August 2020 – “What fun!”

August 2020 – “What fun!”

It is Freddie here this month as your tour guide. I came across this most strange diagram below and thought I should share it with you. It seems that the blue box at the bottom shows the location of Hazels new build, with the red and the yellow lines superimposed on the north field indicating the positioning of the ground source heating pipes.

Ah, so all this explains the large trenches that suddenly appeared in the top field.

House Progress

I am delighted to report that Dermot and his boys made an excellent job of the plastering. I felt quite sorry for them as they had to finish the job during that early August heat wave. However, because the house is so well-insulated, it was not nearly so hot as it might have been and all the doors could be left open. Recent visitors have all commented on the high standard of the plaster finish, and Mr Rod and SWhoMBO were very pleased with the final look.

The painting on the first floor is all but complete, with just the ‘snagging’ work outstanding. There was a little bit of excitement during that very gusty weather a week or so ago.  A firmly-closed tin of white paint was blown off the balcony and exploded open on impact, covering the kitchen patio doors and walls. Fortunately, it was spotted quickly by Phil and Dan, who worked really hard to clean it all away.

Simon and his team (Chris and Tyler) then arrived to lay the stone floor tiles on the whole of the ground floor and in the upstairs bathroom and shower areas. As with all jobs – the better the preparation, the better the end result. Simon spent a number of days preparing the floor and laying the decoupling membrane.

Simon then took his time to work our exactly where he should start and where the expansion joints should be placed. The first phase was all the difficult areas.

August Postbag

As ever, Guildford Girl was quick off the mark to respond to the July posting, but she really should not praise Layla so much: “Well, Layla, (the clever one), as always, you’ve summed up the last month most eloquently. Delighted that you’re all getting plastered so effectively and also that Mr Rod’s sunflowers are doing so well. All mine were eaten by some very persistent slugs that kept coming back for seconds, thirds, fourths…. you get the idea! Keep up the good work – not long now until the house warming”

Not far behind was Mikal’s Mate: “Great to see the progress of the interior work.  I had to google the ‘dram’ of the Pepys’ quote and the first hit was Dynamic Random Access Memory …….!! Thank you Layla for the entertaining selection of funny pictures. I also enjoyed the peaceful green views of the tea table near the weeping willow – the name of that tree is so poetic. Mr Rod’s vegetable garden is a delightful mix of precision and “flower power. However, I do not know who made the comparison between Michelangelo and the magic touch of Finnish sauna beer, but it is Karhu and certainly not Lapin Kulta! ” (Oops, I think SWhoMBO thought she would get away with that one!)

Remembering Julia

This blog post is dedicated to Julia Anderson – one of SWhoMBO’s dearest friends – who bravely (but sadly) died earlier this month after a fairly short but brutal illness, just a few days before her 66th birthday.

Julia was a very elegant person who had that enviable knack of choosing exactly the right outfit and accessories for each and every occasion. She was loyal, hard-working, set the highest standards for herself (and invariably for others, often to the rueful resignation of her adored husband Peter!) but she was very modest about all her achievements.  It is probably no exaggeration to say that she ‘ran Imperial College’, and was ‘a prime mover and shaker’ at the very least.

Whilst they had known each other from school days, it was mainly during the past twenty or so years as the ‘Ladies That Lunch’ trio (with Fantasy Flat Friend) that they had become particularly close. At least three times a year, it became their tradition to enjoy lunch at a different Michelin-starred restaurant, with a glass of champagne to start ‘just because it was a Friday!’  Julia was thrilled if she could combine a lunch with some retail therapy, as she just loved shopping.

SWhoMBO and Fantasy Flat Friend always remember Julia saying, ‘What fun!’ about so many things and marvel about how enthusiastic and supportive she was about everyone else’s plans and successes. Julia would have hated the safari holidays Fantasy Flat Friend goes on but always wanted to hear all about them, and was delighted when she started writing books. She loved all the plans for the new Hazels (although she could not comprehend how patient they were with the time it was taking), and she was often one of the first to comment each month on the blog.

Julia loved her garden in West Wickham and spent some of her happiest times either pottering about there or just enjoying what she had created. Her tulips brought her particular joy.

Dear Julia, we all promise to ‘have fun’ as often as possible and we will think of you whenever we do!

Mr Rod’s Sunflowers

All our readers cannot fail to be aware that Mr Rod is a most enthusiastic gardener:

Whilst his garden has yielded some very tasty vegetables this year (especially runner beans, potatoes, carrots, courgettes, peas, onions and sweet corn), it is his sunflowers that have the provided him with the most pleasure.

What a difference two weeks can make ……….

Everyone wants to get in on the act!

It seems that Mr Rod has definitely set a trend and all his friends want to prove that they are as clever as he when it comes to sunflower growing!

The Horsley Horticulturalists undoubtedly have a very beautiful garden and their sunflower specimens have reached a lofty height:

Fantasy Flat Friend shared these two photos of the sunflower on her balcony in Pimlico:

Mikal’s Mate sent this picture of the sunflower growing in the backyard of the house next door. It looks like it really wants to escape:

Finally, here below is a very fine photo from Czech Chick in Athens, taken whilst on her recent holiday in her motherland:

August Humour

I have been told that the statues at Helsinki Railway Station are wearing masks to remind commuters of the recommendation to use masks when travelling, at least during rush hours when social distancing is not so possible.

It would seem that on 26 August 2020, Finland considered that only Estonia, Latvia and Hungary were the only low risk countries in Europe!

What’s Happening in September?

• Floor tiling (ground and first floor) completed
• The ground floor painting completed
• Protective covering removed from the oak beams
• Bathrooms installed
• Kitchen units delivered and installation started
• Permanent staircase on its way

Moses will see you all at the end of September.