Hayloft

Today we cleared the ground floor of the Hayloft and then boarded up the doors so we can't use it as a gangway anymore - it's really all only hanging on by a thread and likely to fall down with the next strong puff of wind.

Blooming Marvellous

Things growing in our garden so far this Spring....

Objets Trouvees

Or... things what we have found, and stuff

Very old oil, and antisceptic cream:



A horseshoe and an old newspaper:


A bicycle lamp:


A pair of old boots:


A mummified rat:


and an ancient fire extinguisher:



No treasure or Roman coins yet... I'm still waiting!

A(u)ction Man

Spent a happy day at Diss auction today, looking at old furniture, pictures, and miscellaneous farm stuff! Great people watching too, with some very interesting characters.

Came home with 2 pick-ups full of stuff - a huge water tank, a dog kennel, a strimmer, a baby pen (for the puppy).... and 3 tyres that we bid on by mistake thinking it was the previous lot being bid on - we live and learn!!

We didn't buy...

A grand piano - which sold for £90!
A huge lovely dining table - £450
A splendid drinks cabinet - price unknown

I can see we might be spending more Fridays here - it's addictive! For some reason when a lot had no bids at all, I just wanted to buy it (you know like when a train is coming and just for a moment you think about jumping in front of it? That kind of feeling!).

Mum is worried that Dad will get back into the habit of going to the auction again now - sorry Mum!

x

Wireless?

Wiring might need work?

The Fireplace once it had all been swept out :-)

Suffolk Wisdom - Part 1

Our new neighbour, Dusty Miller (more about him later!) was talking about his brood mares, and imparted the following wisdom:

'A Mare and a Hare make a year' (you'll have to imagine it spoken in a broad Suffolk accent!).

A mare is pregnant for 11 months, and a hare for 1 - see?

Lovely!

Day 2 - Fireplaces and dead things

Fireplaces uncovered = 1
Dead things uncovered = 1.5 (bat, v. small, and a miscellaneous bird head)

Our first real day working in the house today.

Swept out all of the rooms and uncovered the main fireplace, which is just amazing. A bird had obviously been trying to build a nest up there for many years - more than a whole sack of twigs, and one dead bat!

Had a little sing-song of Chim-Chiminee, which brighted us up a bit. Jon morphed into a Chimney Sweep, but didn't dance.

Day 1 - A tour with the Hurrens

Hillcrest has belonged to the same farming family for many years, and was owned by a sister and her two brothers. We had been trying to meet the brothers (the Hurrens) for quite a few weeks / months - dates had been arranged, we'd turned up at the house, and waited.... and waited... and finally given up when it became obvious they simply weren't going to arrive. Same again a few weeks later.

However, today was the day, and well worth waiting for. We walked all around the house and the land, learnt a lot about the place and I think made 2 allies that will come in very useful!

They have agreed to sow the grass seed for us, which is a real blessing as it needs to be done really soon.

Once they had left, we had time to just take it all in - what a place! What a project... where to start?

The Key to Success?

You would think, after trying to get our hands on them since August 2009, that finally having the keys would be a huge step forward.

Nothing unusual about them - a bunch of 6 or 7 keys duly handed over by the estate agents. However, finding the one that opened the door (or indeed, any of the doors) proved to be more problematic than you might think possible. 3 of us, all moderately intelligent (!), 7 keys, one door.

Turns out a) there is a definite knack to unlocking aforementioned door
and b) Trying to find the knack when you have a bunch of 7 keys and don't know which is the right one, takes about an hour - as it turns out.

We found a whole other door in the process too.

So far, so good?

Hillcrest - the Journey Begins!

After all the waiting, the keys were finally in our hands on Friday 12th March 2010.

Already things are moving fast, so a photo blog is required - before we forget what state it was in when we started!

Watch this space :-)