March 2, 2015

I am more than a little bamboozled and just slightly fed up!

This afternoon I spent a good bit of time writing you and the whole thing has vanished.Now I have wasted another hour trying to restore it – no success.So, I am biting the bullet and beginning again, to tell you about February and forthcoming dates about which I am excited……

There were quite a few sunny days last month and it was really good to get out in the garden, to potter around! Uta and Elizabeth, the tulips which bloomed so well last year are again inches tall, despite a lot of pretty cold weather. I have them in pots in the old boat, outside the kitchen window. At last too I got the big branch of the tall palm in the front garden, hanging loosely after the bad storm of December, removed and left to be cut up for firewood. The four arm washing line near that palm, absolutely destroyed in the same storm, when winds reached 100mph, I bundled in the car, with back seats down, and took to our nearest dump – on the Isle of Skye, outside Portree - a trip of over sixty miles…..

The Edinburgh schools had their mid-term holiday in the middle of February and Moira, Sean and Daniel came for a few days.Despite pretty dreadful weather, the boys took Ruah walks, collected the newspapers and were generally very helpful.Moira and I got through a lot of sorting out and, if she comes several times more we may even get the attic cleared!!The local drama festival took place and Moira was able to meet a lot of friends there.We were all pleased when the Plockton play was judged first and so goes on to the area finals in Wick, in the north east of Scotland – quite a journey for everyone concerned and all the props!On their last day, in horizontal rain, the boys each sawed away at the palm branch and the fire that night was stoked with palm logs – lovely!

My oil tank, in the back garden, was very full when the gentleman who maintains the Rayburn and boiler noticed some cracks at the top of the tank.So I have had the heating on at full blast to almost empty the tank, so that it can be moved.This will happen very soon now and it has to be co-ordinated carefully, so the oil supply to the Rayburn is only off for a minimal time.The 1400l tank will be delivered a day or two before the tank is emptied of the remaining inch or two or oil, lifted off the concrete plinth on which it sits, the new tank manoeuvred into place, the little oil put into the new tank – at which point the Rayburn and central heating can be re-started - the old tank taken away and the oil tanker, from Portree, organised to come and supply 1200L of oil – job done!The new double skin tank should last for many a long year……

David, the local joiner, has promised to renew the fascia boards and guttering before the end of the month – not too big a task and it will not require maintenance.At the end of next month I am having exterior painting done.I shall be very pleased when this is underway, as Dolan made all the windows and dormers and they badly need painted…..

I am also going to do something radical about the five water tanks and copper piping in Heron’s Flight and am getting ideas as to how to tackle this. We had a solar tank burst and the water met us at the foot of the stairs. That was messy! Then a copper pipe leaked upstairs and I knew nothing about it till a kitchen drawer was full of water and the wall between the kitchen and sitting room disintegrated. This repair, in 2009/2010, went on for months. I should despair if anything similar happened again…. I think there are several good options, so will hopefully get the best started after the summer.

We are now pretty up to date! I shall write again, with progress reports. But, till then –

If you are passing the road end, please pop down and perhaps stay a couple of nights (from April 22 on) or get in touchannheronsflight@btinternet.com and have a look at www.heronsflight.org.

Ruah and I should like very much to meet you! Ann