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.

…. 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.

Dark Skies

If I spent time praising the good weather of January last time, I need to start by describing the storms that February has brought with it. The skies have been dark with rain and winds have been gusting in excess of 80mph. So far this month it has been quite difficult to achieve anything much at all outside other than to repair damage that the storm, or more specifically the high winds have caused.

I mentioned last time that the roofing felt of the shepherd’s hut had become a casualty of the weather and we spent a comical afternoon earlier this week attempting to fix a tarpaulin to the top of the ‘hut, similar to that of the shed the week before. The shepherd’s hut apart from a damp interior has suffered no further damage I am glad to report.

Nicely tacked, and although this looks calm, it wasn’t!

Karen both thoroughly enjoyed the task and this photograph.

The woods have seen trees uprooted and many branches have been snapped. Another job of clearing to be added to the list once the winds have calmed, which isn’t in sight at the moment. In fairness the woods needed some attention and the damage has only prompted us to get in and start looking at what is required.

Last week this was a clear path through the woods at the rear of the Old Manse

I started writing the post before the weekend and before the third storm to hit us, Storm Franklin, appeared. The tarpaulin on the shed roof is no more and that was three hours spent in vane!! I know that Kintyre Firewood reported gusts of 90mph at Machrahanish so it comes as no surprise. I wont show pictures of more fallen branches but ivy has acted as a sail and brought part of a stone dyke with it into one of the hazel trees. A perfect excuse to coppice the first of the three though – be brave as the local gardening expert told us!

The Ivy pulled some stonework down with it

More Ivy removed to prevent further damage to the wall

And after advice from Achamore Gardens, now coppiced down to a foot

The bad weather has allowed me time to indulge another passion, or at least some administration thereof. I belong to a talented group (them, not me) of stargazers on the Isle of Gigha. The Island has virtually no light pollution and registers a 2 on the Bortle scale (I hadn’t heard of it until months ago either). And the name of the group, Dark Skies Gigha.

The group has been very active, especially for a small island community, and has attracted official recognition to being a Dark Sky Discovery Site in the last month. Also as a recognised Scottish Charity we are seeking funding and opportunities to link up with Glasgow University. No doubt, much more on this to come!

Fantastic recognition for this small isle

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.

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

Plan Bee

First and foremost, we are now resident on Gigha. The stress of moving is behind us (for the moment) and we have once again counted the amount of possessions we retain by placing them in each of a storage container, the cottage we now occupy, overspill to the Old Manse and still a transit load left behind to redeploy to one of the aforementioned locations. Very grateful though to be here and within walking distance of our new home.

After clearing unwanted items in the summer

We always stated our new life was one that started to track toward self sufficiency and whilst we have made inroads to the garden vegetable patches will have to wait. The time was right however to bring bees with us to the Island. Understanding that the previously the Manse has had an apiary we were keen to introduce bees again. Karen has been learning the ropes prior to and through lockdown helping two friends with their own hives and the opportunity to take one for ourselves was too great a pull to ignore.

So last Sunday saw operation hive move begin at 6:30am with a bleary-eyed Andy helping to load some 30,000 bees cling wrapped inside a hive onto the back of the Hilux. With supervision by Wendy & the capable muscle of James, we managed the journey to the truck without incident. The whole affair went smoothly in fact with Wendy & Karen taking the lead once the hive was placed into the walled garden and the bees unwrapped and subsequently released.

We look forward to future production of honey to accompany the great yield the orchard has produced this year. I am delighted that new-found friends are collecting apples from us to turn into juice, sauce, vinegar and cider (no doubt the odd apple pie too). My good friend Julian suggests a future in both cider and mead, which doesn’t sound a bad idea.

At last, the scaffolding is down and the Old Manse can be viewed without the metal cage that has surrounded it for the last few months. I’m delighted with how the exterior is now looking with the render removed and grateful to Karen who persuaded me this was the right look for the exterior. Our builder has done a superb job and now the scaffolding is down we are hoping the ground floor can soon be completed too.

Likewise the windows. Our joiner, like much of Britain it would seem, has experienced supply issues but the glass to finish the glazing of the sash windows has now arrived to his workshop and the first windows should be back into the Old Manse next week. Not the same for the tin I have ordered for the shepherd hut’s roof. For now we wait for a dry day to put roofing felt on to try and prevent any further water ingress but the full roof looks like having to wait a little longer.

With the Old Manse renovation looking like it will have many months still before we can make it a home we are planning for next spring and the end to our tenancy at the cottage already. The shepherd hut is part of that equation, but we have also bought a caravan to go onto the grounds of the Old Manse recognizing that we will need more space should beds not be ready by April. Plans are underway for both hard-standing and French drains to allow for the caravan to be placed to the front garden (eventually). More on the caravan next time hopefully.

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?