Planning Applied For

 So our plans have been uploaded, now we wait for the GO. Fingers crossed. We love the version we ended up with, hope we don't have to change too much. I'm keeping the alligator pool whatever happens.

We're currently on a stop notice period for 28 days, after unwisely removing a chimney (which was about to remove itself onto some poor bugger's head) and being photographed and reported for it. Yes, someone took the trouble of photographing Paul the builder as he went about his work, and helpfully sent those photos to the enforcement officer. Words fail me.

Before that, we found a lovely old parquet floor where our garden is going to be...

Also more mosaic floor, this time in the doorway to the garden, where it can actually stay..

 More when we have it. Hopefully when planning is granted we can get back on site. For now, we wait.

Stop Motion - what we have so far

This is probably too early, and most of the action is near the end, apart from some rather nice fallen leaves as October progressed, but here's what our stop-motion camera has picked up so far.

More soon..

Update 20201109

Well now, it's been a while since the last update, and much has come to pass. Sadly no access road yet, but we creep ever closer to that goal, despite miles of red tape.

Using the "Plan B" route through the front door to a skip on the road, Paul has managed with a small digging machine to clear most of the rubble etc from the main chapel. It's unrecognisable from the rubble-strewn forest we first encountered all those months ago. Kudos to Lyn, who has been a solid member of the wheelbarrow team, moving literally tonnes of rubble to the skip. 

There is a council meeting later today, in which we hope we will receive official permission to build our access road. Things will move a lot faster from then on.

This weekend we moved all the potted plants, benches, chairs etc from our garden to the front of Mount Pleasant. I would estimate we've moved 3 tonnes of stuff. Have to say I was glad to sit at my desk today, my bones are aching. This was not an attempt at some extremely premature landscaping, we just need to empty our garden so we can move out in early December. From then on our home (and office) will be a holiday apartment. At least until we can feasibly fit a caravan on the site at Mount Pleasant.

We had a lovely bonfire on the 5th. Actually two:

Spot the missus: 

In the morning, twenty tonnes of roof trusses, floorboards and general church paraphernalia had been reduced to this:

My stop-motion camera, visible here high up on the gable end, captured the whole evening in 5-minute slices. The result will be part of a video I'll put together at the end. It'll be nice to see the progression from this to the final product.

Build HQ:

Our in-fern-ary now has added hostas. Hostalry, anyone?

Some shots from a scaffold platform at the back of the property. Lovely views of Kinder, which we intend to enjoy from the three arched windows you can see in some of these shots.

More soon, if you're good.

Gates are up

We have gates.

..and they hang straight :)

Also we now have our very own electrical cupboard:

We think we'll put a big old planter in front of it. Bit ugly.

Also Paul uncovered these beauties in the front entrance:

.. but they can't stay as they are on the bare earth.

In other news, we've been pointlessly isolating for ten days now due to a Covid scare. Went for Sunday lunch with four friends, all of who subsequently tested positive. Eventually Lyn developed enough of a cough for us to book a test without lying about symptoms. My result was negative, we await Lyn's. Anyway, the enforced isolation has meant I couldn't get the latest images from the stop motion camera, nor change the battery. Paul has apparently begun work in the main chapel building, so it would be handy to have some images. I'll utilise my Covid-free status (assuming Lyn is negative) to go and fettle it tomorrow.

More later

Update 20201020

 Text-only post, sorry.

Well our solution to the problem of what to do with Lyn's potted plants, involved a lot of hard work. 

Step 1: move them from our steeply terraced garden up to street level, in the entry between the houses. Some of those things weigh around 100kg so this was no mean feat.

Step 2: recover from step 1. This involved beer.

Step 3: lug them onto the trailer and take them to Mount Pleasant (all of 50 metres away). Then lug them up yet more steps onto the newly bramble-free front area of the graveyard.

Step 4: recover from step 2, then more beer.

We both had to agree, if we'd tried this ten years ago it would have been much easier. If five years later, it would be impossible as we'll be too decrepit.

The job's actually only half done, but one trailer load is enough for one evening. We only hope nobody takes a shine to Lyn's fatsias, as the area is not secure. That said, good luck to anyone who can carry those monsters away.

Our front wall and gatepost have now been rebuilt twice, as Paul didn't much like the first attempt. We're hoping to have straight gateposts, and gates that actually close, in the near future.

Stop-motion update: nothing is happening in the main building, while we await planning permission and access. I collect the photos once a week and dutifully watch the slowly growing video footage. It's quite therapeutic watching varying light levels play over our huge bonfire (ready for 5 Nov), and in the last week or so a scattering of leaves has slowly appeared. Mount Pleasant autumn watch.

It's tempting to wish the project was completed and we were installed in our living room, supping coffee and admiring the view over Kinder. However, as frustrating and tiresome as it is, the adventure is the thing and we must do our best to savour it.

More later

Update - 20201012

So we still await official permission to build our access road. This means that no real actual useful work can begin, which is why I keep posting about peripheral matters like the walls, fences, tree-felling and other garden shenanigans. As I type, Lyn is at her desk next to mine, attending a Zoom town council meeting as a member of the public. In that meeting, the matter will be discussed. There's even an outside chance we'll get our document signed off - it's on the agenda. However, we hold little hope as our town council is famously unhelpful.

On the subject of town council helpfulness, these notices appeared on the field across which we want to build our access road. Handy with the old printer they are. Pity they never answer emails. To be clear, we wouldn't dare step on the field until permission is granted, as we know how litigious they can be.

The north west passage has always been impassable due to 30 years of mulch and fallen masonry. The team got to work and uncovered this rather lovely walkway, which will remain as part of the finished grounds.

We discovered the town hall's email machine, will hand it back this week.

We had a tree feller round. He was bonzer.

As we clear the grounds, we dig up many ferns that will come in handy when Lyn creates the woodland garden. These things cost a fortune. Here's our in-fern-ary:

More later. Hopefully good news on access, fingers crossed..

Stop motion start

Camera's up. Now to wait for results.

Installation was fairly painless

Initial shot: (Note preparation for bonfire night)

More soon.

Stop motion

 Well, this is the camera.

Now to get it wrapped in England-proof bubble wrap, and mounted on high. Watch this space in 18 months or so, for a good 2-minute film of the build process.

Update - 20201001

 October already. Gosh.

Planning permission for planning, as planned, is ongoing at the planning department. I plan to update this item with monotonous regularity... as planned.

We await permission to build our access road, despite it being granted verbally at a full Town Council meeting in August. we must wait for the piece of paper. Most frustrating.

Meanwhile, trees are being cut down inside the main building, where they have no business being in the first place, and also the old Sunday school, for the same reason.

This:

..is the basis for my stop-motion camera. It is it is it is. I plan to make a two minute film of the main build when this is all over. Thanks to No1 son Jack for the hardware AND the software, the advicewear and the supportwear, and all other wears in between.

This:

..is the old Sunday school, now a logging camp, soon to be a beautiful walled garden, with cats. Some may recognise it from earlier photos, when it was basically a woodland area. Here on the right is the back wall of the main building. Our bedroom window will overlook this area.

This..

...is Lyn, down amongst the pews in the main building, making a bonfire. 

We had a visit from an Environmental Enforcement Officer, instructing the builder not to make any more fires until yet another piece of paper has been obtained. This after a complaint from "The public". Yes, even a project as Town-enhancing and regenerative as this one, has it trolls. Motives unclear as with all such people.

This..

..is my attempt at an arty photo. I call it the city on the stump.

More soon.

In god we truss

 So the two remaining roof trusses had to be removed, as they were likely to fall on the builder. It was quite exciting.

Chop chop

 Good news today: we have permission from the authorities to remove the trees from inside the two buildings, and some from outside. Pics to follow :)

 

Path of destruction

 Well, the path didn't last long in its pristine condition...

Here's a little walk-around, during which I did a lovely narration. Then on playback, I remembered my phone's mic doesn't work properly, and all I got was static. So here it is is without the tour guide:

Does anyone know what these are?

Doesn't really matter, as they ended up on here:

More later

More paths

 The men have been busy with that digger. Side of the building is unrecognisable..

We'll soon move on to clearing the inside of the building. Huge job, photos to follow.

In other news, I've ordered a load of bits to make my own stop-motion camera. Based on a Raspberry Pi computer (google it) programmed by Jack (my son). I'll do a few photos as I build it, should be well boring. Eventually it'll be mounted high up inside the building so we can watch as the thing takes shape.

Later taters

The path is clear

 Well we have a path! This is literally the way forward. Or backward.

In other news, planning permission has been applied for. Very exciting, but I'm told it can take months. Watch this space..

We smoked a wedding

 So this happened. Lyn dumped the embers of yesterday's fires out of our custom-made bins onto a pile of pulled brambles...

Of course, it all caught fire.

Cue mad scramble for water, as the Town Hall next door were busy photographing a wedding party in their car park.

So where do you go for water in a derelict property? Why, the gatepost of course..

No idea why, but this pipe - originally for a gas light - has become connected to the mains water. See hilarious post from last week for fountain pics.

Oh yes, and more burnings...

We found and burned these lumps of wood, then realised they might be to do with the old church organ...

Ah well. more later...

Burning stuff #2

More burning. More backache. More beer. Now with added brambles. Front area down to the road is now pretty clear. We uncovered a couple of graves, as expected.

Moonrise over Chinley Churn from the graveyard:

Spot the wife:

In other news, we received the prelim plans from Jeremy Architect:

..yes, that is a tree INSIDE MY HOUSE. Take that, Kevin McLeod :)

Almost apoplectic with excitement. Can't possibly sustain this level for two years ...can I?

More soon