It's now exactly a year since we become the slightly daunted, owners of an old water mill and its house and outbuildings. Planning permission and listed building consents were in place to convert the adjoining small dairy into domestic accommodation, re-roof the house etc. We had plans for the building works to be completed before the end of the year. But nothing has started yet! One thing after another not in our control (apart from shouting) - bats have been the latest hold-up. Not that we object to bats, but if the work is delayed for another winter the rain really will begin to do some damage.
In some ways the delay has had a positive outcome. We have seen the whole property through four seaons - we know where the water comes in, how damp the floor is, how much, or little, we want or need to do. As time has gone on, we realised that there are many things that we probably won't do. The old terracotta tiles on the bare earth floor, slightly uneven, laid without reference to any of the walls of the room for example. There is the story of the building's past life. The cat's paw prints embedded in a tile on the kitchen floor. The bakelite fittings, the 'sliding' sashes - the top drops down, the bottom is fixed and there are no sash cords (except for one bedroom....) so the window is open or shut - that's that. Grand stuff!
