Random stuff

Lessons learnt in three days....

    - We are not as young as we thought.

    - Some things are too heavy to lift.

    - Muscles will hurt if subjected to misuse.

    - Too many steps make for unhappy legs.

What could possibly have given rise to these startling observations? What have we been doing that we perhaps shouldn't? The answer to these questions lies in us wanting to help some friends in their house move, something they had decided to do themselves by hiring a van and filling this with their furniture and other belongings then emptying this at the new home, filling it up again, then emptying again, and so on in endless succession for three days on end. Then as if this this wasn't enough, there was the small matter of bringing all this stuff up the stairs into the new property, a first and second floor maisonette in a magnificently old building just off the main street in Lochgilphead. By the end of day three we had a ranking order for the most difficult items, those I will never again be tempted to try to move. Top of the list is the sofabed. This is a solid wooden upholstered frame inside which is a folded steel structure which is designed to be unfolded to create a double bed. The whole thing is massively heavy and so awkward in shape that it can only be fitted through a doorway on its side. There is also nothing on it to grab hold of to make this job easier and should it drop to the ground then feet and toes are dangerously vulnerable. My advice...leave it behind...but nobody listens to me.

The friends, moving to the first home they have ever owned themselves, consisted of a family of six, two of whom were too young to contribute their own efforts (they were at school) but all six beds needed to be moved in one day so they could all sleep in the same house. My electric screwdriver came into its own and somehow I managed to lose not a single screw or bolt in the process of dismantling then reassembling them in their appropriate bedrooms, something which I can look back on with some pride. Again on the positive side the weather was quite kind to us too, mostly dry, and the cold air means nothing when you are physically active.

The second flight of stairs in the new house had a little surprise which caught us all out at first, the first step being three inches higher than the rest. This is something the family will adjust to in time, perhaps after a few nose dives, but generally they were delighted to be making this move onto the housing ladder. The solid stone construction of the property is reassuring and although there is much they will no doubt want to change, they know that any improvements they make will not be wasted money. It is more than simply a roof over their heads. It is home.

Back in our own home we are delighted to have finally found a use for the old greenhouse roof, a rather tired looking structure made of plastic sheets secured in an aluminium frame. The rest of the old greenhouse was not salvageable, too many broken bits, so it went to the dump some time ago but the roof structure, two large sections held together at an angle of ninety degrees, has been moved around the garden various times in the hope that it might prove useful. Perhaps it might cover a raised bed, providing extra warmth for young vegetables beneath. But no, the awkward stiffening pieces at each end of the roof meant that access underneath was impossible without crawling on hands and knees. We considered propping it up as a wind shelter so we could sit under it on sunny days but this proved far too dangerous as a strong gust could easily whisk it away. It has actually taken us more than two years to come up with something useful - a wood store.

The main requirements for this are first, to keep off the rain, secondly to allow some wind to penetrate so that the wood inside is gradually dried out but not too much wind or else the structure might fly away, then finally it must be accessible as the wood is burnt in our stove once it is dry enough. 

The final modification used some of the pieces of plastic sheeting we found lying around the garden when we moved in and which we stored away on the basis that 'they might be useful one day' (much like the tyre shown in these pictures, also found in the garden). A couple of removable plastic pieces now close the end of the wood store that is most likely to be facing into the wind and the whole structure is fastened to the outside of the shed, supported on a couple of scaffolding poles, these having been left behind by the contractors who put the insulation around the house.

We knew that the first storm to come our way would test the structure's integrity and functionality and as it turned out we only had to wait a few days for this. Gusts of fifty miles per hour were what the forecast showed, accompanied by rain as always. I am pleased to report that the main structure stood firm although the wind did find a weakness in the removable plastic access door which ended up on the ground. Some more thought was needed for this bit but overall we are pleased that our 'might be useful' strategy has paid off.

What is a moonbow? Woken up at half past five one morning I was persuaded to leap out of bed and rush to the window in order to view this rare and spectacular spectacle. Sadly, due to the inability of my brain to function routinely and safely at this time of the morning, by the time I made it to the front window the thing was gone. Foolishly I had first gone in the opposite direction, to the back of the house, where my dark adjusted eyes had been dazzled by the presence of the shining satellite filling more than half the sky. My tired brain then started working and I realised that if rainbows are to be seen by looking away from the sun then it follows that in order to see a lunar rainbow (moonbow) I would need to look in the opposite direction too. But by then I was too late. They are transient things, usually lacking the colours we associate with their solar counterparts but nevertheless quite stunning.

Note to self: Be prepared for anything in the early hours. It is part of married life.