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!

Meanwhile, back at The Old Manse

Whilst Karen and I were away in New Zealand the re-build of the Old Manse was gathering pace back in Scotland. We had left the property in the capable hands of our builder and a communication link back to the Island through our neighbours, Viv and Andy. I am very grateful to the latter for a number of photos that appear below.

At the end of January, first fix by plumbers and electricians appeared to be complete. Karen had spent much time in front of PowerPoint planning sockets and lights, hopefully it proved straightforward to the contractors who carried out the work. We were complimented that the house made a change from ripping through plasterboard and excavating, leaving them to do ‘proper electrical work’.

More ripping out was completed in early February but the house saw a major addition of steel also. One of the features of the 1816 build was that rafters spanned the walls front to back. It was difficult to see how they were fully supported without the new addition and the bow of the floor is indeed notable on the first floor. This has been cured to a large degree but still remains the characteristic slant of lesser degree. It is an old house after all.

With support in place for the upper floors a top down approach was taken to the framing out. Our builders mantra seems to be insulate, insulate, insulate. Something that is mirrored in the advice of the local authority who encourage spend on this item, if only grants were so easy to access. Anyway February saw the attic rooms take shape and the wall between the bathroom and bedroom re-instated.

My return to the Island was timed just too late to catch the most amazing display of Northern Lights that has been seen here for many a year. I am both thankful to my neighbour Keith and very jealous that I didn’t take the image myself:

Late February and our return also saw the top floor mostly boarded out. Arriving in time to make decisions that took space from the larger bedroom for a better sized bathroom on the top floor and addition of storage. The rooms already have a better feel in terms of space but decisions to expand the size of Velux facing North will have to wait for a future planning application and more funding.

Early March took work down one floor and we got a clear look at the space with virtually no walls. Decisions were taken to use space that was the old bathroom as a dressing room in the new layout as the walls went back up. The downside of exposing more of the build was a realisation that many of the lintels were rotting and in need of replacement. Another hit to the budget, but I’m still planning for a little luxury and have sized the recess for the TV accordingly!

Almost forgot to mention that mid March also heralded the return to caravan living. Yes back to surviving in a tin box with little more than 8 foot * 12 of floorspace (inclusive of double bed). The caravan has acquired a novel feature over the winter; the back window seal appears to be letting water into the double glazed unit (not the interior fortunately) but a very narrow fish tank it has been created.

March also saw the upper and first floors framed, insulated, plasterboarded, taped & filled. We are starting to get a real impression for the space on these floors now with decisions over stove and bathroom coming to the fore of our minds. Our major commitment this month has been the kitchen and with a programmed delivery date that is very real.

Lastly, and bringing things right up to date there has been a swell of contractors here in the last two days. SSE have brought 3-phase power into the Old Manse and this has allowed us to run power and water out to the shepherds hut. A second team have been cutting the channels required for both ducting and waste pipes to give the shepherds hut the services we have been longing for. Still lots to do but the trajectory feels like we are moving forward now.

We are going on an Adventure

This quote is borrowed from Tolkien for two reasons. Firstly, 2023 itself is going to be a big adventure with work starting on the house (by hired help rather than ourselves) and shortly we are about to embark on a trip to New Zealand. The latter is long overdue, our daughter moved to NZ in late 2016 and her round the world excursion never got beyond her first port of call. The dream job secured and boyfriend acquired later in 2017 stuck, and now six years later, she is a NZ citizen.

First, a look back at year so far. A tremendous Christmas break was had, a fantastic Christmas meal that supplies boxing day (and beyond) buffets. Whilst I do say it myself, the process of curing salmon (using Laphroaig whisky) may be long, but very worthwhile. New Year was quiet but very pleasant, enjoyed with a glass of single malt and a large helping Jool’s Hootenanny. Singular mention in the food extravaganza goes to turket-flette. I’ve bastardized a recipe I first found on the ski slopes of France that used leftover ham, onions, cream and as smelly a cheese you can find to top of this calorific consumption. Diets starts soon, as I can feel my arteries screaming in submission.

Onions, cream, turkey oh how I love thee

We did manage to walk off some of the indulgence over the holiday being blessed with good weather for part. But only part as the wind and storms have reeked havoc both with ferry cancellations and tree felling. Achamore Garden, where we often walk saw trees fall across paths which put the one up-rooted apple tree in our walled-garden into perspective. The woods at the rear of the Manse will need further inspection and management this year.

I’ve been very grateful during my time in the contract market to find work on a regular basis, I also hope this says something about the experience and work ethic I’ve learned over the years but most of the time I have been fortunate to work with good people to manage. I am very fortunate o n this occasion to take a long sabbatical with a contract to come back to and, undoubtedly, funds are more important than ever this year.

Having visited both kitchen and bathroom showrooms during the holidays we are moving closer to understanding the look and feel we would like for The Old Manse but equally understanding better the budget for our aspirations. Conversations have progressed with builder and heating engineers and quotes obtained to pursue energy efficiency grants but let us say that retirement is postponed for now.

I’m told Winston Churchill oft worked from his bed

…. And a Happy New Year

2023 here already and this is going to be a short blog entry as I don’t intend to write about the amount of food and drink I have consumed over the festive period. Instead I want to put down a quick marker to set intentions (not resolutions) for the year.

Building work starting on The Old Manse is imminent. I hope to be bringing news of developments to the blog soon but will wait until I have a confirmed date for that work to start. That hopefully will give Karen and I time to concentrate physical exertions to the garden, having completed all we can inside The Old Manse for now. Equally, we need to furnish the shepherds hut as a prospective dwelling whilst the renovation continues.

Travel is very much on the cards. We have been waiting for covid protocols to cease before visiting H in the Southern Hemisphere once again. That trip to New Zealand is already booked and will not be the last of the year. Portugal is the base for a significant birthday celebration for a friend this summer and Paris for a weekend of Rugby World Cup action beckons later again in the year. More of all that later.

And lastly, looking back. I did eat a lot of turkey & these were some of the favourites from Insta last year.

The walls came tumbling down

On return from holiday the race was on to take as much of the Old Manse back to brick as was humanly possibly between the three members of the family. Son, having finished all University commitments, was free to visit as much as his social life allowed and to be fair he has prioritised us over other more fun activities. So this post is probably going to be as interesting as paint dry but very much a document of all recent renovation activity.

First week back from holiday saw attention to the ground floor and the room that will become an ensuite bathroom to a ground floor bedroom for mum. Other than the salvation of a period fireplace the room exemplifies what we are attempting throughout the property. First pic shows that when the first layer of framed plasterboard is removed the stonework itself is plastered and needs stripped back. No insulation to the walls has yet been found, Using the chipper the original stone is revealed in the second picture, with the third showing the lath and plaster finish that came after the original plastering of walls. Finally an empty room clear of rubble.

Plasterboard removed, left side plaster direct on stone wall, right side stripped

Chipper laid to rest having removed plaster from lower sections

Examples of lath in wall and ceiling when first layer of plaster has been removed

Platform used to remove ceiling and higher plaster – room ‘back to brick’

Similar process again for ground floor bedroom. Though I will mention that we have been separating out lath for use as kindling later and dumping all of the discarded plaster onto the front garden of the Old Manse to provide type 1 for dressing later.

The ‘murder room’ getting a makeover, one wall done

Lath – on offer for kindling around the island

The front garden, to be transformed for car parking. To be dressed when he have the money!!

Before I tell you about the progress on the first floor (I promise I will keep it brief) the other momentous event this month was Dan’s graduation. I am immensely proud of both our children’s achievements and it was no mean feat for our son to graduate with a 2i in Networking and Cybersecurity. After a number of job offers he starts a new career on the 1st August and we wish him every success as I know it will be. His sister also began a new job in New Zealand this week after being head hunted from her previous role, also on the up for her.

The three man demolition team in a parallel Universe. Very proud of this one.

Back to the reno. The first floor presented the additional challenge of gravity. Having hauled rubble from the top floor last year we were keen to avoid doing this again in volume. Fortunately, we managed to borrow a ‘chute so the race was on last weekend to break / chip / clear as much plaster from the walls as was humanly possible in 3 days. The room that will become the living room and the two bedrooms were targeted and I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story (I said I would be brief).

Gravity is our friend. Much of the first floor left via this window

More lath – it seems such a shame to destroy workmanship like this but needs must for insulation to be added

A speck of light between the once dividing wall of the bedrooms

Mother and son still hard at it when dad had to go back to the day job

Bedrooms largely complete as is the main room leaving ceilings to finish in slower time

The wrong trousers

The good weather continued long enough for us to completely clear the orchard of brambles. No mean feat I might add! With Karen and I working in tandem we are pretty pleased with the result, all of this in preparation for (hopefully) pruning the apple trees in February.

Karen putting the finishing touches to the orchard with strimmer

Further proof of clement weather throughout the majority of January is the abundance of snowdrops and the early appearance of daffodils.

Not sure these will last now February’s storms are here

The weather also made for some excellent walking in January allowing us to find some new routes on this small Island. It may be small but the walking routes are plentiful and with advances in the paths project moving apace, it will surely encourage more visitors in the summer. The Isle of Gigha Trust and the Ranger Service (hope I have that right) must be commended for this initiative and the pleasure the paths have already given us.

The route we have walked the most is that from just North of Achamore Gardens down towards Leim beach through the Island’s wind farm. The first pictures are from earlier in the year with the sun splitting the winter sky, but I have a hazardous tale taken from yesterday’s walk. I dressed in waterproof coat, hat and gloves before setting out for my hour of exercise. On the most exposed part of the walk, which until that point I had enjoyed fair weather, the hail started. At which point I remembered that one shouldn’t walk in jeans as they are indeed the wrong trousers for bad weather. The hail did not take long to permeate the denim and the return leg of the walk had me carrying more weight and some discomfort from my saturated choice of legwear.

However, two new routes have been found. One to a beach on the East just south of and opposite the gardens and a second to the highest point on the Island. We braved the climb, which in all honesty is neither steep or of great altitude, but affords fantastic views to all coasts of Gigha and beyond. Some pictures taken from these walks below.

As often the case in these months we had the beach to ourselves

A bit of advertising for Kintyre Firewood who are keeping us warm with regular deliveries throughout winter

All play and no work makes Andy a happy boy, not quite the proverb but I need to talk about some other gains made however small in the house. The stormy weather that started just before February rolled in drove us inside and we re-commenced the rip out of the Old Manse again. Starting top down as we promised ourselves the stair well between first floor and attic rooms has been stripped.

We knew that the outer wall was prone to condensation as warm air hit the cold wall and it became apparent why when we stripped plaster directly onto brick. The decision has been made to introduce insulation to where it isn’t currently on the outer walls, the challenge is doing so without compromising the space. For now it’s about stripping back and the outer stone has been revealed and the internal walls stripped of wallpaper.

Plaster removed from stone wall – insulation required

February’s storm have also thrown up some new challenges. The shepherd’s hut has lost the roofing felt we were so proud of applying in November and we have had to take emergency measures and the application of a new tarpaulin to the shed roof to stop water ingress.

Re-tarp’ed (not retarded as was spell checked on my Insta post)

Lastly, I have to mention it’s back to play today with the start of the six nations. February delivers a feast of rugby and starts with the Calcutta cup. I predict a close match accompanied by a couple of pints of Guinness!

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

The Renovation Diet

For as long as I can remember I have been overweight and in an attempt not to be I have followed many unsuccessful diets. There was the cabbage soup diet – a strictly prescribed eating plan for a week that involved, as you may guess, cabbage soup whenever you were hungry beyond the basic meal plan.

The cabbage soup diet worked at first shedding weight the first time I used it but second time around around saw zero weight loss. Until that is I went to the local hostelry to banish my blues, drank my body weight in lager, and was so ill for 48 hours I did indeed lose weight. Most unhealthy.

I had more joy nearly 10 years ago now when I tried the 5 2 diet. Eating sensibly for 5 fasting 2. But in the end with the regime abandoned the weight went back on. I have now though discovered the renovation diet, on which I have lost a stone in the last 6 weeks. Let me lay out some key points:

1. Move to an Island where there are no takeaways or convenience stores open for a quick fix when hungry or craving food.

2. Buy a house with 4 acres of land that you dedicate to clearing for waking hours of the day.

3. Buy 2 weeks food in advance, plan this to fill 3 meals a day for those two weeks. Place it in a freezer / fridge in a house approx 400 yards from the one you live. Only retrieve the food you intend to use that day to said living abode.

4. Ensure the weather in you chosen island is suitably wet and cold that you are not tempted to retrieve more when cravings hit in the evening. That’s it.

Back to the diary or the exercise regime for the last week or more. Two bigs jobs to tick off as progress.

Firstly, a big shout out to Paul who courtesy of storm Arwen stayed on island for a couple rather than one planned day this last week. Paul contributed to cutting back outdoors but had a huge input into ripping out the second attic room.

Back when we bought the room looked like this

Like the first of the attic rooms we intended to remove the strapping that was there to hold plasterboard. The remove the plaster from the gable wall to reveal the stonework beneath. As I often do, I’ll let pictures tell the story.

The exposed boards and skylight facing the hill

To have three of us concentrate on this task allowed us to complete the rip out in under 48 hours compared to days spread across 3 weeks for the other room. Karen and I the took a trip to the mainland to dispose of approx 30 sacks of rubble – again great exercise no gym required on the renovation diet.

The second task, I again must give thanks, this time to Donald and his chainsaw. With his help the front garden has been reclaimed. First Karen and I removed the dead buddlea and hydrangea before cutting the boundary trees to a height of 6 foot. The latter where the chainsaw came in handy.

The montage of pictures above shows the front garden when we bought. The reality was that over the summer, when concentrating on other areas, the plant life / weeds / bramble took over much more of the lawn by the time we started this task. There are pictures of interim states on previous posts and on Instagram @oldmansegigha but here is the result of which, we are very proud.

In front of the Old Manse the magnificent bay tree

The brown earth in front of the tree line indicates how far the garden encroached over the lawn

Some work to repair, but the drive is no longer impeded by overhanging bushes.

Most recently, to complete the inventory of tasks, we collected roofing sheets for the shepherd’s hut from the mainland. Our thanks to Ros for taking delivery at our old address and Dan for help in offloading in our absence. The sheets travelled safely in the back of the hilux yesterday to Gigha through wind, sleet and rain. All of which making me think I need a new waterproof.

Safely tucked away whilst more Christmas provisions bought at Morrisons Helensburgh.

It wasn’t all work though as I had the opportunity to indulge in no less than three of my favourite passions. In pictures below, first my photographic attempts to match present day Old Manse to photo archives of yesteryear. Second, my attempt at goose stew – those who know me, know how much I love to cook and a gift of goose breast prompted this meal. And third, but by no means least, a photo borrowed from @darkskiesgigha, of the recent planet watching hour. My friend Keith really knows his stuff and provided a fantastic tour through stars and time on the night.

Clockwise, the gift of goose, prep, 6 hours of slow cooker, the result

Blessed with clear skies for views of Venus, Saturn and Jupiter.

Peter, the stripper

So the good weather in Scotland finally broke and a realisation that a mix of inside jobs to go with garden duties would be needed the week I was joined by my good friend Pete. Pete and I have known each other since our early twenties when we worked at Rolls Royce together. He, like many of my friends from former lives, loves Scotland and will jump at the chance to visit, even if it means being put to work by his host.

Rain at the start of the week allowed stripping of wallpaper from the ground floor hall. A task that had long been identified as the damp had sorely affected the room and discovery of damage to the plaster walls underneath was necessary. I cannot spin an interesting story out of wallpaper stripping so I will offer a couple of pictures and move on. Needless to say the blog entry takes it’s name from this activity merely to grab attention!

Part abstract painting, part relatively good plaster.

Blue skies returned the following day, well overcast, but it doesn’t sound quite as poetic. Back to the garden and the main task of the week, to reduce a hedge that had grown to approx. twenty foot high down to a more reasonable six foot. The hedge borders the south of what is intended to be the formal garden, the hedge to the east was trimmed by a combination of friends back in May (thank again to James & John) and has produced a leafy screen of privet as intended at the lower boughs. We are hoping in time that this hedge can do the same, the first being so successful it needs a further trim.

Again I’m going to let the pictures do the talking but two days of clipping and a third of burning the cut privet resulted in the desired effect. Plenty of scratches, bruise and the odd burn as the privet fought not to be reduced to a reasonable height but I think we won in the end.

Before the cut on the left, after on the right for comparison

Plenty of hazards to snap back and catch you unaware when climbing to a height to cut.

Pete used as a yardstick to height of hedge throughtout.

I can now see the house from the garden…. just. Other obstacles still need to be dealt with.

Keen eyed amongst you will notice that our appointed joiner visited this week to complete all work requiring scaffold. The dormer window frames are now repaired as well as unnecessary vents removed from the roof, gutters are back and a final accent of black paint has been added to the chimneys. We think it’s all beginning to look rather good on the exterior and cannot wait to have the windows back in. All that in a little time as glass is still awaited in the workshop.

It wasn’t all work this week though, I did allow Pete a day off in the middle to explore the peninsula. Argyle & Bute have recently been promoting the Kintyre 66. A route of 66 miles, from which the name is taken, taking in Tarbert, Isle of Gigha, Machrihanish, Campbeltown and Skipness to name some of the stops. For anyone who is interested take a look at: https://www.wildaboutargyll.co.uk/destinations/kintyre-and-gigha/the-kintyre-66/

Although it was a wet day we (I) thought we would brave a trip to the Mull of Kintyre lighthouse. The beaches of west Kintyre made for stunning scenery on our drive down the Atlantic road of the west coast and visibility was good. Not so as we (Pete) drove the final seven miles of B-road, and then descended approximately half a mile by foot in the direction of the lighthouse. We did glimpse the associated build through the mist that Paul McCartney once so fondly sang about but at that point lunch in the old clubhouse at Machrihanish golf club looked far more appealing. I can highly recommend the fish and chips: https://machrihanishdunes.com/dine/the-old-clubhouse-pub/

A trip to Campbeltown for paint and provisions at the local Tesco, then a drive back up the east coast of the Peninsula. A half hearted attempt to find the Anthony Gormley statue at Saddell failed due to poor navigational skills but more luck was had in finding the Seafood Cabin at Skipness: https://www.skipnessseafoodcabin.co.uk/ Again you will observe the author has more joy in finding food related locations over historic artefacts.

Back on to garden clearing at the end of the week. Much more cutting back in the walled garden to reveal the space that one day will house vegetables, or at least we hope. And further clearing back into the orchard before we were joined by a larger work party at the weekend. Always great to have company and the first persons to brave pitching a tent to enjoy the wonderful views the meadow affords. More harsh pruning back in the front garden has made us realise too how much ground there is yet to be put to use at the front of the Manse, reclaiming this will allow much better access for vehicles. Further too it as uncovered some great flowers that should be less suffocated by others that have been dominant.

In the veg garden, access back to the orchard gained from cutting

Vegetable garden. more strimming and poly tunnel to be partially cleared

Hedge cuttings, now to be disposed of and path clearing along the west wall of the walled garden.

Front garden, for the first time the wall of the garden visible and the magnificent bay tree

So another week done and we are beginning to see potential being converted to actual physical gains. The north wall of the garden has trees identified, two fig, pear, olive and peach join a herb garden containing fennel and mint to name but two. The orchard needs much cutting but there are at least twelve apple trees bearing a good harvest of fruit – although I am told by those who have picked they are sour tasting. The vegetable garden has been cut back and while not quite bramble free is closer to being so bar the raspberry canes, blueberry and blackberry that have been identified and left intact. The least-formal formal garden has again been cleared of unwanted brambles and the two bordering hedges cut to a reasonable size leaving the mimosa and eucalyptus trees as centre pieces. A lawn is being discussed.

The house and external works are also coming together. The pictures above show the significant effort from our roofer and joiner to get us this far. The Isle of Gigha is becoming our home and we love it here, the peace an tranquillity are just what we wanted, the stunning sunsets and the clear night sky are both natural treasures that I will never tire of. So to finish this weeks instalment a view from the scaffold before it disappears (gives a great perspective of the Old Manse grounds) and some from the boat house where I have enjoyed the odd beer this week.

Not quite the colour to the naked eye but the view out from the boat house bathed in late sun setting behind us

And the view from the table – I highly recommend a visit

From the highest point of scaffold the view to the west

And to the East the grounds, so much achieved, so much still to be done and maintained…

Costa del Scotia

Weather seldom seen in Scotland for the last two weeks has seen Gingers running for shade and even the most hardy Scot reaching for the factor duffle coat. Taps off indeed. And because of this we have all been outside making hay as the saying goes, not having time to commit to the written word. So let me tell you what we’ve been up to…

The weekend before last Karen and I attended a dry-stone walling course run by West of Scotland Dry Stone Walling Association or WSDSWA for short. The course took a format of practical interspersed with short spoken tutorials. The wall, on one of the paths we walk in Cardross regularly, was to be deconstructed and then rebuilt. Probably most easily explained with a few photographs:

Foundations stones re-laid after establishing larger stones from the deconstructed wall

Layers of wall built up ensuring each layer is stable by pinning the larger stones……

…….and filling in-between the two outer stones with heart stones

through stones are inserted at half-way, they span the wall and more to provide strength and tie the two sides together

More layers are added to bring to full height and a cover stone is added as a last layer

Finally coving stones finish the wall being tightly pinned so as not to move and secure the wall at the finish

A hard couple of days in the heat but a new skill learned and a very satisfactory result gained from our efforts. Worth noting that a stretch of wall of approximately 20m took a team of 20 split evenly between tutors and students 2 days to rebuild. Whilst no all needing attention the walled garden is approximately 50m square so I have plenty to practice on. A think the walls we have are differently constructed to the one of above featuring two walls built in the shape of an A frame and tied together using smaller stones as the walls reduce to half the size of the base at the top.

On the following Monday I left for Gigha taking my old friend Paul for company. Paul was under strict orders to do no work and use the week to convalesce, being there to ‘keep an eye on me’ and to ‘stop me doing anything stupid’. We arrived on Gigha to find my boy, who has a tendency to race ahead when unsupervised, had already achieved the latter…..

We continued that day to clear more of the overgrown outbuilding and strim the paths adjacent to them. And with all that work Dan and I decided it was time to exercise our golf membership for the first time, taking along Paul and Anna-Rose for company. For a small island and a volunteer workforce the course was in great condition and provided a good challenge with 6 par four and 3 par threes. The golf course, being a short walk from the Old Manse, is absolutely perfect for a player of my standard to improve and relaxed enough to walk along and just play selected holes whenever it takes my fancy.

Anyone reading the last blog or following also on Instagram (@OldManseGigha) will know of the battle to convince EE their Island mast is not working as intended. Dan has made several calls, the last resulting in convincing an engineer to come to the mast on Tuesday morning, so we primed ourselves to find him – a real case of we know where you work (sounds threatening but not meant to be). Handily we had scoped our way to the mast, conveniently located above the golf course, the night before so we were confident we could make contact. And that we did. I’m not going to bore you with the detail but the problem now seems to have been fixed resulting in a real win and allowing good download speeds at the Old Manse making (computer) work there feasible.

Tuesday continued inside, returning to the task of ripping out the attic room. Not a particularly interesting story to tell other than to explore the state of the roof from the inside and ensure any damp insulation was removed before starting to build the rooms up from bare brick again.

Wednesday started with a trip to Campbeltown to dispose of all the redundant plasterboard and insulation removed in the pictures above. The trip had two more objectives to find an outdoor tap for a repair of one that has been constantly leaking (success) and to buy a replacement drive belt for the tractor mower (failure). The ferries to Gigha have been at capacity in this good weather so we found ourselves lucky to grab the last car spot at midday allowing a few more jobs that afternoon. Notably coving boards were undercoated before we headed out to show Paul more of the Island as part of his convalescence.

Back in black, coving & gutters and downpipes to be in black on the Old Manse

Gigha harbour providing a beautiful backdrop to the Boat House Restaurant

The north facing twin of Gigha’s twin beaches

The missing parts for the shepherd’s hut still frustrate me but I decided I now had enough information to complete the base. Thursday saw me clear the site of roots and lay landscaping fabric across the area we want the hut to lie. That allowed me to calculate where the feet should stand and dig four holes to be filled later with concrete topped with a slab. If my calculations are correct this should provide a sturdy support. The following day, on what seemed the hottest day of the week, I shuttled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of render chipped from the Old Manse to act as the cheap type 1 to cover the fabric and hopefully deter any further growth once the hut is established.

To the weekend, where Paul and I were joined by my friends Graham and Jacqui. They had volunteered to continue clearing the outbuildings and walled garden of ivy and small trees. Jacqui had previously scaled the gable end of the last outbuilding to strip back and phoned to say they were determined to finish the job. That allowed me to turn attention to the drive that had also been overtaken by brambles and grass that now very much needed to be strimmed.

Doesn’t show how much effort went in to stripping this wall bare of ivy but what a result!

I should add that work continues to point the now bare stone of the house and the windows are being worked on in Helensburgh. So lots of progress in the time I have been away from the blog. For those who want a more regular fix, with my new found internet connectivity, I’ve tried to post daily to Instagram. Most recently I’ve posted a series of videos that give a tour of the garden and if I can figure a suitable way to prep and upload them I will copy them here also. This week sees us deal with a few things in Cardross before returning to Gigha again next week.