Home Made Jam

During the last spring my friend gave me a big bag of apricots that came from his little orchard. So I decided to take the opportunity to make some jam, something I haven't done for years. It was fairly simple really, I found a recipe online and basically followed that. I also gave it some extra touches. I added two squares of chocolate, a teaspoon of marmalade, a teaspoon of honey and I swapped half of the caster sugar for brown sugar. The result was absolutely delicious and I'd encourage anyone to try adding their own touches if they make jam. It was rather fun and I'd say everyone, at some point, should make their own jam. It's so much more satisfying when you have it on toast or something, it tastes so much better that shop bought jam, simply because you made it. I love making my own things.

Home Made Bike Rack

About 6 weeks ago, for no particular reason, I decided to start making something. I guess I just wanted something to do. I felt like doing some metalwork, and one thing which was on my bucket list of things to make was a bike rack. So I went into my shed and began to cut and grind and weld and paint and a few weeks of occasional work later, I ended up with a fully functional bike rack that was exactly how I wanted. Unusually for me, I didn't start with any plans or even a rough sketch. I had an idea in my mind of what I wanted it to be like and just started making it and hoping for the best. "Winging it" in other words, and I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the result.

Now, I should stress that I haven't done much metalwork, I've had no formal training so it is a bit rough in some places and some of you, I'm sure, will be screaming at the screen saying "why did you do it that way!". Well this is just a small project for me to try and learn a bit on. It's something with which to gain a bit of experience. So if it's not perfect, that's why.

Unfortunately I don't have any more photos from during the build.

And here is the finished piece all done up nicely in black.

Unlike most bike racks mine attaches to where the tor bar would be. I didn't want one that bolted on to the tow bar, simply because I don't like the look of them.