The Newbury Show

Late September always means the Newbury Show. I love its mix of agricultural machinery, traditional animal classes and local society. Although we have moved ‘away’ from Berkshire, the show holds very fun nostalgic memories for me, and I make an effort to go every year or two.

Kristy got a bit ‘tyred’ (groan)

Kristy giving it some welly (double groan)

Simon’s next Purchase No. 1 - it’s got nose weights, PTO and a three point linkage! Want!

Simon’s next Purchase No. 2 - alright, a springer and not a cocker, but the meaning is there. The handler is pulling the perfect 'Oooooh Puppy!' face...

The Great Housewarming Party!

We always think it is nice to have a housewarming party when you move house - particularly important in a small community like ours. It is a great chance to meet your new neighbors, and everyone likes a party!

When our house was sold, it was one of a pair of semi-detached cottages. By tremendous good fortune we get on very well with our new neighbours Graham and Charlie - they have similar ideas of self sufficiency and smallholding, and Graham likes carpentry, Land Rovers and real ale - clearly a proper chap! We decided to pool our resources and hold a joint party for neighbours, family and friends old-and-new.

I didn’t take as many pictures as I would have hoped as we were busy mingling, meeting new friends and drinking beer. Our catering arrangements were brutally simple - two Firkins of ale from our local Sherfield Village Brewery http://www.sherfieldvillagebrewery.co.uk/ and half a pig, spit roast with home made apple sauce. Delicious, really rather inexpensive and huge fun!



Graham (our neighbour) and Kristy (my wonderful girlfriend) admiring the beast.

Charlie helping to set up the marquee - that came free with the hog roast!

The Pig all set up and ready to go.

Yours Truly caught in the middle of feeding 80 guests - excuse the terrible picture, it came from a friend's mobile phone and via Facebook!







































And finally some proof that we did actually have some guests! This pic was a still from a timelapse film I made with my GoPro camera. Note the throng of people round the beer tent in the top of the frame!

September

So, having knocked down a wall connecting our kitchen and the yet-to-be-named room at the front of the house, I had to accommodate a 70mm height difference in the floor. Que some battens, Celotex and flooring chipboard from Travis Perkins...

Here is the room that we are flooring. Inevitably for a house built in 1902, the existing floor was quite wonky, so each batten had to be packed out underneath and supported to prevent a lumpy, creaky floor. The new French Doors helped bring the sheets of Celotex inside.

We chose the sunniest day in the month to cut the sheet - the foil lining of the Celotex was blinding when we cut it with a bread knife (not a bodge - the recommended tool!)

We also had our neighbour’s dog Kiwi (she is the lab - our Border Terrier is Monty) round to visit on numerous occasions - she learned to escape from her garden and open our garden gate, so she was a frequent visitor…

I also fitted a new back door - this was a hand-me-down from my parent’s house, so it’s lovely to have at our new home. The bottom pane of glass is JUST high enough for Monty to peer through when he stands on his hind legs! Note the hole in the wall above the door - this will be the soil pipe exit from our new bathroom which we are making from an overly large bedroom upstairs. Having a downstairs loo is most overrated, particularly in the middle of the night!

 

Lastly, I screeded the fireplace hearth where our Clearview will sit. Self levelling screed, as discussed before, is frankly marvelous stuff!

Four Months and No Updates!

Goodness, where to begin!

Life has been so manic that my blog, that I started with the best of intentions, has slipped by the wayside. I'll do a new post for every significant event that has occurred in our little corner of England.

More to follow!

Screed, Crayfish, Defenders and Demolition!

Firstly, apologies for a lack of updates recently - we've been really busy at AnAcreInHampshire. We have tried to get all the 'big and messy' jobs out of the way first - the thinking being that we might not want to knock down walls in a pristine, freshly decorated room. With the deadline of our Housewarming Party looming large, we have been pressing on whenever possible - and fitting work around our full time jobs isn't always easy!

The last of our messy jobs was to open up our landing - before we had a stairwell, and now we have a lovely open landing. This pic was taken mid way through the works - all the uprights bar one are now gone, and the void is drylined and being filled as we speak...

I've also raised the floor in our dining room - this comprised half of the space created when our large internal wall was removed, and there was a step halfway across the room. I took the opportunity to insulate under the new chipboard floors with 40mm Celotex - and a fringe benefit is that the floor no longer bounces when you walk across the room! This did leave the hearth surrounding the main fireplace about 65mm lower than the rest of the floor - not ideal. Que a trip to Wickes (other DIY stores are available...) to look at self levelling screed. We chose the deep base stuff - http://www.wickes.co.uk/deep-base-levelling-compound-20kg/invt/154050/ - not because it was most suitable, but bucause it was in the 'split bags' bin reduced from £17.49 a bag to £2.50 a bag! I've poured three 20kg bags so far and it needs at least one more to fill to a suitable depth to tile...

A new Land Rover also inhabits AnAcreInHampshire towers now - an ex-Police 110 TD5 Station Wagon. It is scheduled for a full rebuild with a galvanised chassis, Puma engine and drivetrain and new body and interior. There will be just enough of the original to satisfy the DVLA's restored vehicle regulations - another job to do before the winter!

Lastly, our new neighbor Graham reported an interesting find on a recent walk - a crayfish trap that was alive with American Signal Crayfish. I shot down to the spot and sure enough he was right - the trap mush have held 30 of the invasive species. This was just the stimulus I needed - I have submitted an application for a trapping license and have ordered an otter-friendly trap. When I next see our other neighbor I'll ask permission to fish - and then we are set up for a lifetime supply of crayfish for the barbeque! More reading here; http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/fishing/38045.aspx

Glazing putty - mankind's most satisfying job?

Our ropey, dusty old carport is destined to become my workshop in due course - and we are rushing through it's refurbishment at the moment. Not only will this allow a covered area to build and fix things around the homestead, it will mean we can move out of the shipping container which is storing the majority of our worldly goods.

(As an interesting aside, the impact that the humble ISO, or Intermodal, Container has had on global development is quite remarkable. Well worth a Wikipedia search if you have a spare minute...)

We have given the workshop a new floor (damp proof membrane, sand and paving slabs) and a coat or 
two of white paint in the very dusty and cobwebby walls. Some nice (and cheap) eBay ledge and brace 
oak doors complete the job, but we had to replace a few broken panes of glass. Cue a self-taught lesson 
in puttying window panes!

I can't quite put my finger on what makes the job quite so pleasing - it must be the mix of an  
easy-to-achieve finish, with visible progress and the pleasure of a job well done. My mind wondered 
to an almost-hypnotised state, and the weight of a day at work just evaporated.

Kristy has decided that glazing putty is now a Blue Job.

Should you face the job, essential tools include a small scraper, some linseed putty, a cup of tea and the 
wireless tuned to Radio 4. Bliss!

Building Works

We already knew that we would like to make alterations to the fabric of the house - the kitchen and sitting room could be knocked through, the Cottage didn't have an upstairs bathroom and a new window in the sitting room and some french doors would make all the difference. We decided to do all the messy and intrusive jobs together before we moved in.

I had a good idea of the changes we would like to make - I had created some 3D CAD models in a super(and free) bit of software called Sketchup, so we were confident that the designs would work - both aesthetically and in practise.

I contacted a Structural Engineer and a Builder (both local - I like supporting local tradesmen and the economy) some weeks before work was due to start - I arranged a start date that could be delayed if the sale of the Cottage didn't happen on time. The Engineer was able to visit just after we completed, meaning the building could start less than a week later.

Day One of Building was very messy and dramatic - the internal wall had gone before lunchtime, and a steel beam (no longer called RSJs, I'm told...) followed a day later.

The stud wall for the new bathroom was next - I had quite fancied building this wall but we had plasterers on site anyway, so it seemed silly not to get it done in one hit.

Finally the openings for the french doors and the bathroom window were made - I think it will give the house a much more balanced look in due course.

We are currently waiting for delivery of our new doors and windows - the installer took pity on us having to live with a boarded-up house, and rushed our job through. I hope that we will have delivery inside a fortnight - fingers crossed!