Tonight, we had a new member attend; Mike, a scientist and inventor, who has moved back to Malvern, this year. Guy prompted us to discuss the inquiry for a lifting device from Mrs Watson. There were various ideas. Gordon suggested she could use a vacuum cleaner to transfer her compost to waist height. Mike thought an auger could be more cost effective. Guy suggested some kind of pneumatic device, or a long lever. Someone, maybe Geoff or Ian, suggested a lifting platform, human-powered with a rope and pulleys. I suggested Mrs Watson could buy a pickup truck. But in the end we decided that none of these ideas would be low-cost, like Mrs Watson implied. Hydraulics are generally quite expensive, so we dismissed that idea. Guy has plenty of 16mm thick cardboard boxes, that he is trying to get rid of. There was tea and mince pies. Geoff showed us a drawing of an idea he has for making it easier to drill holes in wood for doors hinges. We discussed the existing Malvern Inventors Club web-site, but no decisions were made about it.
