Monday, 19 September 2011

WINDOWS AND DOORS








I know not why, but I'm more uncertain than when I started. The first anniversary of commencement has gone by, and the next task - the roof covering - is daunting. I rode a horse called Rocky yesterday and that was bad enough. Mounting and dismounting the worst, so I shall need good roof access arrangements. When you look into the horse's eye he appears to have the knowledge of the world, but when you hear the steady printing of his proud feet, you realize that riding is just the bi-product of one of natures great eating machines. The best thing I learned from Amanda is that you can ride a horse into another horse as easily as the milkman reversed into my car last week. Not sure whether I believe this and would prefer all milk to be delivered by horsepower.

Everything is buzzing down here - the timber merchants are so busy they need a new lorry. All I hear on the radio is gloomy. This shows that by the time all those statistics have been requested, collected, reviewed and published, they are at least a year out of date. If it's as bad as all those clever economists would have us believe, my mother's policy of growing vegetables to ward off the German invasion may yet bear fruit. However, I maintain that the better way to be a success in the capital markets is to pick your moment from a deckchair on Winchelsea Beach.

Thursday, 1 September 2011

ROPES PULLEYS AND GEARING



After a sleepless night in the tent ...

I finally came up with a system of ropes ...


To haul the windows up to the first floor - fortunately Suki is very strong.


PRIVATE PARTY

Some things are under-rated.



But Suki insisted on walls before her big birthday party.

An everyone was relieved.

Monday, 18 July 2011

CHANNELING HEAT

I'm fascinated by this figure - Dungeness B is cooled by heating 100 million litres of sea water per hour by 12 degrees C. Is this why the sea is quite warm at Winkelsea beach? 100,000,000 litres is 100,000 cubic metres per hour (and tonnes) or nearly one cubic kilometre a year. The volume of the channel is probably about 9600 cubic kilometres. Ok - probably not.

But the sea has seemed cooler in the last couple of years. Last year was particularly unhot. Dungeness A is dead and B is mostly closed for repair until further notice. I see a connection.

My father used to tell a story about some part that his company had to reinstall a hundred times at Dungeness A. If that weren't bad enough, B has only been operating for half its life. Had we a decent level of phone hacking in the 60s this outrage would never have occurred!?

Both A and B now serve their most useful purpose in my view - protecting the coast from Pett level to Dungeness. They can't let it go while the Geiger counter is still buzzing.

Dungeness Power Station (in the distance)

More framing
Its raining hard and I need to put a lid on.

Saturday, 2 July 2011

MOST RAFTERS UP

Most rafters are now up. There has been an offshore wind for most of this week making the sea appear quite dark. The rain has brought about a second spring and the grass in the field has turned mauve - that which han't been eaten by the Cumbrian sheep who are looking increasingly successful.

However, the biggest shock of the week was an evening stroll round our local pub garden. The renovation by the manager of the former Pet Shop Boys is nearly complete, and it is staggering. It is like a cross between a theme park and Chelsea Flower Show. I used to think that it had potential but this is amazing! And there is obviously alot of money in managing Pet Shop Boys.


Front

Rear

Saturday, 18 June 2011

FROM THE SEA - AN ARCTIC BLAST

Front gable up before the rain set in.


6 rafters up - 56 to go!

After the rain set in.

Saturday, 11 June 2011

WHAT'S IN A NAME

I am wondering whether the name Romnia - meaning gypsy girl - is still appropriate. Maybe Octopede, or Clingon Strike Vessel would be better.



Gable attic wall takes shape.

More doubts about how large to make the window.