Today Paige and Mark arrived with a digger and dump truck to do some more groundworks. The plan had been that we’d be ready by now to build the foundations for the outbuildings. We’ve been granted planning consent for this, but one of the conditions is that our CEMP – a construction environmental management plan … More 3rd March 2021

A full moon over the portaloo last night and still here early on another frosty morning.

Great excitement this morning as the ride-on arrived. The fun today was limited to a careful and brief test drive by Chris, with the benefit of a(nother) recent speed awareness course under his belt. We’ve almost finished the ivy stripping. There’s nothing more satisfying that peeling off a big chunk. The shape of the roots … More 24th February 2021

The first flowers of spring are appearing. And the bluebells are on the way too. Look in ‘Background with Bev’ for a piece on the most famous person from the village – Who, What, Where, Wren? (Thanks, Ollie)

Do you know what badger poo smells like?! Dulcie has been in great disgrace since she came back to the caravan after rolling in plenty of it. The warmer weather and the confined space in the caravan combined to create a truly toxic atmosphere … Fortunately Bev was able to persuade the local dog groomer … More 18th February 2021

The last few days have meant a return to some of our ongoing tasks including ivy stripping and rubble moving for us, and roofing of the well-house – nearly finished – for Trevor and Tim. We’ve ordered an initial 200 native hedging whips to start the planting around the south-east corner – hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, … More 17th February 2021

We’re hoping to thaw out over the weekend. It’s been a bitterly cold week and we’ve only kept warm with numerous layers, Zoom calls with friends, and Dulcie, our hairy hot water bottle, on the bed. Water supplies have been intermittent … Outside activities have been limited to shifting some rubble but even the blocks … More 13th February 2021

We’ve been wondering about the state of the existing sewer that served the bungalow, and also planning the route of the new sewers and how and where we’ll tie them into the existing one. Today two chaps (we’ll call them number 1 and number 2) did a camera survey which fortunately confirmed that the sewers … More 8th February 2021