New piglets

Took delivery of 4 new weaners today from Adam Henson's Farm Park. 
They're just over 8 weeks old, so just weaned, and again traditional English breeds - 2 Gloucester Old Spot and 2 Tamworth.

Will hopefully breed from one of the Tamworths early next year.

Concert at Ragley Hall

Went to a fantastic classical concert at Ragley Hall (about 13 miles from us in southern Warwickshire) last night.

 It was part of the Battle Proms season and was a spectacular event on a perfect summer evening. Mounted cavalry, a superb Spitfire display, lots of cannon and fireworks were all part of the mix, accompanying a wonderful evening of music. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Changing of the guard

Our new kitten - Olympia

Last Saturday we unexpectedly took on a kitten from our daughter's riding stable, as the mother was killed by a car. She's about 6 weeks old and has captivated us in the days since she came here - a beautiful character.

Named in commemoration of our manic following of
a certain recent sporting event

We inherited our old cat from the previous owners 5 years ago, and believe she's now over 20 years old. She's been getting thinner, more deaf, and less able, but has still had a terrific appetite and only stopped mousing a few months ago.

I made a first appointment for the vet to check her over tomorrow (Friday) but strangely she just went poorly last night and then died this morning. How strange that in the a week after we took on a new kitten she finally succumbed to age.   

Building almost finished

New car park and frontage

Well, it's been a busy winter with all the action here at the B&B, but we are now almost at the end of the work. I can't believe I've left it so long since the initial updates.
We now have 2 extended rooms and one new room, all with lovely ensuites, and the construction is completed.
Completing the ensuite and decoration to the former dining room, and decoration of the stables to the new dining room is just about all that remains.
As I write various smaller matters - particularly to our private side of the house - are being squared away, and the decorators are putting the first coats
of paint to the walls of the new dining room. It's looking brilliant.

New bedroom (The Lynches)

We have also taken the opportunity to remodel the car park, moving it away from the new dining room windows and adding extra spaces, including one for disabled use.
I'll be posting more photos of the rooms on the website over the next few days, as well as some before and after photos here.

Windy Thursday, shelterless pigs

Most of the UK has been buffeted by unusually strong winds today, and we've had our share here. Though nothing like the severe storm conditions further north (70-80mph in some towns and cities in Scotland, and 165mph on the top of Cairngorm), there's quite a bit of local damage such as overturned animal housing and damaged trees.
One of our heavy pig shelters has been migrating today and finally ended up in the neighbouring paddock, having been lifted clean over the stock fence. Therefore I opened up the fence between the two pig paddocks to let them all shelter together tonight; it'll be snug! It's the first time the boar has been in with the fattening pigs, so let's hope they get on OK. He's not trained to the electric fence yet so had already pranged his nose a couple of times before I'd come in tonight, rooting about to look for gaps in the fences.
For the bricklayers it's been a demanding one. They kept going through the day and are working on the over-window arches. They've made good progress on what can't have been a comfortable day up on the scaffolding. The heavens opened around dusk, but fortunately I think they had just about packed up by then.

Building update - walls rising

Walls up to mid-window level - End of week 3

The project has really moved on again this week and it's almost hard to remember what it was like a week ago. The focus all through the week has very much been upon the walls, which are now up to head height and the internal walls have also been constructed to the same level. Weather's been pretty good again, just a bit windy early in the week, and some occasional showers. Can't complain for late November / early December. May the luck continue.
The plan is that the extension should be enclosed (i.e. a battened roof) by the time the builders break for Christmas / New Year, but that will largely depend upon whether the weather holds. Then once the roof proper is in place and the work has moved inside, we will be altogether less dependent upon what's happening with the elements.

For the week ahead: Work will continue with raising the walls and building above window height. The arches will need to be build over the windows and doors and hopefully the joists will go on late in the week.

Internal walls added

Building Progress

Digging out floors

Well, the guys have really cracked on with the work this week and we've been fortunate that the weather's been good.
The floor area was excavated, pipework has been reset, the brickwork and blockwork has been built to the damp proof course level, and then on Friday the concrete floors were laid. Worryingly, it started to rain a little in the afternoon on Friday, but by yesterday morning it had cleared up and the concrete's drying well.

New Dining room (not completed!)

While the floor was still being dug out the bricklayers started work in the stables, removing dividing walls and digging up the existing floor. You can see in this picture that it's turning into an impressively sized room. While we were designing it I was wondering whether to go quite so long or retain slightly more for the stables themselves (Meredith & I still hope to have our own equines at some point in the future), but with incorporating the bar area in the dining room this will probably turn out to be a good size.

Walls to dpc

Concrete floors in - End of week 2

For the week ahead: we should see the walls shoot up a pace if the weather holds. One of the really exciting bits! I'm taking plenty of shots, as from past experience we know that a couple of months from now we'll have forgotten that it was ever different.