Aldermaston Tools

We woke this morning to see a light sprinkling of snow on the Houdini glass and on peering out the porthole the towpath was dusted with a very thin white layer.  However the mercury didn’t appear to be low enough for the snow to settle.  Until a month ago we were running the Hurricane central heater 24/7 but subsequently discovered it wasn’t necessary to keep it running during the night.  The insulation inside Waiouru appears to be very efficient and we are able to sleep with just a 4 Tog duvet and no heating.  Last winter we were on NB Ufton and were cold under a 13 Tog duvet, plus had the heating running 24/7.  Ufton had single glaze windows rather than double glazed portholes, however I suspect the superior insulation on Waiouru is the critical factor.  Connecting the Hurricane ON/OFF control into the Empirbus system has also been an advantage as it’s given us the ability to have multiple locations inside Waiouru where we can control the heater.  One switch is beside the bed so it’s possible to poke a finger out from under the bed covers first thing in the morning and start the heater before subsequently rising to a warm cabin.

Today’s plan was to walk across the fields to the Sainsbury’s supermarket in Tadley for a loaf of fresh bread and some bacon.  The latter was required because Jan is contemplating ‘Bacon Butties” for dinner.  I had been hoping the combination of the recent lack of rain and falling temperatures would have firmed up the ground and this largely proved to be correct.  The planned return route utilised the A340 as I wanted to go to Aldermaston Tools and purchase a replacement 2.5mm HSS drill bit.  The smaller bits always seem to break!  I also find when I need a particular sized bit it’s the one I’ve recently broken.  Aldermaston Tools is one of the few places I found that sell individual bits at a reasonable price.

There were no issues with the walk and I’d started to warm up nicely quarter of the way into it.  However by the time I reached the Sainsbury’s it had once again started to snow, and it remained like that for the rest of the walk.  The circuit wasn’t very long and only took a couple of hours.

I recorded the last part of the route (red portion) on the gps as it is the new footpath beside the A340 between Aldermaston Village and Aldermaston Wharf.  This has now been uploaded to the Open Street Map (OSM).

After a hot shower back on Waiouru there was time to watch the rugby on BBC1 in the afternoon.