16th May....Andy and Baz return !!!!!

Now that the six weeks of glorious sunshine is over, our friendly Groundworks contractor has returned to site. Previously the ground had dried to the consistency of 30 newton concrete and it would have been ideal for moving the terrain. But no, rain came back and we return to the slurry we have had since Xmas.

We decided to leave the final movement of soil till later and concentrate on the drive. Afterall, this is what concerns the neighbours and, to be fair, we have had a building site at the top of the road since the Germans left.

The brick wall at the rear has been completed and we now are ready for a driveway. We are using La Linia ( from Marshalls ) blocks with a granite finish and I've bought some slate from Marshalls for the patio and paths around the house. It measures around 130 metres squared so we can get a few coaches on it when it's finished.

Inside the house is liveable...well I think so although other members of the family think not.......there's only two more members , apart from methat is and one of those is the dog who has not expressed any opinion, so that leaves my better half!!! All the Kitchen works, all the blinds completed, the wardrobes are being completed by Nick (with the football injury) who has done a stirling job. Despite the construction of all this cupboard space I feel we still will make no dent in the number of boxes which surround my TR6 in the garage. Its going to be there for the summer, nestled between boxes containing 'ormanents for lounge' and endless boxes containing Vanessa's (my daughter living in France) fluffy toys. And we still have to recover stored items from Peter's garage down the road....Mesage for all you potential Huf Owners.....sell or give away everything you have ever owned BEFORE moving in....you will not want it!!!!

Another piece of advice, ...complete the ground works BEFORE moving in....the mud outside is the main problem and whilst I always remove my boots, the dog has no such sense and has caused much chaos.!!

We had a Landscape Architect come for a chat the other day.......She was really good (if expensive) and will do the plans for the hardscape and planting. I have a certain reluctance in these affairs since I think I can always do the same for nil cost, but I guess we might see if she can provide some advice. She asked what sort of sculpture we would like in the garden....well a Henry Moore or a Hepworth perhaps???, Pam saved the day by suggesting a nice piece of natural (and cheap) rock or large piece of drift wood .....Its nice to see the natural form of nature don't you think?? So its down to Eastbourne to wait for the tide to come in or hack out a large piece of limestone from some local escarpment......I'll have to measure the boot of my car to see what I can fit in!!!