The Month of Roofs

with any luck, October and November will see big changes to the character of the old buildings. Plans are afoot to renew the roofs on the main outbuildings - planned to the the gallery, and the House.


The House is a major undertaking, requiring much planning, materials and expertise, but hopefully we're nearly ready to start!. More of that later.


The Gallery will have a replacement corrugated iron or 'tin' roof. We have the materials, and work is due to start next week!


As ever, there is as much pre work as actual work. Today the sun is out (well for a couple of hours anyway!, so we are setting about clearing the area below the walls, for access and to preserve two beautiful railway sleepers.

what a job! believe it or not this has already been substantially cleared after the sad loss of a fine slate roof
(it blew down just before we got it) - not one slate has been found whole

the garage workbench- two fine railway sleepers probably from
Belfast and County Down Railway which was only 2 miles down the hill

still poised for action!

good omen

some 'rescued' artefacts - many more to come

Small Gems - Treasure Hunt 1959

In a small suitcase up in the top room, we found a collection of things - 

• a pair of slippers,  
• Last of the Mohicans the book by James Fenimore Cooper
• The Easter Rebellion a book by Max Caulfield
• some Christmas wrapping paper
• 3 sheets of paper detailing a treasure Hunt from 1959

little treasures

very well thumbed - and much repaired, this book is still in print.
Max Caulfield was a founder member and head of news at ITN

Leitrim Presbyterian Church Treasure Hunt 11th June 1959

Starting near Leitrim ranging some 58 miles, as far as Killough and Ardglass, this treasure hunt (by car) started at 7.30pm and ended 3 hours later 10.30pm, no doubt followed by refreshments, a long evening!

entry fee 5 shillings - at least!

carefully researched - and in rhyme

wouldn't it be great fun to try this now?

 We will transcribe it some time and giver it a whirl - I wonder what landmarks are gone and what still stands?

The Room Upstairs - more pictures

More pictures form our latest adventure! We've never been in this room despite being here for a year - it was too unsafe to get into it - the water from the holes in the roof have rotten all the way from top to bottom, leaving a gaping hole in the floor. Thanks to some scaffolding boards and an acro prop we were able to bridge the gap.


This room was not a bedroom in it's later years (back in the 1970's) but an office (so we were told by the family) , there is a table chairs fantastic dresser and tons of documents - bills, Vat returns and things like that.

this will again become a great room!

Mostly dry, although there are some disturbing cracks over the doorway - just wonder how far up they go? Time and care will tell!

downstairs - the vital acro prop!

upstairs - a bridge too far for Charlie?

wonderful cane table

books, documents, slippers!

an interesting piece - one of a pair on the dresser

just how far up this collapse goes will be a critical question

looking out into the front garden

the central table, with documents, wallpaper rolls, an old print...

a very unique candle holder

the fine dresser - still in great condition

beautiful carvings - but of what era?

The Final Room Upstairs

thanks to  scaffolding boards and an acro prop very kindly donated by Paul, we've just been into the last room in the house - too unsafe to go into without artificial support!


Here's a first look - more to follow....

feel a little bit like Howard Carter!

Elaine's Drama Classes Have a New Name

Class Act Drama Academy

Elaine's Drama Classes have a new name but the same great teacher!

• every Wednesday in Downpatrick 
• every Thursday in Newcastle

Telephone 028 9146 4337 for more details or contact Elaine directly

At Class Act Drama Academy we teach not only performance skills but also essential life skills. Our students develop at their own pace whether they are superstars in the making or in need of a confidence boost. Our all-inclusive curriculum offers each and every student the chance to shine in all areas of work covered in class.

'via Blog this'

Weather Data for August

Another month of fairly gloomy weather - 
If you want to be cheered up, look away now! 


If not you can download: weather data for August here

Met Eireann say: Cool and Dry with below average sunshine

The Arctic's near-record sea ice low – big picture | Environment | guardian.co.uk

The Arctic's near-record sea ice low – big picture | Environment | guardian.co.uk:

A stunningly beautiful photograph - heightened by it's awesome import

'via Blog this'

Product development - and psychedelic guinea pigs!

With a mind to the Winter season, and our ever present quest for new designs, we spent a happy day today creating new products - from fibre felt. 
The workshops have been such a success this summer, and a happy spin off is all the creative ideas generated.


Here's a pictorial snapshot of one development including the vital "psychedelic guinea pig"


Making Felt Purses

the layers of loose fibre wrapped around the former
- does resemble a guinea pig no?

We want to make the purse 'in the round' so the first stage is to wrap the fibres - in colours of your choice around a former (bubble wrap in this case)

the many careful stages of agitation in more bubble wrap - with plenty of soapy water

more like a drowned rat now!
but you can see the fibres moving together

once it is pretty firmed up we made a cut across for the opening

after a good deal more working it is ready for finishing off

a few more 

in the pipeline

 Once we've perfected the process, and added the zips, look out for them at a craft fair near you!

Cambridge

We're back from Cambridge now, a great trip all round.


We're settling in to the changed landscape of our lives as just the two of us again. This is what we wanted, but with having Eleanor and Kate around us for almost a year, through thick and thin, challenges, adventures and achievements, it's going to take some getting used to.

Leaving Dublin - to clearer skies!

farewell to the storm!

Cambridge in all it's glory - a quiet street behind Clare College

a glimpse to the inner sanctum - Clare College

rebellion - Cambridge style!

punting on the Cam on a hot September day

Jesus Green

Eleanor exploring

what a wonderful thing exercise is!

heading home - to blue skies over Dublin (not for long though!)

To Cambridge

A Big Day: Elaine Kate & Eleanor are off to Cambridge today for Kate to start her new life at Lucy Cavendish College - fantastic, much hard work, plotting and planning has gone into this - it will be a brilliant, life changing experience for them both - very well deserved and a real credit to Kate. Good Luck!


Charlie and I are off over tomorrow by boat- with all the stuff!

Furby and Charlie relaxing  yesterday - aren't they just a delight?

An early start today - but the sun on Spellack was reward enough

a perfect morning (now that the school holidays are over) 

The delphiniums still have a lot more to show 

Now to pack the car - "It's OK like this" says Charlie

"But where am I going to go?" (in the front!)

The Mourne Wall

Early evening sunlight highlights the Mourne Wall as it strides over the High Mournes:


Slieve Donard; Slieve Commedagh; Slieve Corragh; Slievenaglogh

There's an interesting article in Wikipedia; here's the first paragraph:

The Mourne Wall is a wall which was constructed to enclose a reservoir's catchment area in the Mourne Mountains, Northern Ireland. It was built between 1904 and 1922 by the Belfast Water Commissioners to enclose the water catchment in the Mournes.
The wall was crafted from natural granite stone using traditional dry stone walling techniques. On average the wall is about 1.5 metres high and 0.8 to 0.9  metres thick. It is 22 miles (35 km) long and passes over fifteen mountains