This Christmas is different from those that have gone before, for a variety of reasons. First, we don’t have a lot of space here in the truck. Second, we do have pretty much all we need. Thirdly, it’s tough out there people, and we don’t want anyone...
Yesterday I lost an old friend, and had to make one of those decisions that you just don’t want to have to make. I feel very strongly that when you take on responsibility for an animal, then that responsibility lasts a lifetime. Poor Oakley wasn’t blessed...
Today I revisited a long forgotten and yet enjoyable pastime, namely that of tinkering with bicycles. My first proper experiences of mechanical things were all bicycle related, and it has generally stood me in good stead. In fact, dismantling, fettling and...
The panels have been relocated to a nearby south facing roof. The harsh realities of living off-grid in a country where sunlight is often infrequently seen began to make themselves apparent over the last couple of weeks. The solar panels on top of the truck became...
Today we finally began to fill in the walls of the roundhouse with strawbale, and suddenly the building has a feeling of solidity. The fairly tight curve of the wall isn’t so easy to follow with bales, but it’s coming along nicely. Here are some of...
This week we went on a short adventure to Edinburgh to see my sister, and couldn’t resist seeing the castle, where I pondered what this magnificent creature might be. It looks just like a horse, sitting outside the national Scottish War Memorial, but has cloven...
Today we reached a milestone with the roundhouse as we put on the straw, then the pond liner, and finally began to cover the whole lot with earth. One more days work and we should have it all covered up. Today’s crew was – Susan, Simon, Brian, Bert, Brian,...
Some great weather today, and we managed to finish off the cordwood wall and the roof boarding. Helen and Jan did a great job of the cob and cordwood, and Wesley braved the roof, so we are all set for the final roof covering this week, and then the walls. The wine...
Our first attempts at a slate wall, using a cob mix as mortar, have turned out rather well. This will act as a damp proof course for the strawbale wall above. Evie has laid out the lower course for the next section – below – and with any luck we’ll...
Another extraordinarily wet volunteer day on Monday, but undaunted, the team made a start on the cob and cordwood wall at the front of the roundhouse. In the morning we learned how to cut wine bottles in half, using a glass cutter and hot and cold water, and then...
For a day off, it has been a very industrious one. In the morning I cut another load of cordwood ready for Monday’s volunteer group to continue building the front wall of the roundhouse.A potato harvest has been long overdue, so we raided our plot and came back...
