Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

We have had a few setbacks with poor deliveries of the timber cooker and boiler etc which has delayed our getting into the house. Rather than continue to stress, we are working hard to resolve all issues and expect to be in a week's time - hold thumbs!

Paula and I are painting like mad and have had almost no time to go sightseeing, so I thought that you might like the pictures of the Autumnal scene with the leaves changing along our road.

The above two pictures are on Grantown High Street which is South of us in the Cairngorms; famous for skiiing and fishing

Fairy tale lodge to Ballindalloch Castle

The Scottish dialect, particularly along the North coastal towns is so strong, that not even other Scots can fully understand them! I particularly struggle on the phone! I thought you might be interested to hear a sanitised version (imagine him speaking more gutterally at high speed) - Please click on the link below :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxAdpQ5-pXA&feature=related

Last of the Summer Wine

We have been really busy this month as it is our intention to move into part of the house by the end of October and the pressure is on............... The place has been swarming with Joiners, Heating and Plumbing Engineers and Electricians.

We thought we would show you what we have been doing in pictures. Our Blog has been viewed over 1,000 times so somebody must like it!

We have chiselled off the lime plaster off the front and also the lime harling (plaster) off the West side.

 Detail

Heating is serious here and the gridlock of pipes is incredible!

We are trying to clear up the dead wood. It is helping us build up our wood stock.

This is a fraction of the pile of vegetation that we are burning to clear the grounds.

The new Guest entrance road which we put back through the trees is now settling down and is now usable (even if a bit rough)

Paula's Crocuses in her new bank are still holding up.

Paula has started clearing a second patch near the North wall - quite a struggle.

The Stable block is coming along 

The internal walls and partitions are now being installed. The builders have a sense of humour as you can see from the skylight that has been installed in the slated roof.

We have managed to buy old Victorian doors. 

We also bought a pair of double entrance doors from Aberdeen and a Georgian fanlight from Elgin. They will become our new front door - at the moment they have been photographed lying on the ground!

Paula now has all mod-cons - a washing machine in the outside toilet! It works well, even if unconventional!

Our Stonemason, Paul Westmacott, restored a farmhouse for a friend of ours about 10 years ago - they built an effigy of him in an outside wall!

Summer is over and this month has been the wettest in 30 years (we really have had records broken this year). Scotland boasts having 75% of all the Heather in the world. The plants are tiny, but the Tweedy colour is most beautiful, if not abundant.

Here is a montage picture of the Spey Valley as seen from our caravan.

We are lucky to get this picture of a huge Salmon caught in 1895. What is important is that it was taken on the original front steps of our house. See the note on the back :

The town of Aberlour a few miles away celebrated it's 200th Anniversary last weekend. As with a small towns, the main road goes through the town. Here is a picture of the main road with the town Square.

We have been asked for pictures of surrounding places. This is the town of Cullen on the North East coast. These fishing villages are very quaint, but the Scots here have such a broad dialect that we have the utmost difficulty in understanding some of them! The Viaduct which goes around the town can be seen behind the houses.

Cullen's Main Road goes down to the sea - one can see the Viaduct. The town square on the righthand picture.

Hold on! We are doing everything possible to move in by the end of October - we hope to put out some pictures then.

A view at the back of the house. The building going up on the right (behind the shed) is the rebuilt garage. A burst of sun enlivens this picture!

The new Stables are on the left as one looks at the back of the house - the remnant of the original outbuilding is behind it.

A view of the gully between the two buildings showing all the rotten woodwork has been repaired and the slates replaced.

The end gable showing the Victorian Chimney pots which we have managed to acquire. We needed 18 pots - still 2 pots (or cans as they are called here) to go!

Out Slater on the roof repointing the Chimney

This is the front of the house. The wooden windows (most people install plastic PVC double glazed windows these days) are made in Finland to very high specifications. The windows are mostly in - a huge triumph!

The interior is coming along and we are striving to put back as many pine floors as we can manage from the flooring reclaimed from the house, beginning with the Drawing Room.

A view of the new upstairs with the first floor fitted.

Paula has battled away weeding this bank after 24 years of neglect. It's now ready for planting.

Crocuses rescued from the garden. A few plants have survived after 2.5 decades!

Hopeman is a tiny fishing village on the North East coast about 20 miles to the North of us. There are some quaint villages dotting this coast.

Peel's Progress

Aikenway in 1949

Another picture of the house in 1948

The same picture now with the scaffolding up

Farmhands in 1949

Prize Pigs on Aikenway Farm in 1949

The structurally unsound porch was removed and the window is being fitted.

The window in and it is ready for Harling (lime plastering)

Casting the concrete floors - the builders worked so hard moving all that concrete in one day!

The interior walls now being installed.

An old registered letter found under the floorboards dated 1935 - celebrating King George V Silver Jubilee.

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Massed Pipe band at the Aberlour Highland Games last Saturday. What a fantastic sound - beats a single Piper any day!

Look at the small boy Mascot amongst the Pipers.

Some views of the River Spey - this one just below us - a prime fishing spot with Champagne luncheons and Trout fishing till late in the evening.

Spey taken from a suspended bridge

Spey at Aberlour 3 miles away

Ballindalloch Castle about 9 miles away.

 

Gordonstoun School where Princes Philip and Charles and Zara Phillips went to school - just north of Elgin in the country about 18 miles away.

Distilleries abound here - this is William Grant in Rothes just over the river.