filter mask, a cast iron pot - great for the campfire, and a bevy of broken Barbies. The latter demonstrate the fate of most consumer products - fervently desired, soon trashed, and then dumped. I haven't found any iPhones in the trash - yet....... While I was going through a pile of trash a Japanese TV crew came along & interviewed me re the inorganic collection & the reason for my collecting junk: "Is it part of your culture to pick up what other people have thrown away?"......I asked them to send me the link for the programme, but won't hold my breath.....

Geoff (right) is giving Constantin some help with building a 3D printer at the North Shore Men's Shed...see more pix at www.shedyarns.blogspot.co.nz

Last week I spent the day with the boys at the Whangarei Community Mens Shed. They have just bought the old railway goods station for one dollar from the local council, & are in the process of moving their equipment over from their old shared premises at the steam engine heritage centre. The station has been derelict for 15 years and has been knocked around by kids with nothing better to do. The shed members have some serious working bees ahead of them, & I will go up whenever I can to give a hand - so stay tuned for progress reports.... The chairman is Mike Mansell: mikeandrosie@clear.net.nz

On my way up to Waipu last week I spotted a dead male pheasant at the side of the road. I stopped and went back to check him out - altho he was stiff, he had not been dead long, as he smelled fresh. The body was intact, tho his neck was broken. In the kitchen I gutted the bird, removed the tail feathers to give away, then poured boiling water over the bird as I plucked it - this way the feathers come out easily. My experience with pheasant is that the flesh can be a bit tough, so I mashed up 6 kiwi fruit & squeezed the juice out of a large grapefruit to make a marinade. I filled the body cavity with the mixture, placed the bird into a plastic bag & poured the rest of the mix in on top. This I placed in the refridgerator & left for four days. To roast the bird I placed it into a baking dish with some oil (still filled with fruit), covered the dish, & cooked it slowly for 80 minutes at 160-170 F. The juices and the rest of the marinade made a delicious gravy. The mea...