Fire! and a floor.

An amazing days progress on the roundhouse – Helen, Michael, Alexey, Jim and Edie got almost all the slate  floor laid and very fetching it looks too. I fitted the last of the flue, and the fire was lit. Suddenly the little house seems to have come to life. Next...

The perils of being educated

Although its not something I’ll have to worry about for a good while yet, the thorny subject of what kind of education I would want for my child, is hovering at the edge of my mind. I have always maintained that school is basically a lottery, in which having a...

Heating in the roundhouse

The cob fireplace gets its first proper layer Today I thought I’d try and get the heating sorted out in the roundhouse, and so several barrow loads of cob mix later and here are the results. It’ll need a fine finish layer, but its getting there. The actual...

Why?

Someone recently said that they liked what I’m doing but couldn’t work out what my motivations were. A really good question as it turns out – in responding I had to think it through.I’ve always been what I optimistically refer to as self...

A front door at last

With the weather on the turn, I thought it would be a good idea to fit a front door to the roundhouse, even if it ends up being temporary. The handle comes courtesy of some of the ivy growing on the neighbouring trees. It’s amazingly hard stuff.

Plastering in the roundhouse

This weekend we had lots of help here at the roundhouse – Jim, Mark, Helen, Michael, Alexey, Steven and Denise did a fine job and we finished off all the lime-hemp plaster that we have, so 3 out of 5 wall panels now have a scratch coat of plaster.  Michael and...

Growing Connections video

I’d forgotten about this excellent video that was made about the work that goes on here on the farm as Growing Connections. Just a 2 minute clip of the larger video, but it gives you a flavour of the place.

Straw Bale Veg Growing

Courtesy of Permaculture Ideas. “Straw bales (not hay bales) are a great place to plant vegetables. Here’s my start-to-finish results! The straw is an easy, loose place for the plants to spread out their roots. Also, up on the straw bale there is...

Roundhouse volunteers

Many thanks to Steven, Belinda, Denise, Alexey, Jim and James for helping out today. It is great to see the inside ready for plastering – it looks fantastic, and to have got the cladding under way. Several people have asked what the roundhouse is for.. Well,...

New website for the Heritage Crafts Association

Although I’m no longer a full time web developer, I’m still lucky enough to be able to work with a few organisations that I really like – one of which is the Heritage Crafts Association. Anyone who is involved with heritage craft should get along and...