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Even more mod cons.

Monday 9 August, 2010

by Rosemary at 5:35pm in Anything goes Comments closed

I splashed out (pardon the pun) and bought a portable toilet for the caravan. We've been using the WC in the garden, which has been fine in the summer (good weather and light nights) but we didn't think it would be too good in winter, specially if we have guests. Currently, it's in the middle of the living area floor - you can watch DVDs while you sit - but we're taking out the toilet from the caravan WC tomorrow, so it can go in there.

John also got the shower working today, so that's real progress. It had a real bad leak but fortunately, the plumber was here and, after a rummage in the back of his van, he produced just the "thing" to fix it. So we had our first shower - amazing how little water you can use if you try.

Quite a weekend!

Sunday 8 August, 2010

by Rosemary at 7:07pm in Anything goes Comments closed

Well, Lorna and I are now "officially" moved to Dalmore.

Dan, Claire and I moved the cats and Smokey up on Saturday, and Judy and Carrie brought Bugsy from Dalgety Bay to join us.

Smokey loaded beautifully and arrived cool and calm. It was great having Claire there for moral support - nothing went wrong but that's probably because she was there, if you know what I mean. I had been practising loading for a few days and he was pretty relaxed - although the trailer hadn't actually moved anywhere. Bugsy arrved about 30 minutes after us - wee boy in a big lorry. Again, Judy had prepped him well and he was perfectly laid back. He and Smokey seem to be getting along fine - for the moment, Smokey's top horse but Bugsy's no push-over.

The potting shed

Sunday 18 July, 2010

by Rosemary at 1:31pm in Anything goes 2 comments Comments closed

The potting shed now has shelves, so we decided that it should be formally identified. With no little ceremony, the slate name plaque was screwed into place.

Potting shed

Linda spent a good bit of yesterday sorting through the pots, discarding the rubbish and washing those we're keeping. We're sure she'll spend many happy hours in the potting shed. Sometimes we might even unlock the door.

All mod cons

Sunday 18 July, 2010

by Rosemary at 1:27pm in Anything goes Comments closed

We now have electricity, running water and gas in the caravan! No hot water as the boiler's bust but the cooker and the gas fire now work; the boiler's being replaced in a couple of weeks but we've decided just to keep using the WC in the garden.

Kludgie sign

It's now easy to recognise the WC as it proudly bears its name!

JW1887ED

Thursday 15 July, 2010

by Rosemary at 11:31am in Anything goes 1 comment Comments closed

After "finding" the lintel stone at Dalmore inscribed with JW1887ED, we were curious about the intials. We wondered if it was perhaps the original occupants - perhaps a marriage stone or the builder's initials.

It turns out that JW ED stands for John William Earl (of) Dalhousie. John William Maule Ramsay was the 13th Earl of Dalhousie KT PC, born 29th January 1847, died 25th November 1887. He succeeded his father in 1880 and in the seven years until his untimely death aged 40, he was a great builder and improver of the Panmure estate, spending and estimated £150,000 on new buildings and other improvements. Much of the funding would have come from revenues from coal mining on the Dalhousie Estates in Midlothian.

Dalmore: a history Chapter 2

Wednesday 14 July, 2010

by Rosemary at 10:29pm in Anything goes Comments closed

We found some old maps in the house that are contributing to our research. The oldest one is from 1865, which we know from the carved stone above the door, is before the existing house was built. In the area where the house now stands, it says “deyhouse�. A quick search indicates that this is an old word for “dairy�. However, I have also found reference to some maps, dated 1826, of “the lands of Buddon, Cowbyres and Deyhouse�, so maybe it was a farm.

Happy campers!

Friday 9 July, 2010

by Rosemary at 5:40pm in Anything goes Comments closed

Well, caravanners. Our new caravan was delivered today. It was wee bit nerve-racking, but it's in place and the Nissan clutch will hopefully recover.

As usual, things didn't go quite as planned. The caravan is 12' wide and 35' long. Our entrance gate is about 13' wide and Station Road is quite narrow, so things were always going to be tight. The situation wasn't helped when the tyre on the caravan blew as they boys were taking it off the trailer.

Caravan arriving

Rain, rain go away

Thursday 1 July, 2010

by Rosemary at 7:44am in Anything goes 1 comment Comments closed

It's absoutely bucketing rain here this morning. Bad news for the painters doing the outside of the house in preparation for the estate agent. The walls are done and probably half the windows. Hope it dries up for tomorrow.

The Caravan Club

Wednesday 30 June, 2010

by Rosemary at 8:16pm in Anything goes Comments closed

Since our house won't be ready until October and it's a 3 hour round trip and I have no patience, we've bought a caravan. Hopefully it will be delivered on Friday, so we're staying there Friday night.

We bought it from some friends who have just built a new house. It's in very good condition, so we won't be roughing it exactly. I'm really excited about it!

Photos to follow!!

Why do we do this?

Tuesday 29 June, 2010

by Rosemary at 8:47am in Anything goes Comments closed

We had heavy rain last night but this morning, there isn't a cloud in the sky. I picked a couple of handfuls of strawberries, wet with raindrops and warmed by the sun and my daughter and I ate them for breakfast.

In the midst of lawyers and builders and estate agents, it's easy to forget why we're doing this but this morning, I remembered.

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