It struck me as we work away here that our efforts are incredibly transient – part of a cycle of ebb and flow at Lackan, as occupants appear, make their mark, the place blooms, and then they age, and the place ages with them, falls into disrepair, and is ready...
Well, thats the end of the second week living here at Lackan Cottage Farm, although it feels like we’ve been here months. Despite my impatience to get the building work sorted, I’ve come to the conclusion that a rest day is pretty much unavoidable once a...
Without doubt the best time of the day, and here is dawn breaking over the lake at the end of the road. The mist has just rolled down from the mountains, and you can imagine that almost anything could lie beyond it.
Ok, so here is the view from where I am sitting at the laptop, and rather fine it is too. I think we are still at the stage where we keep wandering about just staring at the amazing place in which we find ourselves. For instance, if I look away from the mountains, I...
The last week has been a mad whirlwind as we arrive on site. Our truck got towed in on Monday, and amazingly, I managed to reverse it into the little drive and park up in front of the cottage. At this point we discovered just how much the drive slopes…..Cue some...
Blogging from the phone now as we have no proper Internet. Explored our woods today and found a little cabin hidden away..Some great clearings for camping, so exciting things ahead there.
Do you know this sheep? Or at least what breed she might be? She looked at us with a very enquiring air yesterday as we passed her by at the Balmoral Show, so we stopped for a chat. Balmoral was fascinating, and we could have spent days wandering round. These chaps...
The end of my first week in the cottage, and already I am starting to know all its little quirks. Where the wet rot lurks – where the damp is – where the fungus is – where the rotten brick is, and which bits of its sturdy, yet delicate structure...
Today we had our first visitor to the cottage, and Sinead did us proud. We tackled the thatched roof in the living room, and managed to pull the old timbers, turf and straw down without burying ourselves. It is amazing how much material was up there – the pile...
When we made the decision not to go to Wales and do our thing under the Welsh One Planet Development planning, I felt rather guilty, even though we had found a fantastic place here in Northern Ireland. A year of planning, meetings, travel, and making new friends, as...
Today was a ceiling day. Here is what the ceilings in the house look like. Fairly flat and unassuming. You’d never guess that behind the surface lies this. Yes, a time travelling ceiling. 20th century on the outside, 18th century on the inside. It has perhaps...
The newly found window on the outside. No horriblepebbledash here. A half day at the cottage today, and I wanted to find the source of the Massive Fungus, so climbed into a little gap between the old house and the Horrible Extension to investigate.It didn’t take...
Well, we finally got started. Not the smoothest of beginnings, as the truck broke a fan belt half way there, and then a mile from the house, I knocked one of the mirrors off on a telephone pole. Brendan and I were there first, and greeted Claire cheerily only to...
So nearly ours….Solicitors are doing whatever solicitors do, but not terribly quickly – with any luck it will be ours by the end of the month. (We said that last month). Anyhow, 6 acres and a couple of little cottages will hopefully soon be our home, and...
