Engine Punk

Now that's what i call a voluptous tea pot Is this the most erotic teapot in the world? My sister thought so and, I have to admit, I think she may be on to something. I was partaking in an expedition to Trengwainton gardens near Penzance in Cornwall with my immediate family - Instant family? Just add tea! We asked for a pot of tea for three and got a very cheeky sauce pot, with this eye catching triple buttocked bottom to the pot. Marion couldn’t resist stroking it and out popped this genie.  Actually he’s another diner but he looks like one doesn’t he?

The self–publishing seminar at Falmouth Maritime Museum on went very well. It was organised by Paul Sullivan, Business Fellow Professional Writing at University college Falmouth , and Andy Thatcher of The Writing Centre, an online Cornish writing community. We met up beforehand at the café tables outside The Shed on the plaza opposite the museum I was introduced to my fellow self–publishers Michael Moore and Paul Newman and two representatives from Lulu, Lucie Pereira and Sophie Bond. In the pre–event discussion it was clear how extensive the self–publishing revolution is becoming. Lucie had even organised a get together in Falmouth for the following night where self–publishing writers could meet up, share best practice and network. The numbers of self–publishing writers in Cornwall are well into double figures and that is just with Lulu. Add those who have already self–published and the fifty or so people in the audience that night and it all points to a huge grass roots mo...

On Friday night during my regular guitar lesson with Ellis of LSG, a musician to his fingertips, reckoned I was ready to have a go at recording. I’ll always be a bit rough and ready (“Musics for zeros, noise is for heroes” – The Damned) but I thought why not? During the session (!) I made lots of mistakes but Ellis made it sound brilliant. I need to practise my lead. And the timing of the intro was rubbish. It wasn't "1,2,3,4" but more "1,2,3,4,5". I know there's a fifth count when The Ramones go "1,2,3,4" but this was more Corporal Jones than Dee Dee Ramone. Anyway , by overlaying different tracks and letting me loose on his bass guitar and then working his magic Ellis turned me into a rock god! That’s the way it feels anyway. Thanks mate! Then on Saturday morning I finally got the illustration for the back of The Horsepower Whisperer right. I’ve been wrestling with this for months. During June I worked up a picture of an Allosaurus riding a st...

While at Adrian Booth’s workshop the other day, I spotted this interesting old trails special. I’d gone over to nearby Doublebois (pronounced Double Boys) to discuss the shortening of a Volvo torque tube so that the vital organs of said Volvo could be insinuated into Morris Minor. Adrian can do strange and wonderful things with steel and aluminium and is another of life’s great enthusiasts. The Hobsy or Hobbsie Special  “What’s this old thing on the trailer?” I asked him.  “It was called a Hobsy but it hasn’t done much work. The chassis rotten and it’s a bit of a lash up, really. I’m having a clear out and this is going.” “I wish I’d brought my digital camera,” I said. “Then I could record its final moments.” “Oh you can borrow mine,” Adrian replied.  So despite my lack of foresight, the Hobsy Special did not go unrecorded.  Very little is known about it. It had a 1600 Ford Kent engine, that was reputed to have been ...

A background sketch from the Anarchadia website is this working drawing for the Cadillac Platinumide I’ll have a go at most things and this website is largely my own effort but after years of doing–it–myself and practising self–reliance, I have discovered that sometimes – sometimes – it’s better to get an expert to do it for you.  It depends whether you want to learn how to do it or not. You may never need to do it ever again. It also depends how long it takes to reach a reasonable standard. Do you have the time or do you want a quick result? And, most importantly in my opinion, it depends if you enjoy it. If you don’t I believe it shows. With the website, I was lucky – beginner’s luck, I suppose. I had a brilliant book to refer to. I wouldn’t have got anywhere without Build your website the right way using HTML & CSS by Ian Lloyd. Not only was I able to get the something together that worked but I began to understand how it worked. If I had any problems I used the S...

Horsepower whispering with a Ginetta G21S Six foot of two by two timber isn’t in everyone’s toolkit. The day I helped my mate Pete Low re–assemble the engine in his Ginetta, neither of us had such a thing. Pete’s day job is vicar of St Budeaux in Plymouth . This means the days off he gets are Mondays. Fortunately, last week I had a clear Monday so our packed diaries coincided for once and we were able to start work in earnest on his car. When I arrived at the vicarage, it was immediately apparent that he’d bought all the gaskets and assembled a fine array of hand and power tools. He’d even arranged for good weather. Pete’s Ginetta is a G21S. He’d bought it with a reconditioned engine that needed re–assembling. The ordinary G21 has a 1725cc engine made by the now–defunct Rootes group for the Hillman Hunter range. The G21S has a special head developed by Holbay, which was used in the sportier Hunters and Rapiers. All we had to do was fit the cylinder head, carburettors and exhau...

David Hockney made a fortune out of doing photos like this Hidden away in the steep sided combes of south–western Britain, concealed behind unremarkable facades in market towns and sleepy hamlets, tucked deep down into wooded valleys or crouched against the elements on wind blasted heaths and moors, something is stirring. This is Britain ’s crumple zone against the Atlantic and, against very long odds, Cornwall is still home to an ongoing automotive tradition that has been quietly surviving for over two hundred years. If someone announced that they had written a book on Cornwall ’s motor industry, a very slim volume would probably be the result – not so much a book as a pamphlet. Being able to produce over 150 well illustrated A4 pages initially seems nothing short of remarkable. Having read Cornwall ’s Motor Industry by Peter Tutthill, it’s clear that he has unearthed a wealth of material and some fascinating insights into a surprisingly varied cottage industry. I am also...