Friday 8 July 2016

A Nuclear FallOut Shelter For A Leprechaun Family?


Do you know what it really is?


I took this photo the other day on a ten mile walk along the north side (the name for my blog) of the Sheep's Head Peninsula.  Gosh it was knackering and I have walked fourteen miles already this week.  Not bad for a fifty two year old with a beer belly and a bad back.  All good training for my week hike in August along some of the ways in Ireland.

Go on have a guess and tell me what you think the concrete in the picture was really used for.  I remember when we use to get the horse and cart and....?


17 comments:

  1. I really dont know Dave but all I can think of that are similar on the Norfolk coast are Pill Boxes which were part of WWII defences looks out and room for a machine gun. Not sure if this is the same thing but we still have several left around our coast. It looks a bit too low though, so really not sure.. That was a long walk for you but if you are going on a hike in August you will need the practice. Thanks for listening to me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your thoughts Rachel. I remember the Pill Boxes and air raid shelters when I lived in England.

      The concrete construction is a milk churn stand and you could put farm produce like eggs, butter in the little space behind the door.

      One of the highlights of my holiday on my grandparents farm in Ireland was helping them take the churns to the milk stand down the road in the horse and cart which had tractor tyres.

      It was a long walk and I think that you don't have the same energy levels when you reach middle age. Thanks!

      Delete
    2. Thanks for your thoughts Rachel. I remember the Pill Boxes and air raid shelters when I lived in England.

      The concrete construction is a milk churn stand and you could put farm produce like eggs, butter in the little space behind the door.

      One of the highlights of my holiday on my grandparents farm in Ireland was helping them take the churns to the milk stand down the road in the horse and cart which had tractor tyres.

      It was a long walk and I think that you don't have the same energy levels when you reach middle age. Thanks!

      Delete
    3. We used to have one at the end of our farm drive for the milk lorry. It was made from railway sleepers. It stayed even after we gave up cows until one night in the fog someone ran off the road and hit it and we never put it back together again. Thanks Dave

      Delete
    4. I bet it was strong if it was made out of old railway sleepers Rachel. I believe they made the sleepers out of Scottish pitch pine long a go. Thanks!

      Delete
  2. Don't know.... perhaps to help load the car? Will be interesting to read the answer!
    I used to walk a lot, but haven't for a while, although walking round our property does stretch my legs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a milk churn stand Vera. They are ergonomically perfect to slide the heavy churns off your cart on to the stand. Now a days road milk tankers collect the milk from the farmer's milk tanks.

      I like walking because it keeps you fit and you always notice something new like wildlife or an old wall or something.

      The Irish roads are very dangerous to walk on at the moment. The verges are often overgrown and I had to cross over the road because I couldn't see around the bend because of overgrown trees and hedges the other day. I also think 80 Kilometres an hour is far too fast for the road vehicles on roads made originally for horses and carts.

      Thanks Vera!

      Delete
    2. It's a milk churn stand Vera. They are ergonomically perfect to slide the heavy churns off your cart on to the stand. Now a days road milk tankers collect the milk from the farmer's milk tanks.

      I like walking because it keeps you fit and you always notice something new like wildlife or an old wall or something.

      The Irish roads are very dangerous to walk on at the moment. The verges are often overgrown and I had to cross over the road because I couldn't see around the bend because of overgrown trees and hedges the other day. I also think 80 Kilometres an hour is far too fast for the road vehicles on roads made originally for horses and carts.

      Thanks Vera!

      Delete
  3. Best of luck with training Dave! Don't forget to drink plenty of fluids ;)
    A pair of trekking poles or Nordic walking sticks might help the old back . . especially on the hilly bits. They are de rigueur around here.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Best of luck with training Dave! Don't forget to drink plenty of fluids ;)
    A pair of trekking poles or Nordic walking sticks might help the old back . . especially on the hilly bits. They are de rigueur around here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the advice Gwil. I find the older you get the more tiring a long hike becomes. Especially afterwards and the day after. I will invest in some poles for trekking. Thanks!

      Delete
  5. Yes, a job every morning after milking, affixing labels to the churns and taking them to the stand ready for the collection lorry. Then bringing the empties back in.

    The older ones were heavy, galvanized steel I think, but the newer ones were aluminium and much lighter.

    10 gallons plus the weight of the churn, so just about 1 cwt, more than it's allowed to lift now.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Cumbrian. I have a aluminium milk churn that we use to use when my grandparents hand milked 7 cows. I remember the frothing milk being poured through a colander like sieve into a jug for drinking in the farmhouse.

    I suppose health and safety wouldn't allow one person to move the churns now a days? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Probably not, there was a knack to "rolling" them.

    Not by hand, but the Alfa Lavel milking machine worked off compressed air from a high level pipe with nozzles and a tap. About 3.5 gallon (35lb) was the average from a good milker, poured into a cooler at high level and ran slowly down a corrugated plate with cold water running through it into a collecting trough and the churn underneath. Don't forget to change the churn when it's full.

    Happy days.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A lot of farmer's used Lister diesel milking machines and some said they didn't want electricity power because they had never had to pay a bill before. You think Lister diesel engines would be a cheaper option than electricity.

    I like the milk churn stands because they remind me of a more slower rural scene with small tractors and trailers and horses and carts.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a bloomin interesting piece of history. I have been thinking of putting some horse shoes in the corners of the build. lol Just so when some one knocks the house down in the future they will think "That Sol was a nutter!". But you cant be too careful can you ;o)

    ReplyDelete
  10. If you want to put some horseshoes in the corners of your new build, go for it Sol. We painted every room white when we built our bungalow and tiled all the floors except the bedrooms which we bought carpets for. Good look with the renovations Sol!

    ReplyDelete

Onion Set Planting.

I still managed to plant up two of the new planters/raised beds with onion sets in the rain yesterday. Notice the white root sock in the com...