Last post… for now
June 1, 2009 | 9 Comments |
After maintaining this blog for well over 2 years I’ve decided to stop posting to it. At least for now, that is….
From my Google Analytics page I can see there’s a regular crowd visiting and probably reading about our life here on Skye and I wish to thank you for keeping up with us. A big thank you for all who shared their views through comments. Much appreciated!
The site itself will still be around for a while…
Toys for boys
May 25, 2009 | 2 Comments |
Last week Thursday they arrived: the Hitachi Excavator 7.5 tonne and a 5 tonne Dumper truck. I bought them from a company in Lancashire and Wednesday evening I got a phone call from the truck driver that he expected to be in Glendale by Thursday 9am.
Initially we had doubts that he would be able to bring them up all the way up the Holmisdale road as it is narrow and winding but Woody the lorry driver was fearless and drove the lot all the way up. Off loading them was a breeze and around 10pm Woody was on his way home again.
Today we gave them a good spin. They work great. The trench for the water pipe was back filled, the parking space was leveled, and we started cleaning up on the right hand side of the cottage.
Golden Loch
May 12, 2009 | 4 Comments |
After some pretty wild weather high pressure has reached Scotland and we’re enjoying Skye Spring. Blue skies, mild sea breeze and no midges - yet! Specially for Alan, this shot of Loch Dunvegan as it was yesterday evening. Wow! The skies were so clear, it looked like the outer isles were only just on the other side of the loch. What an amazing view…
On the practical side: we make good progress in Glendale but have now reached a point where we’re waiting for the digger to arrive to clean up the site and get the back of the house slated. All the block work for the aft extension is nearly finished. Once the roof is finished we can start work on the inside. Bad planning actually, as weather is now improving.
Update
May 4, 2009 | 8 Comments |
An update from Skinidin. We’ve been maneuvering through some pretty nasty weather over the past days so Skye Spring is not fully there - yet.
Anyway, that did not keep us from making progress at Holmisdale. The back wall of the annex is now complete (all brick work done) so this week we’ll start to finish off the roof. Finally, as I’m getting tired of the rain pouring through the un-slated part of the roof. The heavy showers of late keep on turning the inside into a full featured swimming pool. Very annoying!
Our latest acquisition - a ‘93 Mitsubishi Pajero - had problems over the weekend. Saturday, after helping Claire with the change over, I wanted to go to Holmisdale only to find it dead. Battery completely drained. I was 99.9% sure I did not leave any lights or other electrics on. Anyway, as I did not have any urgent business with it over the weekend I decided to leave it until today. And today Raymond helped out with a battery pack. But in vain… dead as door nail!!
Off to Kenny’s Garage to borrow jump leads and see whether I could jump start it with our VW Golf. No success either. Batteries totally dead! I phoned Kenny and asked them to help out. They managed to get it going and while at it the mechanic found a loose plug dangling near the alternator. Apparently a chain of events occurred. The alternator was unplugged. This stopped the battery from charging, eventually draining the battery completely. While at Kenny’s a quick test showed that, although the alternator was now charging, the battery was well past its prime and hardly charged at all. Kenny fitted a new battery and M2 Motors where we bought the Pajero is picking up the bill. Great!
Another exciting thing worth mentioning: as we have a huge amount of landscaping and excavating work to do in the upcoming months, we decided to buy a digger / dumper combination in stead of hiring them.
After some careful research we opted for a 7.5 tonne Hitachi excavator - a good general purpose machine - and a 5 tonne dumper truck. If all goes well the machines will be delivered next week from Lancashire where they are now. Raymond is a proficient and licensed operator, so he’ll be handling the big machines. Who knows, I might have a little go on them as well….
Delicious!
April 29, 2009 | 2 Comments |
I always found cheese and Branston Pickle a particularly good combination on a sandwich. The softness of the cheese and the sharp-sweet flavor of the pickle… delicious! But this week - by accident - I discovered that it’s equally delicious (if not better, although I must be careful here not to step on toes of those in favor of the traditional plowman’s lunch), on a paté sandwich. After experimenting with several different types of paté, my favorite is the Co Op smooth Brussels paté (either on coarse brown bread or on white bread) with a good layer of Branston small chunks pickle… Good!!!
The waters at Caroy
April 22, 2009 | 2 Comments |
Our boat (appropriately named “Eilean Mor”) arrived last Thursday from Glasgow and today we took her out for a test drive. Initial plan was to launch it off the pier at Milovaig but due to brisk northerly winds we changed plans and decided to go to Caroy, a couple of miles south towards Struan. To make the story complete: over the weekend we bought a second hand 4×4 with tow bar (Mitsubishi Pajero). The Golf was getting a bit of a battering shifting materials for Glendale and having a second car is very handy on Skye.
Anyway, by 2pm Raymond popped over. He had kindly offered to assist us with this first time as we had never launched a boat before. We hooked the trailer and boat onto the Pajero and set out for Caroy. I had never towed a boat + trailer combi and the first miles were a bit awkward. However, everything went smooth. Once at the drive towards the pier, Raymond took over and steered the whole lot razor sharp along the slipway. After some juggling with ropes and ties, the Eilean Mor was floating happily in the water. Engine on and off we were.
Although the sea looked very calm, once on the water it was quite rough and the first plane was very a bumpy experienc. Especially for Claire, as she was sitting in front cabin. We pottered to the bay at Orbost estate and switched off the engine. In the shelter of the cliffs we enjoyed the magnificent views, the abundance of birds and the huge and mysterious looking caves. The beers tasted good and after half an hour we headed back for Caroy.
Getting the boat back on the trailer was a bit harder but within 30 minutes we were on our way back to Skinidin. An amazing experience! Getting the trailer back in its original position was a challenge, however I eventually managed to maneuver it back onto its spot. Conclusion: lovely day, great experience, awesome boat, powerful outboard engine, Pajero is an invaluable piece of equipment and I need to work on my maneuvering skills with the trailer….
Due to a difficulty with the camera, we only have a picture of the delivery of the boat, last week Thursday.
BBC 2 Scotland
April 18, 2009 | 2 Comments |
My friend Alan emailed me that our house was filmed on a BBC2 Scotland program. We missed that but fortunately there’s the blessing of BBC iPlayer where you can watch programs you might have missed. Well, after a bit of research, here’s the link (I think it will only last for a couple of days):
Move the time slider to 04:26 and you’ll be spot on for some scenery of Loch Dunvegan and our house.
Walls
April 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment |
Today was a all to do with walls. I restored a damaged part of the old internal wall while Raymond constructed the stud partitions of the extension. Last week Icky had put in the concrete floors and did the concrete bearers that will support the internal timber frame, which will in turn, support the floor joists of the second floor. In the original construction, the joists of the second floor were slit into openings in the stone wall. This will eventually lead to rot so we decided to take them out altogether and apply modern construction techniques.
By the end of the day we managed to get all the panels up and the new extension is taking shape. Weather wise we’re enjoying a nice couple of days. Good for doing outside work.
As for the new boat - that will probably arrive coming Friday….
Going to Glasgow…
April 9, 2009 | 4 Comments |
We went to Glasgow today. There and back again, quite a tiring trip. But, despite the Eastern madness on the road it was an exciting trip as we are now the proud owners of boat. A Shetland Cadet, 15 foot (almost 5 meters), 50hp Yamaha outboard engine and a trailer to transport it and launch it.
While browsing one of popular boat sales websites we saw an ad for a Shetland Cadet. I noticed this boat was named “Eilean Mor”. That could not be coincidence. That’s our boat! A couple of emails back and forth with the seller and we agreed upon an inspection visit for today. Well, it was all and more and to be honest it appears to be a bargain. The boat is in immaculate condition and so is the engine (75 hours on it). Options include a fish finder, depth meter, immobilizer, easy fill gas tank and an easy launch trailer.
Can’t wait to have it here…. (sigh)….
What’s missing?
April 2, 2009 | 4 Comments |
We live on the shores of Loch Dunvegan. We have direct access to the water. We have joined the Colbost & Skinidin Mooring Association. We have the creel pots. And the angling rods. So…. uhmmmm… what’s missing? Ah… the bloody boat!! Yep, we still haven’t got a proper boat. Yesterday evening I lurked for hours on the web looking for a decent little boat but they’re either sold in Devon or Hampshire or they’re huge and cost a fortune. I do this lurking every now and then when I feel the urge for having a boat. The urges become stronger as seasons change from dark and gloomy winter to sunny spring. Last year I was convinced that that year would be our last “boat-less” year, but I’m not sure. I have not seen the real deal… yet…
Over in Glendale the concrete floors were poured. I vividly remember doing a 20m2 floor of the shed last year. Very hard work. This year I was bystander while Icky and his three helpers poured roughly 50m2 of concrete in a blazing tempo. The change in atmosphere inside the house is amazing. As the concrete needed to dry I was excused from plastering work and took on a small paint job. Spot the differences on the photo’s. By the way: the remaining scaffolding is for forming the skews and restoring the chimney stacks.
-
Latest music...
Hair (1968, Original Broadway recording). Some naughty lyrics for that time!!
An Rathad a Bhatarsaigh, by the Vatersay Boys