Are a thing. Second year of producing Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society calendars – by popular demand. Most of the photos are my own. Heirlooms, these.
TPAS Calendars
posted in: art, Countryside, Wales
Chimneys
posted in: Renovation, Wales
Four chimneys on this house. One in each sort of wing. Two of which were letting water through. A run of fine weather, a loan of some scaffolding and the exhilaration of exposure as I stepped out on the unguarded top to finally fix them both. Cement, lime, sand, poly fibres, waterproofing admixture and it was like icing a cake. Tucked in the flashings and the odd slipped slate while I was up there and enjoyed the view of Keri’s lovely garden from this lofty altitude.
Cold Snap
posted in: Countryside, Renovation, Wales
Our penchant for big and draughty old building sites with history does have its downside. This is our bedroom this evening. Two nights later it showed 1°C. We were pretty miserable with it.
Renovation Progress
posted in: Renovation, Wales
Today (and yesterday) i have mostly been sanding 500 year old beams.
Magic Carpet Ride
posted in: Countryside, Flying, Wales
A magic carpet ride around the coast of Pembrokeshire in yesterday’s sunshine and quiet air with Hâf and a map. With a land-away at Haverfordwest.
18th March
posted in: Countryside, Nature, Wales
Primroses, celandine and the Chiff Chaffs are back. It must be 18th March.
IN01N8A17
posted in: Other stuff, The Final Frontier, Wales
I arrived home today to find that I’ve been IN01N8A17’d. Jesus! These TV Licensing guys are getting really serious. At least it wasn’t an IN01N8A20 – now that would be really bad. Also today, Dyfed-Powys called round to check that I’m not: (a) cooking Crystal Meth (b) Printing counterfeit £11 pound notes (c) driving a car with excessive wear on my rear-offside suspension bush.
Axolotl
posted in: art, Countryside, Nature, Wales
Fallen ash trees turn into Axolotls it seems. Who knew?
Fedw Fawr – February Update
posted in: Renovation, Wales
Since Christmas, and with few opportunities for anything else to do we decided on a blitzkrieg approach to the upstairs in ye olde part of the house. Four hundred years of west Welsh rain has taken its toll and the stone walls were in a parlous state. The clay mortar long since washed away, and many of the walls have caved in on themselves. This has required us to either rebuild from floor level to wall-plate or fill the huge wonky voids with a mass of lime mortar equivalent to 71 William Shatners (or 322 Kylie Minogues)
Anyway, here’re some pics. The best two photos courtesy of my neighbour and friend, Samuel Ashfield. We make three mixers full per day and then quietly force feed it into the centre of the wall and straightening up where possible as we go along. We have now restored three out of four sides such that they’re ready for a scratch render coat. Where original plaster is still intact, this will remain untouched and preserved. Click an image to see in full.
Oh by the way, while we’re doing all this we’re living in one room with just a cold tap for ablutions. The fourth world.
Looking N to S. © Samuel Ashfield 
Opposite view © Samuel Ashfield 
A mess of largely rotted timbers. 
Stainless helix ties two precarious bits together. 
Wall rebuilt, now awaiting temperatures greater than 5 deg C and we can add lime render coats x 3 
Awaiting first scratch coat (5:2 sand/lime) and some horsehair.
Such a Shitty Day
posted in: Bollocks, Nature, Renovation, Wales
No, not investigating a potential nuclear shelter. The infinite wisdom of the previous owner at Fedw Fawr led him to half-fill the septic tank with rubble. Well it is a hole I suppose. Anyway, couldn’t empty the tank properly so I had to fumble around in the bottom 18 inches of goo (rhymes with) for an assortment of bricks, slates and plumbing paraphernalia. Oh how I laughed. It was just like a bran tub except the prizes were rubbish and the bran was a bit soggy.
