Month: October 2011

  • Feed-in Tariffs subsidy to be cut by more than half

    Looks like the out-break of PV panels scaling up the roofs of my neighbours houses may be facing a hurdle to further progress. As reported late last week in the Guardian ‘the [subsidy] rate will be reduced from 43.3p per kilowatt hour of solar electricity to just 21p’. This information was contained in a PDF…

  • Before #5… Second Bedroom, phase 2

    I’ve posted before and after pictures for the second bedroom previously, but I’m considering the boxing-in of the water tank and building of a cabin bed as a second phase of development in its own right. From Barn Conversion 2011 From Barn Conversion 2011 I’m afraid that it’s pretty messy in there as it’s still…

  • The National Planning Policy Framework – consultation period now closed

    With the consultation period for the draft proposal now closed, I had the following email from The National Trust a day or two ago. On Monday, the last day of the Government’s consultation on proposed reforms to our planning system, we went to Downing Street to give the Government our recommendations, backed by an astonishing…

  • The myth(?) of rising damp…

    …and Rigsby is not in sight… I was watching an episode of QI the other night when the ‘myth’ of rising damp – or rather, the lack of evidence for the existence of rising damp as a ‘real’ issue, was mentioned. This wasn’t something I’d ever heard of and some further web-based research makes for…

  • After #4… Second Bedroom

    After my post about lots of befores made up of pictures of locations before I started work on them here’s another after… This photograph is a bit of a cheat… I’m really pleased with the second bedroom now that it’s been painted and had an oak floor and a radiator cover fitted, BUT it’s virtually…

  • Building Progress ~ September 2011

    Update on building progress during July 2011…

  • The national planning policy framework

    I’ve spoken about the National Planning Policy Framework in a couple of posts of late. I’ve given my opinion and provided links to others who support my view – but that’s not very even-handed of me, so I thought I should present some information about the Framework, what it means, says and its current status.…

  • Cornwall 2011

    We spent a week down in Cornwall at the start of September and there was me snapping photo’s of old bits of stone as usual. More inspiration for my raised beds – although I don’t really have as much regularly shaped stone as these require: From Barn Conversion 2011 At a beach front cafe, I…

  • Sloes…

    It’s been a great summer for sloes for some reason (lack of sun would be my guess), they rippen at the barn just as summer is turning to autumn. I can’t help taking photo’s of them – these are on the way to my sloe vodka demi-john – first established in 2003 and still going…