The most pressing tree surgery is now complete with those trees that were threatening to undermine or fall on the wall removed. It’s been costly – and we haven’t bothered asking to share costs with our neighbours – and it’s sad to lose any trees, but that should be it for a few years unless … More 6th February 2021

On Monday, it was Bats 1 – Coxes 0, but by Tuesday, it was Bats 1 – Coxes 2. We’ve heard in the last day or two that we’ll receive planning permission for our outbuildings. Some welcome progress, but only after a hiccup or two when the Council’s ecologist didn’t agree with our ecologist over … More 3rd February 2021

Every evening at about 10pm, Dulcie and I go for our final walk round the garden.  In recent nights these have been heavy with frost, almost daylight with a half moon illuminating everything from a clear, starry sky.  The frost glints like crystals shining on the cars and paths, sometimes we’ve seen shooting stars.  We … More 29th January 2021

It’s Bev’s birthday today and she was over-the-moon with her favourite present – the last remaining six fencing panels. Better still, Henry popped by as a surprise – first time we’ve seen him since Christmas – to say hello and indulge in some socially-distanced fencing. The craftsmen at Burfitt and Garrett are really cracking on … More 27th January 2021

A nice view this morning over sunny Somerset from Windmill Hill above us. If you’d like to know more about the Windmill, Bev’s added another tab to the pull-down menu in ‘Bev’s Background’. Dave has almost completed his repairs to the west gate posts, straightening them and splicing in new oak where the old has … More 23rd January 2021

The old oak gates have been removed from the west gate. The old hinges have totally seized up but can be freed up by the village blacksmith, Ian, who is making some replacement ironwork where it’s missing, as well as a lattice cover for the well. We’re salvaging the top half of the gates to … More 19th January 2021

In the latest fencing news, we’ve turned a corner, taking advantage of the first dry day for ages. Nine panels up …

Chris’ day today began with his first stint volunteering at the village shop, ‘doing the papers’ at 7am and helping our neighbour, Martin, who clearly thinks we’re at a loose end and need something to occupy us … It’s been very wet this week and this has delayed progress on the fence. However this afternoon … More 16th January 2021

We’re starting to see one of the possible reasons this place is called Clouds … If you want to know the real reason, click on the ‘Background with Bev’ tab where Bev has outlined the history of Clouds House. For those of you interested in fencing (!), nine post holes dug and delivery of materials … More 11th January 2021

Dulcie was the first of us to try on our new hi-vis, Christmas presents from Genevieve and Ollie. We’ve measured out the position of the new fence. We’ve decided to bring the new fence line a few feet our side of the existing fence so that there’s no need to move Nigel and Pamela’s collection … More 9th January 2021