Well we finally got first light! ok it was sunlight reflected off the clouds but it counts!
The first job today was to drill down into the concrete base to anchor in the 12mm bolts in place. The local building suppliers had Rawl R-KEM which is a two part epoxy that comes in a 300ml tube, it mixes in the nozzle so its easy to apply. With the bolts in place the pier was put in place and leveled: Continue reading Building an Observatory – Part 7 – First Light! Phase 1 complete!
By the end of the weekend I should be able to get first light in the observatory!
The shed part is pretty much complete now. Last weekend I made the door, got the rest of the weathersheeting in place, finished the roof, and got the wood preservative on. I also added a 2×3 to strengthen the beam with the castors so that the ends no longer touch the track; I’ve to do the same to the other side sometime, but as it stands I can move the roof easily with one hand. Continue reading Building an Observatory – Part 5
In between rain showers I’ve managed to almost get the building work completed on the observatory. Building the support for the roof and rails was easy enough though the beams were very slightly warped; this doesn’t matter too much as it can be corrected by placing the rails in the correct line.
The roof was trickier than I thought. I hadn’t tried to build a roof before and it’s quite easy to get things out of alignment and not straight. It’s not perfect but more than good enough for my requirements. Continue reading Building and Observatory – Part 4
I’ve put back For Harry Latham and Elsinore this evening. Same containers as the originals.
For Harry Latham is a very easy cache in the center of the town. One of the few that I have actual written permission to place! Thanks to Heritage Ireland. Continue reading Two Dalkey Geocaches replaced
Dear Councilors & TD’s,
It was with incredulity that I read reports in the Irish Times of the destruction of parts of Dalkey Quarry.
The first recorded climbs by the Irish Mountaineering Council were undertaken in the 1940’s. Today the quarry is used almost daily by climbers and the routes range from the very beginner level up to some of the hardest climbs in the country. It is the only quarry that I know of in Ireland with a guidebook of its routes, and a popular crag with foreign climbers due to its easy access from the city. As someone who grew up a few minutes from the Quarry, I regularly climbed the lower grade climbs and my dog even managed to make it up an easy route on one occasion!
Climbers and residents are rightly annoyed that the council therefore decided to destroy parts of these established climbs. An area that is used for climbing is very unlikely to have been unsafe, if it was the climbers would not be using it, so the actions of the council can only be interpreted as a willful act of destruction. John Duignan of the Irish Mountaineering Club was right to call this ‘vandalising the sport’, a sport which DLRCC should be very proud to have in its county. Then again the councils recent record of preserving important sites in the county is dismal – Carlisle Pier for example…
All such destruction must cease, and any further destruction must take place only following a full public consultation with the public and mountaineering groups. I welcome the reports that talks have taken place today between the MCI and council but that should have taken place last week.
The council should publish any correspondence relating to this decision including any complaints received and any internal letters/emails between council employees relating to the plans. The council employee responsible for taking the decision to destroy parts of the quarry must be immediately removed from employment with the council.
Best Wishes,
~Albert White
