All back together again

After all the work and stress we are happy to report that the work on both the house and the car is finished and we have - like Humpty Dumpty could not be - put back together again.

Here are a few pictures of the work in progress.


Wall down - house sheeted up against the rain

Part rebuilt with heat retaining interior blocks as per the building inspector

New store doors plastic insulated as per building regs again - note the old carpet full of brick dust waiting to go the the tip.

The police broke into the house on the night of the accident to make sure that no one was injured or dead. So we had to have a new house door again in upvc to meet the building regs

All done and back to normal except that the flowers and bush need to grow back to maturity - but that should come next year.



The impact with the caravan ripped up the flags which we laid Rob and so Michael has relaid them. The gap which is left in the hedge will be closed with a "battlement" of a wall with an inside wall with plants between when Michael comes back to rebuild the shed!!

The Merc came home again today with it's bodywork all repaired and resprayed.

I tried to upload some more photos but Blogger seems to think that you have seen enough so I will do some more next time

Here is another comparison

Jan sent me some photographs which she had found in Mothers sideboard which have set me thinking.

Here are two of them taken in 1951. I was 11 and was one of the first Billy Elliots. They were taken for the local paper after one of my successes in the Royal Academy ballet examinations . I was thought to be the only boy ballet dancer in the North of England. We were told that there was no other boy taking the examinations with the Royal Academy in our neck of the woods.

I know that as a lad I used to get some stick from my school friends especially as I got into my teens. My consolation was that I enjoyed the exercise and I was in the company of a lot of lassies in tights - which my friends were not. So I'm not sure who was the sissy - me for being with the girls or them for missing out!!!!!

As I look in the mirror now, 55 years on and see that the wrinkles in the tights have spread to my face I wonder where that bright young lad has gone. I know that he is there somewhere inside because I an always being accused, by those who know me, of being a big kid and I got a lot of pleasure out of letting off the fireworks with the grandchildren on my birthday yesterday. BUT 1951 seems a long way off just now.