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!

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.

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.