News from the Plough

Whilst I have been merrily updating what I consider to be the more frivolous social feeds I am conscious that I have neglected you my loyal blog audience, I can assure you that this is far from intentional. I like to sit and consider  my blog posts, despite the fact that they always appear to be random, and time pressure has meant that I haven’t had the opportunity you on the progress at the Plough.

I will start with a task that is complete, see there is one, the plumbers have left the building. Despite the plumbing having all the hallmarks of a disaster it was actually a series of small successes. The first, and most critical, success was that the plumbing was sub contracted out in its entirety, I didn’t do any of it despite urges to the contrary. The plumbing itself works despite everybody’s opinion that it should not by design and as a final success, after three days of work, the plumbers have adopted my new stock phase of ‘it’s a pub’.

I now have a total weight for stone and its a not insignificant 3.9 tons. The stonemason has found wiring,  flues and no end of concrete hidden behind the broken stonework but little in the way of mortar. The pictures below give an indication of progress and a good shot of the manic grin which greets me every time I question the crumbling mess that was once my pub. Thanks to Dave ‘s dogged determination we are still on target and the job is starting to come together now.

Scaffolding is now up for the roofers who have a push on to get done by the end of the month but they do say that people work best when challenged. There are three roofs in this tranche, one other one is already done and the remainder should last a few more years. This is a good point to remember for those whose answer to the trials of this project is “oh I remember when we brought the last house”,when I talk of roofs I have 5 pitched roofs and 3 flat roofs it’s not like a house unless you have had a pub you don’t have any reference point for comparison.

Decorating is a challenge and not just because it is so mind numbingly boring. It is taking a good few coats of white to cover the old colours and provide a base for the new colours so I haven’t actually got much of the new up yet. I have now erased the wall of pool fame and some other written legends on the wall though so should progress to colour this week. Even in all white it does look better and brighter so I am happy with the decision to go lighter.

Ready for colour

One of the biggest challenges to the painting is that it is having to be done in stages around the other works; as an example replacing a lintel can move a window so the reveals have to be left until last. Another challenge is the shear amount of stuff in the building at the moment.

Busy

You can see that I have a new front door in the picture above and a new lounge door gets installed next weekend. Safesite have been amazing and I have had ‘customers’ wander in past the steel door but somehow I think the wooden one is more welcoming.  Suppler accounts are now live and I am expecting to see a survey for the draught install his week. I am in the process of working out what glassware I need because it appears that all of the useful ‘standard’ glassware was removed from the pub. I am in the process of arranging refuse collection, far more complicated than it sounds, and have a growing list of other items to attend to but I think we can achieve it. The first wave of furniture is on site as are the fridges and I am battling with the water softener to try and understand if it is working and what all the numbers mean.

The deck has now been washed and had the first coat of oil. The oil stated that it covers 70 m2 per tin so, since it took 4 tins, I presume the deck is 280 m2 it doesn’t look that big but it certainly felt at least that when I was staining it!

It's not that big

I have a supplier on board for the outside furniture it just remains for me to pay him and ensure that he accepts the fact that I live on the smaller island a fact which has caused several heated conversations with suppliers already! I am also debating measurements with my table supplier after the prescribed screws came through the table top during assembly but I feel I have that debate in the bag.

I had a sneak preview of the new pub sign this week and even my son, who had concerns over the term ‘hand painted’ was impressed.  I think that it is a stunning piece of work and am looking forward to getting them up. The sign writer expects them to be finished this week and it will be great to have them ‘on hand’

Sign

What else is there to say? Well probably lots but my tired mind is struggling already and its only 4 pm. Instead of more pub ramblings let me share a glimpse of the jewel that I call home,  below is a view of the bay which never ceases to delight:

The bay

And just to show it’s not all ocean a peak at the chine:

Chine

Finally for those that have noticed the use of the term “we” fear not it is still only me but somehow it feels appropriate to say we rather than I possibly because the shear scale of the task makes it seem that one person is inadequate.

Garbage pixies and hammocks

One of the last few weekends for me on the big island and it was a scorcher. One of the great things about living right on the seafront is that on a sunny day the sound of families playing in the sand fills the apartment. I should caveat that last sentence by saying that it is not such a delight when working night shifts.

Today the ocean is like glass and the sun is continuing to grace us with its presence as the garbage pixies go about their way. For those of you not familiar with garbage pixies allow me to enlighten you. Garbage pixies are mythical beasts that exist solely in the minds of tourists who nurture and protect them for fear that they may be connected to other ethereal beings such as santa’s elves.

The garbage pixies are never seen but legend tells that they congregate around coastal areas with occasional forays inland to visit camp sites. The pixies put great value in garbage, hence the name, and use it for clothing, building materials and food. As I walked to the station this morning I passed repeated offerings made by the tourists to support the garbage pixies. An offering fit for the king of the pixies was laid out along the beach, the roads and almost every available surface. I could almost hear the pixie’s squeal of delight as they counted the used diapers (great for fertilising pixie herb gardens) chip wrappers and bottles.

In case you think that when I am not at the pub I am not working on her then let me put your mind at rest. This weekend has produced the supplier shortlist for fridges and furniture and the supplier ‘long’ list for plumbers. Each of these subjects will be followed up in the week to settle on a supplier of choice. One of the oddities of island life is that the cost of shipping can swing supplier choices dramatically with some accepting the cost and others outright refusing. Roofing quotes are being dissected before they are given an urgent green light with asbestos being an unwelcome tax on that task.

Supplier negotiations are progressing well and should be at least partially concluded this week. Finally I am hopeful of seeing the artwork for the return of the Plough this weekend. I am now officially sick of living between an apartment that is boxed for moving and a pub that I haven’t moved into yet. Pressure of time means that every time I use something I feel compelled to put it in a box ready for moving but I have nowhere to put the boxes!

There are a couple of regular questions that come up with respect to the pub, for the sake of efficiency I will answer them here. The first is accommodation or rather the provision of accommodation. I do not have letting rooms at the pub, there are no camping facilities and I cannot accommodate sleeping bags or hammocks within the bar. There is an excellent and incredibly good value B&B over the road who will look after you if you mention the pub, I will give you their details that is as far as I go on that front. In short, whilst I would love to see you, I own a pub not a hostel or a holiday home.

The second question is invariably “are you excited” I could answer this by directing you to look at previous posts but that is just a tad lazy. Between me and the opening is a single solid month of work all to be achieved whilst living on a building site and pouring money into the bottomless pit I call home. That is such a scope of work that to be honest I can’t see past it at the moment I don’t mean that in a negative way it is just rather ‘all consuming’ right now. Am I nervous? Yes and rightly so given all the plates that I have spinning. But am I excited? I guess the right answer is not yet. Be ‘

N.B. There is no such thing as a garbage pixie nor is there any use for your discarded diapers just because we are near the ocean doesn’t mean the normal rules of civilisation don’t apply