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Friday 27 May 2011

Butterflies & Boundary Walls

Time is flying by and the annual Shetland Pony Grand National is upon us once again.  We are all hoping that the rain stays away on Sunday - the 'going' will be soft to heavy but the ponies are pretty light! Don't miss this hilarious event which kicks off at 1pm.

I am finally coming up for air following an intense period of work getting our Big Lottery Local Food bid together.  If we are successful the grant will pay for a complete refurb of the Kitchen Garden and includes a garden room, greenhouse and equipment. We should know the outcome by the end of October which will dovetail nicely with the completion of the Coach House. This video is a 'walkthrough' of the Kitchen Garden project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UPPUn3S7y4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Its been a busy day for our contractors with cement lorries arriving and blocks stacked ready to build the walls of the new extension on the Coach House next week.  Building work is pretty much on schedule with only a week or so delay for the new roof timbers.

Good news too on the Natural Play Scheme! Tenders came in this week and we have appointed a contractor. Our pre-start meeting is set for the 8th June and the equipment is on order.  If all goes to plan we will have a unique playground with grassy mounds, a tunnel, cableway, swings and loads more all in a rustic style to fit in with the natural landscape by the end of the Summer.

Only fly in the ointment this week is a large section of the boundary wall which came down on Monday.  Probably due to a combination of a dry Spring, followed by very heavy rain and strong wind.  Taking the ivy off the walls may also have been a factor and of course, the Butterfly Mound.  We decided to use the rubble from the Coach House to create a butterfly mound, which we will plant up with nector-rich plants to attract insects when finished. The vibration from the dumper trucks could have been the last straw! We are getting quotes for the repair which I guess will run into thousands.  Its made us very nervous about the condition of the rest of the walls which are not looking too clever.  I am sure our volunteers can tackle some of the smaller patches but we may need some professional help in areas where Buddleia roots have lifted the stones. In fact it looks like the boundary wall was already a butterfly mound! Ah well!

Saturday 14 May 2011

Silver linings.........

Wow! On Friday morning there was no roof on the Coach House. By Friday afternoon we have new timbers. Buried in paperwork, ploughing my way through yet another funding application, I stopped for a cuppa and could hardly believe my eyes when I looked out of the kitchen window.  Brand new timbers in place - that was quick work. Perhaps this is the silver lining - virtually replacing the roof will mean less maintenance in future years so it will be for the best in the end.

Friday 6 May 2011

A few slates short of a full roof...

As expected we are going to have to replace the timbers on the roof and 80% of the slates so it really will be a 'new top hat'! Of course things like this are always going to happen once you start renovating an old building and that is why we have contingencies.  Once all the digging and delving has finished we are hopeful that this period of discovery will be over and there will be no further surprises. Fingers crossed.

We are all still recovering from a very busy weekend with a Wedding last Saturday and the Gig in the Garden on Monday. This weekend is looking pretty busy too, with the Lancaster Regiment coming to Ford Park to receive the freedom of the Town before parading through the streets.

Tuesday 26 April 2011

New Top Hat!

Today we had our second site meeting with the contractors, architects etc. After a slow start we are now pretty much back on track. The scaffolding is up and the boundary wall behind the building is being underpinned so that it doesn't fall down when they dig out the foundations for the new extension.  Also today the slates came off the roof which revealed a problem - most of them are disintegrating so it seems we will need more new slates than first anticipated.  The rafters don't look too clever either - dry rot in many of them. So in the words of our contractors it looks like we are going to need a 'new top hat'. The financial implications of this are still unknown but we are bracing ourselves.

Last week so much was going on that I did not have much time to write this blog.  See the link below which shows the long-awaited day when the heavy equipment arrived.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEmd_TpoYqU&feature=channel_video_title

Monday 18 April 2011

Signfest at Ford Park

If you've walked through Ford Park today you may have wondered if some strange art installation is happening. There are signs everywhere telling you where you can and can't go, what you should be wearing if you go there, what dangers await if you dare to breach the barriers and why its all going on.  Its a veritable festival of signage!

Trouble is there are so many signs now that its become wallpaper and we are still having to direct folks onto the diverted pedestrian route and I am sure there will be some who have turned back thinking their way has been barred.  Let's hope the message gets through soon. We are trying our very best!

Thursday 14 April 2011

Pathway to nowhere

Sorry folks but some of the paths are temporarily closed. I have already had two complaints and its only 11am! The contractors have put barriers up with notices but it appears that having to double back is an inconvenience. I will put out some more barriers and notices at the end of the paths to try to prevent this from happening again.

There are two paths closed - the top path behind the pond, and the main path beyond Ford House.  So if you don't want to double back then please avoid the ziggy-zaggy path and the path from the field through the woodland. You can still walk through to get to Hoad Hill - stick to the main drive in front of Ford House - there is a diversion just past the house to the right, which takes you onto Poplar Grove.  Please take care as there may be delivery and other vehicles moving about.  For you own pet's safety, please put your dogs on leads as you approach the gateway to Ford House.

I hope you will bear with us as this is only just the start and, as the saying goes - you have to break eggs to make an omelet!

Tuesday 12 April 2011

Video - Wisteria wrestling

The Wisteria has been taken down to preserve it and will be put back after the work is completed. Have a look at this video which is only a few minutes of the 6 hours it took to complete the task.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OelHk2deb2s&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL