Work begins!
After a fun weekend with our sweet friend Linda (she and I saw ABBA Voyage on Sunday afternoon) on Monday morning I set off for my swim, not really knowing what to expect when I arrived home again. I turned the corner into our lane and saw a white Transit van stopped in the passing place and noted the two young men sitting, waiting in it. I had a sneaky suspicion about their destination and as I turned into our drive I looked to see if they were behind me. They weren’t, but by the time I reached our front door, they’d pulled in and sure enough, our builders had started to arrive.
All was relatively quiet as we had breakfast and a coffee, though as Linda gathered her things to begin her journey home, there was a little activity starting up - and two Transit vans in the drive now. She texted later in the day with news of her safe arrival home, saying that on her way she’d passed another one with our builders logo on it and a skip lorry and had guessed (correctly) their destination. I think she was quite pleased to be escaping the “fun”.
Just a couple of hours later, we went to see what was happening and were amazed at how much damage two men, a sledgehammer and a few power tools can do in a short time!
They hadn’t just begun working in one place, either. When we came inside to find the kettle, coffee and so on for them, we discovered they had begun to remove the fixtures and fittings indoors too.
Though right now, it looks like they’re leaving the best bits till last. Certainly, we understand that the staircase won’t be removed until we go on holiday, which is a bit of a relief. I’m not sure how good I am on a rope ladder!
Our studio remains - almost - untouched, screened off with a polythene curtain, with a gap to find our way through.
The team of builders are delightful and extraordinarily hardworking. The boss has set up office in the kitchen and is checking the plans step by step with us. We’re doing out best to keep out of their way whilst still being on hand to make their task as smooth and trouble free as possible. Their speed of progress has been far greater than we’d imagined though, so we’re a little bit like rabbits caught in the headlights at times.
By the end of the day there was quite a bit of debris - all wooden fittings had been removed and a start had been made on the cloakroom too.
The evidence of that was plain to see!
By close of play on day one, we were so ready to take refuge in the peace and comfort of our sitting room, which is unaffected by any of this. We’re glad to be finally getting on with it all, we’re delighted with every one of the people who are putting all of these plans into action and who are being so considerate of our wishes. It’s really exciting!
But mid-October seems a long way off right now.
