New Year

Another lull in me committing to write blog entries. Life has been no less busy or stressful in the time between the last post and now. However, I will try and muster what has happened in the last few months and provide some pictures of current status to bring the blog up to date. On that note a happy and healthy New Year everyone!

Last postings were in October with the rugby World Cup underway. We had held tickets for the QFs in Paris for quite some time hoping Scotland may progress but reality was that they would not overcome Ireland and South Africa ranked above them. What the QFs promised and delivered were matches between 4 of the best sides in the world, New Zealand and France joining the aforementioned Ire & SA in the those matches. Karen and I took the first, and in my opinion, game of the tournament, between NZ & Ire; Dan & Anna Rose opted for the home nation versus SA and were again treated to some brilliant rugby.

Paris was great too. We opted for Disney main park day 1, which took me back to when the kids were young. The young uns spent time on the big thrill rides whilst I waited for Thunder Mountain to come back in to service late in the evening. Day 2 saw a lot of walking and our first taste of onion soup and steak frites, again honouring an old tradition. Eiffel tower on Day 3 and a boat trip towards Notre Dame where we found the best restaurant of the trip. Some good work from Dan & Anna Rose to identify a recommended restaurant from a travel blogger was a lovely birthday treat for me. Day 4 took us to a shopping centre near the Paris Opera house that afforded near 360 degree views of Paris – another good find.

In November it was Karen’s turn for a birthday, which we celebrated with friends at the Stonefield Castle Hotel. Suffice to say we wined and dined well and it was great to see our closest friends from the mainland all in good form. It does seem however, cameras were kept from the main event as there is only a group shot from breakfast the following morning. Karen’s birthday itself was bonfire night and we again welcomed Dan and Anna Rose to the island to sample my cooking.

One of our visions when coming to Gigha was to create for ourselves a lifestyle business, the shepherds hut that has been home for the last few months providing a prototype to that. In November an opportunity presented itself to bid for the management of the holiday cottages that are owned by IGHT and I am pleased to say that our proposal was well received by the IGHT Board. To that end we took over the lease of the holiday cottages on the 1st December. Some work ahead in renovation and redecoration prior to the season truly starting around about Easter , but our first visitors have already stayed.

Before I report on house renovation progress I will tell another secret I have had to keep for some time. Over the past 6 months we have been taking part and filming for a Channel 4 show called Renovation Nation. The footage has been collected and we await a date for it to be shown, but it’s looking like a summer release.

The house has moved forward considerably but at the same time has still much to do. With one exception of the dining room / stair wall the plasterboard & tape and fill is complete. A leak at a first floor window stops me telling you all windows are fitted and correct on first floor; the ground floor still has work on a kitchen and porch window to complete. Internal doors are in and framed with the exception of kitchen into dining room. Bathrooms still need work as does the heating system. The snagging list is longer but not for here.

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!

Home & Garden

With Easter and May yielding a number of holidays from work a proper it has given us lots of opportunity to get out in the garden, well at least when the sun shone. Easter weekend allowed an inventory of tools and a clear down of the shed, with all the bigger mechanical items being rehomed under a tarpaulin in one of the outhouses. As per usual there were mixed results in the restarts for the first time of the year but I can report success with two lawnmowers, the hedge trimmer and the brush cutter. Neither push-along strimmer has yet responded to coaxing back to life.

Easter weekend itself saw a social organised in aid of the Sound of Gigha festival tobe held later this year. A treasure hunt around the island allowed collections of a variety of object and many wrong answer to location questions passed to other teams. A hastily crafted cocktail umbrella proved the difference as our team, Last past the Post, finished…….. first; huzzah!

On the house front, the work has largely been about taping and filling. So no step change in building work but a word of appreciation to our builder who is performing that painstaking task. I guess it is one up from watching paint dry on the boredom scale. The caravan remains very much our home for the moment but moves are afoot to change that.

Karen has been the star of the show when it comes to making the shepherds hut into the fantastic space we want it to be. First the roof has been sanded and varnished, before the same operation was applied to the floor. Several coats of varnish with a sand in between to ensure a good finish have resulted in a great look for the hut in my opinion. Then the practical job of insulation, with sheep’s wool being the chosen material for it’s green credentials. One wall has been finished with a combination of plywood and tongue and groove, as the rest will be once first fix of plumbing and electrics are complete. The kitchen has been (largely) purchased and assembled curtesy of an IKEA delivery, but again cannot be placed before the aforementioned work. It is also keeping the purchase of the bathroom bathroom company in the middle of the hut.

Purchases do seem to be a bit of a theme at the moment with decisions made (and purchased) for ground floor flagstone tiles, first floor flooring (re-engineered oak) and bathroom. We are also ruminating on bathroom tiles and lighting across the house. The bank account knows.

Lastly, for this blog, another glorious show of the Northern Lights. Once again missed by me, but captured by the keen eye of Argyll Aurora group Leader Robert.

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.

It’s coming on Christmas

Like most men, I think, I’m not very good at present shopping. Truth is I failed miserably come birthday present time this year and Christmas may not be a whole lot better unless I get myself into shape on the next planned trip to the mainland. Island life brings about a whole new dependency on the Amazon parcel service but I still like to hold and feel an item before I buy (old school). So one chance to get this right next visit…..

But before Christmas there is another month to look back upon, including that birthday I didn’t plan well for but others did. A surprise visit from four of our friends to coincide with Karen’s birthday saw some great weather for walking. The picture below is one of us on Liem beach where we stroll to work up an appetite for the lasagna that lay in waiting for us back at the cottage. Elaine’s cooking never disappoints and was happily washed down by copious amounts of red wine to celebrate another year.

The weekend also saw myself and other friends on the island put the finishing touches to the infrastructure that will be the Dark Skies Theatre on Gigha. Benches have been waiting at the Manse for a while and with a plinth and information panel there time had come to be anchored in place. Fortunately, some good weather whilst doing the job allowed everything to complete without a hitch.

The Dark Skies Festival including an opening of the now prepared ‘Theatre would take place the following weekend. A mobile planetarium was deployed at the village hall and exhibits of local photographs, space suits and Virtual Reality kept visitors amused for the evening. A special mention to the troops from Cosmos Planetarium who, in the day, had hosted events for the local primary school before two shows in the planetarium that evening. A formal opening of the the theatre on the Saturday was followed by an evening lecture on robotic telescopes and an informal ‘ask the expert’ session hosted by yours truly. Very proud of what we as a group (take a bow Keith, Kenny, Casey-Jo & Julie) have achieved and my small contribution towards that. Much happens on this small Island to make it punch above it’s weight in terms of population and is evidenced by this and the support received from other groups and individuals. More than a third of all residents (guessing with the kids closer to half) attended events over the course of the weekend and input from Gigha Brewery (Dave & Anna), the Gigha Hotel, local comic book authors (Adam & Lisa), OGAM Project (Maggie) and Bookbug (Hannah) all made for an astronomical success (pun intended). My apologies if I have missed anyone from the list.

December has brought with it some clear skies and cold weather making for some great scenery both around the Island and at the Manse itself. It has also reminded me that whilst the caravan would have continued to provide us with cheap accommodation it would not have been warm accommodation. The log burner at the cottage has been well used.

Our friend Wendy commented, when she visited the island recently, that much of the social life revolves around food. No event can take place without the expectation of at least one of a sandwich platter, bowl of soup or (mostly present) cake. It isn’t helping my waistline but it has been comforting to share in the traditional whist drives with a perfect example of this catering.

Meanwhile, we continue our own traditions of a martini on Sunday afternoon before a traditional roast dinner. The apples that we have in abundance, are being steadily dealt with and cooking remains one of my favourite hobbies. So much so we have already had our first Christmas dinner when our son and his partner visited last weekend. More clear skies and walking on Sunday to walk off the excess of food completes the summary of the month.

Old Man Problems

Another month behind me when I look at the last blog date and will try and take things chronologically, jogging my memory from iPhone photos – first OMP (Old man problem) to note memory loss. That wasn’t quite what I had in mind though when titling the blog entry, another birthday has passed and the hernia I acquired through heavy lifting in the summer has been dealt with, but more of that later.

Knowing that the Manse needed emptied for imminent arrival of workmen we employed local joinery services to reroof the shed. A good solution to storage problems in the short term supposing we could make it waterproof. Very pleased with the new tin to keep out leeks and further application of sealant to the window seems to have done the trick.

Over the last month we have got back to walking, not as regular as I would like but the next photos on my phone remind me that at the start of the month in relatively good weather, we found the path from Ardailly Mill to Springbank. I say found as on at least two occasions we lost sight of the next waymarker making it difficult to navigate in a straight line. The walk though provided good views of the West Coast of Gigha and one I shall repeat with knowledge provided OMP#1 and my ever failing sense of direction doesn’t impede that.

OMP#2 lifting heavy things in your fifties can cause damage. I am very thankful though to the local health services that have speedily put me back together. A diagnosis of hernia in the summer was resolved on the 6th October with an outpatient visit to Oban hospital. The visit gave me the excuse to buy Richard Osman’s third book ‘The Bullet that Missed’ and read it in 48 hours of pre-op and post-op recuperation. All went well and, for the main, I have regarded the advice to ‘take it easy’ for a few weeks.

Pleased to report though, that I was in rood health for my birthday 9 days later and did the things I enjoy. The weather was less good for the scheduled walk of the new Southern loop but we managed all the same. A few difficulties again due to finding markers, but more to due to lack of strength in my core to clamber over slippery rocks. Came back very wet but a shower, bottle of good red wine and a steak dinner concluded birthday celebrations nicely. OMP#3 too many birthdays makes it difficult to buy for. However, I’m pleased to report new walking trousers, a new toy for the camera and a Scotland rugby shirt made for a pretty good day!

The week following my birthday saw the last week of our caravan summer. We are moving back to solid walls for the duration of the winter months but feel I should pay tribute to the steel box we leave behind as it has served us well this summer. Lately, also, the walk back to our home has provided great views of the night sky and when the skies cleared I was able to test out my automated shutter release birthday present (photo below). More of a concern in the Manse garden was the first mink attack on the chicken coop. Karen dealt admirably with the predator but a new chicken coop and mink trap had to be ordered as a consequence.

Last of the three walks this month I want to mention was the path to Fisherman’s cave. Another wet October day saw our mission to find the cave on the West Coast and after the first boggy field to reach the stone path, the effort was worth it. Some lovely views when you find the entry point and again a walk to be repeated on a summer day. I can tick the walk of the list I have from the book below that I would highly recommend to any visitor to Gigha.

So a flurry of moving into the cottage, attempting to pick any remaining apples and turn them into something worthwhile, building a new chicken coop before a weekend off-island fell largely to Karen. First batches of (experimental) cider underway and a complete coop below are evidence of what a tremendously hard working wifey I have. All of this set us up for a lovely weekend of seeing friends and family just gone. A chance to indulge my passion of rugby watching with our good friends proved an excellent highlight to start the weekend. A trip to the concert hall in Glasgow to see Squeeze book-ended a great three days of good food and the odd indulgence. But I don’t miss Edinburgh / Glasgow traffic.

See Food

It’s been a long while since the last blog, my apologies to my readership, it’s been busy. So I’m first going to talk about one of my great loves food before giving a more chronological account of the last couple of months.

We are blessed on Gigha to enjoy three fantastic food eateries who all thrive on the fantastic seafood this island offers. Before posting pictures of those I want to talk about the community on the island and how blessed I was to find a knock on the door asking if I could use a couple of lobsters. A swift yes to Ben B allowed me to make lobster, asparagus and pea risotto the following night and boy was it good!

In no particular order I’ve had the pleasure of eating at the Gigha Hotel, The Boathouse and The Nook in the past fortnight. I’m a regular at the Nook for their Fish and Chips but enjoyed the pickled fish platter today to celebrate finishing the deck (more later). I treated the deck builders to The Boathouse last night and enjoyed the Linguine Vongole, highly recommended. And the Hotel last week for a visit from a good friend, thoroughly enjoying Gigha oysters before a well cooked burger. Again more of this later but look out for the food in the stories.

Back to late July to pick up the story from the last post. We continued to remove parts of the first floor that were to no longer remain in the new version of the Manse. Ceilings came down and more lath and plaster were placed in front garden and wood piles respectively. Surprisingly one of the two bedrooms yielded three ceilings, one above another that was hidden at first look. It does give the height back to the room though.

When you take down a ceiling and find another ceiling

One of two rooms on the first floor now stripped of lath and plaster

We then tackled the last of the living room on the first floor. And thinking that was most of the demolition, we set about emptying the house. The decision prompted us to move the caravan to a location we could construct the awning. After a couple of false starts (to move behind the house) we settled on a sheltered spot in the front garden. As long as we don’t sink after the weekend’s downpour it will remain home for a while.

Karen became an expert with the motor mover……

…. but even with her skills it wouldn’t make the corner

We have been blessed with visitors and a great social life too of late. Delighted to host Andy & Emily Peake for a couple of nights who both played a part in cutting the meadow. Their timing was perfect to join us for a great party down at Liem too, so much so I cannot recall the following picture being taken. Nedless to say we had a good time (and plenty of red wine).

I have also been working throughout August. And whilst I make no secret of attempting to transition away from the IT industry I am grateful for being able to work from home and earn a decent wage that all is going on with the cost of living at the moment. What makes the day at the desk easier is that I have moved into the shepherd’s hut and have some great views from there.

And our own standing stone when I open the door

I got to indulge another of my passions as the days grow shorter, that of stargazing. Some lovely night skies and I managed to capture a moonscape of which, I am quite proud. Though not as good as my friends at Argyll Auroras who produced the latter stunning image that was then annotated by my good friend and Dark Skies expert Keith.

Keith’s annotated photo whom I must credit to Robert Laing ( can you spot the Manse?)

Our social month continued with visitors aplenty. Murdoch and Rhona arrived by (push) bike as did Steve a week later. But the prize for most stunning travel to the island was taken by Julian who upstaged all by arriving by plane. Steve put in a great shift emptying the Manse and Murdoch has returned to photograph the estate for us. I think I need a whole blog on what he has produced……

We started with the oysters – Gigha has the best from anywhere I’ve found

A view from the plane – guess the island.

Either side of our wedding anniversary we spent time on the garden, something we both love. Whilst I dont put these pictures on to say look how great it is looking I’m still pretty chuffed that we are holding back the weeds to keep the canvass looking ok. Hoping for big things next year if we can keep control for a while longer. I must mention the wedding anniversary and a cheeky lunch at Skipness Seafood Cabin – a great way to celebrate with the woman I love more and more each year xx.

And back on the house front there were decisions – again prompted by food – choosing the kitchen components. The layout though is still up for grabs so will talk about that in later months. We did come up with some novel design tools mind, or archaic possibly? We concluded we would order from Wren and do so now before prices escalated further.

Now bang up to date the bill of fare for this weekend was to build a deck in front of the shepherds hut. Lots of pictures on Insta for this one and a hearty thanks to our friends Kathryn and John who endured the wettest day of the year to build the frame. The weekend ended in glorious sunshine for me to screw down the last remaining boards and enjoy that decadent pickled fish platter from the Nook washed down with a glass of champagne delivered by plane earlier in the week. We have some great friends!

Decadent afternoon to celebrate finishing

And what better than The Nook’s pickled seafood platter washed down with fizz?

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).