Bandwidth

To anyone who has been a regular reader of my blog, sincere apologies. For the first time since I started writing I have left a gap of months between posts and no simpler explanation that life got in the way. Since May, juggling work, renovation, holding back the garden, completing the shepherds hut, moving in to said hut & life in general, left no room for much else – all bandwidth was consumed you might say. Right now, I am between contracts so there is a little room to catch up and that’s exactly what I will try to do with the aid of photos from my phone.

Back in May we were concentrating efforts to the completion of the shepherds hut with a desire to transferring living from the caravan to here. Important also to have this finished as a blueprint to our future venture and change of lifestyle to being able to offer this as a holiday let. Steps to the hut have been installed, as per the first picture. In the main, a bathroom, vapour barrier & insulation were installed prior to tongue and groove being fitted. By the beginning of June the kitchen was in and we were ready for electricians and plumbers to return for final fix.

Work to the ground floor of the Manse was also underway in May. The ground floor had no damp course, explaining the reason (in part) for the rising damp we saw when first visiting the property. An excavation of the floor was required before the appropriate damp course followed by a new layer of screed was poured. This started with the area to be the dining room / utility and plant room before moving to the kitchen.

The plan is for underfloor heating across the ground floor so once screed covered all of these areas, insulation would be laid before the plumbers would install the necessary piping. Following that a second pour of screed, then anti-crack matting before the flagstones could be in place. A long and involved process that consumed much of the summer. The photographs below span the start of the process in May to the flag stones being down in the kitchen on the second week of August.

That mostly brings the story up to June and a brief respite from the process of renovations and work to holiday with friends in Portugal. Our friend Graham was celebrating a major milestone birthday and we were delighted to join him and Elaine along with Wendy & James for a week of relaxing sun.

Portugal vibes, a very happy birthday Graham!

Whilst away, work continued at the Old Manse and the shepherds hut respectively. The plumbers were back to install the bathroom at the ‘hut’ and connect sink taps in the kitchen there. Allowing us to set about the install of wet wall for the shower in the bathroom in tandem with plumbers and electricians doing final fix on their respective trades. By the start of July we were able to call the shepherds hut our home and, though it sounds silly, we for the first time in months owned a flushing toilet and working hot shower.

Through June – September (and still now in October) there has been much going on in the garden, specifically effort to get the walled garden in a state we would like. From beginnings of bramble growing to a height of 6 foot across the majority of the garden 2 years ago it is now (for the most) bramble free. Grass has been returned to approximately three-quarters of the area and the orchard is much clearer due to wind felling a couple of trees. The latter are still producing fruit and will be properly cut into firewood and removed once the apples are harvested. Hedges are more under control though faltering equipment has prevented me from completed that pruning job. Of major interest was the re-discovery and clearing of the well that we first tackled over a year ago. It is now protected at the back from a new dead-hedge constructed by our good friends Keith and Marion and takes pride of place in the garden.

July saw the ground floor of the Manse starting to take shape with walls being reinstated. Framing out had started in June but now insulation was being added with plasterboard following to define areas, that happened August through into September. That allowed the kitchen to be delivered and installed at the beginning of September and soon followed painting and electrical work to give us a vision of what to expect in the final design.

and the reality of one wall still to finish

Work continued throughout September and until this day to complete the ground floor and stair to the first floor with flagstones and insulation / boarding out of the remaining walls to be finished. Special mention must go to the fine job of shutters being back and working on the first window to again show what is intended for the rest of the Old Manse.

And closed but requiring a paint job still

We ourselves have made inroads to sanding the attic floor and have begun the restoration there. Until starting I didn’t realise how heavy the sanding machine was to undertake this job or how much sandpaper we would go thru for a good finish. At the moment I would describe the look as rustic.

Not everything was work though I am reminded by pictures on my phone and in roughly chronological order the Sound of Gigha festival; visits and walks with son, Dan, and his partner Anna Rose; a Dark Skies photography workshop followed by milky way and Perseid viewing; a visit from Andy P; rugby lunch with our friends from West Rugby club followed by rugby itself with Ally & Archie; kayaking with Keith & Marion; and now and for the next month watching the rugby world cup on the tellybox.

Great views from the site of the iron fort

Some great shots from @scotlandskies_photography

Best shot of the night courtesy of Greg Grogran

My own efforts of startrails over the Manse

A beautiful still day to be out on the water

Oh, and apples. An amazing yield from the Manse orchard this year has produced far too many to know what to do with. We have given away many, frozen many for future use but still have an abundance to process and deal with. It may be some time again before the next blog!

A Year in Review (2021)

I’m often warmed to receive cards, or now emails, from friends telling me what they and their families have been up to during the year. I also realise that not everyone will want to scour through many long winded descriptions, on this blog, of what has happened since January 1st so I thought I would try and write a potted history of the last year by reviewing those posts myself and giving you my highlights.

JANUARY: the year began with a wish that the worst of COVID and lockdowns were behind us, which goes to show what you wish for doesn’t always happen. The negotiations to house purchase were in full swing but certainly not over the line.

FEBRUARY: I continued to write about our attempts to walk more and eat more healthily as restrictions around COVID continued to stifle social life. No more news yet on the house purchase and we are close to pulling out not being able to agree terms around access and the drive ownership.

MARCH: I at last wrote “The path to buying said property (sic. The Manse on Gigha), or alternative with equally good views, afforded by location with space to build a business, was fraught and has proved to be significant in time. However, I am delighted to announce at last that we have completed on the purchase of such a property and can begin planning the next stage of our life.”

Also bought this beast to help with the renovation and the trips to and fro Gigha

“Next week will tell us how fit we are and how good our estimates are to what we can do ourselves.” I wrote back in March – the answers were not very & more than we first thought.

This remains one of my favourite photos to this day. I again repeat “The photo attached is there to remind us of the beauty and potential we are saw on one of our first early morning visits to our new home. I will hold this image in my head next week when ripping out carpet and searching for the septic tank. Say a little prayer that it isn’t blocked and the bright start I envisage materializes.

APRIL: Still working and still travelling Cardross to Gigha on a regular basis (something that will continue until the end of June). Lots of help from friends made a good start on clearing more of the garden where we decided to concentrate effort until planning permissions were in place.

MAY: Mower purchased and field cut before we handed over the Old Manse to STV for filming. Whilst it remained secret at this time the house became the location of the murder in the autumn showing of (the hybrid crime drama / reality solve) Murder Island.

JUNE: The month the scaffolding went up and the removal of the concrete render started to be removed. We had identified that we wanted to get the externals of stonework, roof & gutters and windows completed in 2021 and this was a real landmark for us. The concrete render had, over the years, allowed water ingress that was trapped between it and the original stone causing damp. The task was always going to be huge to repoint and make watertight again.

JULY: Emphasis changed this month from Karen and Dan carrying the burden of work on Gigha, to myself and Dan as my contract ended. Delighted to be spending more time on the island and continuing the good work that had gone before. The month was spent clearing more of the outbuildings and making a start on the shepherds hut foundations.

AUGUST: Still enjoying great weather, further inroads were made in clearing the garden. Significantly, we identified and dug out the well in the walled garden – big thanks to our boy, Dan, who put in a big shift this summer and without his might we would have struggled to complete many jobs. Likewise, there are too many friends to mention, but Pete decided to drive from his midland base to holiday with us this year, a week spent cutting hedges probably wasn’t top of his bucket list but he tells me he enjoyed it! Another milestone too in windows being removed for renovation.

SEPTEMBER: The York family avoid divorce and serious harm to each other when building the shepherds hut. Joking aside it was a great project to demonstrate that teamwork can happen between us completing the majority of the build over three days in the month. Meanwhile window restoration was happening in a workshop far away, but stripping of render had stopped due to the wait to have scaffolding removed.

OCTOBER: First and importantly we became residents of our temporary home on Gigha, moving possessions either to the island, storage or the odd friend holding stuff. The scaffolding was removed to reveal the full glory of the Old Manse stonework. Unfortunately our builders have now committed to other jobs and with forecast weather the job won’t be completed in year but a good result on the aesthetic of the building. You can see the repair to the gutters, render to the chimneys and the monochrome finish that will adorn the exterior. We were also joined by approx 30,000 other in the shape of our bee population.

NOVEMBER: A flurry of activity saw the arrival of our caravan purchase (likely accommodation for 2022), and the start of the Old Manse windows arriving back from the workshop. In the gales of Gigha we took strides to making the shepherd’s hut watertight, struggling to purchase a tin roof as we had intended, roofing felt provided a significant challenge. No match for Karen and I though!

DECEMBER: The weather, after a cold snap in November, has again allowed for outside work and great results have been achieved in clearing the front garden. Difficult to show in pictures how much this has given back to us in space. In the wet weather though work on indoors is prioritised and we have now stripped out the attic rooms. They now provide storage as we move down the build.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Wishing everyone who reads the blog and follows on Insta a very happy and prosperous New Year. May 2022 be all that you wish for, from us all at The Old Manse xx

New Light through Old Windows

Where to start? Plenty happening at The Old Manse since last writing, let me start with an update on the caravan. All looks good with our new purchase and we have started modifying to suit our own needs. The small bedroom that contained three bunks have been ripped out with the intention of this being used to store clothes etc. which currently sit in an overcrowded cottage. Rather than seating at the bay window, we will have a permanent bed essentially turning the caravan into a large en-suite bedroom with a small cooker punctuating the area between bed, bathroom and the new (walk in) wardrobe.

Modifying the caravan – a work in progress

Some progress too with the shepherds hut. The door, which had swollen and was refusing to shut has now been resolved and working as intended. The said door and windows have all had their first coat of varnish with and if a break in the weather comes as forecast this weekend the paint job on the ‘hut will continue.

More importantly we first braved the high winds of Gigha to complete the job of felting the roof. At this point I must apologise to locals within earshot who enjoyed some choice language from myself when just as I thought the first run was affixed a gust caught and ripped the felt. You live and learn.

First roll of felt secured, brave lady in that high wind

Second roll on – learning from mistakes of the first

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_7269.jpg — First varnish on door and all the windows

We continue to walk. In fact we took a lovely walk the morning of Karen’s birthday, walking from the cottage to Achamore Gardens, then via Cuddyport Beach back over the hill and the standing stone to descenct behind the Gigha Hotel. The opportunity for a pint and a burger was not lost on us and helped make good the birthday celebration. Walk highlands has this, and more excellent walks that can be taken on Gigha: https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/argyll/achamore-gardens.shtml It should also be mentioned that there is a huge project to improve the path network on the Island and we walked to one of our favourite spots at the twin beaches to find a vastly upgraded route to the one we were used to – a much safer and encouraging affair for anyone visiting that beauty spot. Photos of both below.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_7206.jpg — Birthday girl after climbing the hill

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_7212.jpg — The keen eyed will be able to spot the Old Manse – stone gables with white chimneys

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_7244.jpg — Later in the week a much less soggy walk to the Twin Beaches – the new path is excellent

But the big story of the last week has to be that we have windows back in the Old Manse and couldn’t be more pleased with the result. One of the biggest reasons for buying the property was the views it affords so to be without them for the summer was strange. From previous stories you will know that it was always difficult to tell the time of day when inside the building due to the lack of natural light.

All of this has now been restored and credit has to go to our joiner, Lewis who has done a great job in the restoration of the frames and reglazing (we have opted for double rather than single glazing in the reno). I put the first of the pictures below on Instagram and it perfectly illustrates the upgrade. The left hand window is the last to be upgraded and will be replaced but at the start of the project it was the newest and arguably the best of the windows. In comparison, the right hand window is one of twelve renovated windows that arrived from Helensburgh this week. I cannot do them justice with words so a few photos follow.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is f596c323-79df-4dcf-8d23-a8b019f6fe3e.jpg — Old versus new – what a difference!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is img_7260.jpg — Allgood above the first floor, ground still needing a window and completion of pointing

Holiday (it feels so nice)

Without wanting to publicise being away from home before we took our recent trip, a holiday has been planned for a little while. It feels like an age since we have left the four walls we live in; which is, of course, simply not true. But with our dual existence of renting here in Cardross and working hard to renovate in Gigha we thought some rest and relaxation was deserved.

Before going away I took time to check-in on the window restoration. Where possible we have made the decision to restore rather than replace and use experienced craftsman to do these jobs. The windows from the Manse were take out of their frames earlier this year and are being restored (i.e. rotten wood being replaced) and reglazed (single panes being replaced by double). The expense is not inconsiderable but it fits our brief well.

Upper part of sash window that, I am told, has 5 coats of undercoat lovingly applied

more apparent in the lower frame the work that gone into machining a deeper recess for the double glazed window

So then a car journey via Derby to visit some good friends and an overnight stay before pointing the car at Southampton. There we boarded the Celebrity cruise ship Silhouette for a week’s UK staycation. A little strange that we would sail back in the direction we came visiting Liverpool and Belfast, but we were mostly there for the onboard facilities and the all-inclusive food and drink package.

The blog isn’t meant to be one of personal travels, I promise it will be back to renovation by the end, but a little flavour of the holiday in the next photos:

We quickly established a pre-dinner routine of visiting the martini bar

An incredible sommelier found some great pairings for our superb dining, a dessert wine favourite here

September weather good enough to laze by the pool and a very relaxed man by the end of the week

So as soon as we made the journey back to Scotland we immediately took the opportunity to travel back to Gigha. Refreshed and keen to continue, the focus is still on packing up the Cardross house but the draw of being back on the Island again tells us that the decision to move there is right for us.

In our absence, newly made friends have been collecting apples and berries from the garden and we had the chance to do some of this for ourselves earlier this week. The orchard has a plentiful supply although I cant claim the apples are the sweetest I have ever tasted! And as well as fruit picking we had time to paint one side of the shepherd’s hut. We had planned to do more but the weather had other ideas. So I leave it here for the week with the one side we did manage to start on, I hope you agree with our colour scheme?