After a busy weekends work...

It's coming along now... roof is going on this week!

More progress... no rain this week... might even have a roof next week!

Brickwork commences...

Work on the extension slowly starts to take shape with some "conservation" approved bricks!

Foundations finished... but snow halts progress!

Day 3

Day 3 - foundations dug and approved by planning... a right muddy mess!

Day 1

Lean to took less than an hour to demolish!

End of the day... garden wall down... a nice muddy mess at the back of the house!

Also on this day baby Amelie made a pilgrimage to The Great Bed of Ware... she was of course thrilled with this mecca to all from Ware (and those married to people from Ware)

Workshop... in Mombasa

So somehow I landed a trip to Mombasa, Kenya, perfect for escaping English grey, wet, dark, cold winter... what could be better than a weeks workshop in a hotel on a beach?! Some of the highlights...

Checking out the local supermarkets...
there is Tesco...

...and Aldi

Amusing myself observing too many overweight, scantily clad Europeans cooking themselves by the pool. There is one bloke here who is leathery brown from too much sun, covered in a range of tattoos, puts his hair in a top knot on top of his head and parades around wearing only a small black thong. Nice.

Watching the Masai jump... they can jump so high!

More progress on the house...

We now own a mirror... but still no TV. Poorpoor Ant.

All tidy at the back... almost ready to be made into a mess by the builders in a couple of weeks time!

Fireplace etc.

Lovely new fireplace and lights...

Fireplace!

Misty is enslaved in painting the door of disgustingness...

House update...

The monkeys and miffy enjoy the new ikea sofa... in the almost finished lounge...

Ant looks hard painting the green wall in the lounge

Snow in the garden...

Christmas wreath in the front porch

Sierra Leone... again

Helicopter service is much improved. "New" choppers with seats, seat belts, a luggage hold (luggage no longer impedes emergency exit)... proper windows... a safety DVD and promotional DVD advertising Sierra Leone's tourist credentials (amazing beaches)... ear defenders... and a ceiling that doesn't leak... so all in all a much more pleasing experience! Possibly the Eastern European pilots of potentially dubious sobriety are the same tho...
Family Kingdom Hotel, Freetown. Random as ever, but this time I got a room upgrade. Personally I thought the bed was a bit small just for me... I slept on it sideways... just cos I could.
River Beach #2. Amazing as ever.
River Beach #2. It doesn't get much more perfect than this place.
Mobbed by munchkins...
Mobbing continued even as drove off... I'm quite the pied piper.
I am made Paramount Chief of my own chiefdom... very exciting... here I am with the chief who is now my "father". Wondering whether to invite my chiefdom to the wedding?

House renovations...

I thought I would put some photos on line of the work we have been doing to the new manor... still lots to do, but it is coming along...

Sold... to us...
will have to learn something about floral baskets to keep up with the neighbours

One of the 2 nasty fireplaces and gas fire... before we bought the house... notice the nice anaglypta wall paper too...

Ant sets to work on the tiles, after removing the nasty gas fires and leaving them outside the front of the house to be disposed of later... however they ended up being taken by (1) a very random old grannie who thought they were better than the ones she had already and (2) an unknown white van, which according to our next door neighbour pulled up, opened the doors and loaded the remaining fire in, and drove off fast. mmm possibly this is theft... but they were really nasty and had been sitting in the rain!

Nadj is enslaved on fireplace destruction

After wallpaper and fireplace removal. We are leaving this former fireplace as a "hole"... the other one shall have a new fireplace installed, possibly before Christmas, but am not exactly sure that will happen now!
Walls skimmed and undercoat applied...

Nasty brown carpet up... lots of sanding later... mostly by Anthony the strong...


Masks were required... and goggles too

Ant applies the woodworm treatment

Finished floor and remains of fireplace

Ant looks concerned at our first meal in the house... pot noodles all round

Decorating bedroom 1

some nice Laura Ashley wallpaper don't you know... and a new carpet

Applied for planning permission and sign is now up!

A blog!

Well it would seem I can only write a blog when in Sierra Leone! Where did the last 6 months go?
Just thought I would paste a few photos of Freetown and the the trip we did yesterday to River Beach # 2 which was so beautiful.
No Helicopter transfer this time, instead we used Pelican Water Taxi. A small speed boat... which not so amusingly (especially as it was 9pm and pitch dark) crashed into a sandbank (how did they not know it was there???) half way between the airport and Aberdeen. The boat rocked around wildly and for a breif moment I was planning my escape route and strategy for keeping my phone dry... however after the driver abandoned ship to push us off the sandbank, and returned to drive the boat onwards in only his underpants all was well! On the whole probably a better experience than the chopper!

xxxx

Pink boat in front of locked up - out of use 1st aid point (no guns allowed) - Aberdeen(?) Beach

Family Kingdon Hotel has a new statue. A thing of great beauty.

The name of this Ice shop ammused me

River Beach # 2

River Beach # 2