Negotiations over Pay Restoration for Junior Doctors have stalled, and it looks like we’re heading rapidly towards a second strike. Meanwhile I’ve been out and about in Cornwall, and working on the doors.

Cornwall Gold and Tolgus Mill

This week’s Monday adventure with Evie was down and around Truro, starting at Cornwall Gold. Located just outside Redruth, Cornwall Gold is a large jewellery showroom with an adjoining café on the site of Tolgus Mill which was used (and still is to a lesser extent) to process tin. Tin smelted at the mill is still used in some of Cornwall Gold’s pieces which is a great way to showcase this piece of local heritage. Some of the history, however, is not so great. Wandering round the dilapidated facility it was quite sad to think of how children were systematically exploited in many industries. They were “employed” to tread on sands in the slime pits to help separate out tin ore, and also to scoop up material that fell off the large vibrating frames. People toiled to produce tiny amounts of tin, but the ingenuity of the process can also be admired. And you can pan for fool’s gold if you need some lighter entertainment.

The Doors

Following on from last week, I spent the weekend trimming the wood for the bookcase doors to size and drilling pocket holes. I discovered quickly that none of my clamps were long enough to hold the rails in place while being glued to the panel, although I did attempt to put it together without clamping with mildly disatrous results. It was a bit all over the place so I disassembled that door and ordered some bigger clamps. Bigger, but not big enough. Even 900mm sash clamps couldn’t cut the mustard as the jaws didn’t open to the length of the doors (840mm). They’ve been returned to Amazon and I picked up a more substantial clamp from Screwfix which did the job. They’re not perfect and still need a little sanding and evening out, but I did make them for considerably less than the originally quoted price (£446.40).

The next step is to tidy up the edges damaged in my pre-clamp faux pas, then drill holes for the hinges using a concealed hinge jig (again from Kreg). Once that’s done then I’ll put on a coat of Osmo wax finish and fit them to the bookcase. I need to find some suitable handles to match the current set. It won’t be perfect, but it’s the closest I’ve gotten to cabinet making. Not too bad for a pathologist.

Heat Pump Update

A rather heavy, large box has appeared in my conservatory. Could it be the long awaited, custom-made hot water cylinder that has been promised? If you remember back almost a month ago, we were supposed to be having an air source heat pump installed alongside all new piping and radiators but the wrong size cylinder was ordered and the whole installation was abandoned. Now things should be able to proceed, although there are no dates that suit us for another month as I’ll be off in Sheffield watching post mortem CT scanning for the next couple of weeks.

Prepare yourself for the next round of Junior Doctor strikes April 11th to 14th. Four days of industrial action to send the government a message: we will not back down and give in to your ridiculous conditions. Come to the negotiating table with a real offer and then we can talk. Is it not cheaper to value and retain your workforce than have them leave in droves for less stressful and better compensated jobs?