Home improvement

Mmm, yes.  It has felt a bit like Tim "the toolman" Taylor has been living with us, this year at Oak Tree.

Two years ago I sat with Lizzie and we talked through our thoughts about our home.  On my part, I've wanted to rip the kitchen out since the day we first moved in, whilst we were also aware that for a bit of "future-proofing", another bedroom would be a massive plus.  You see, we really like where we live - its convenience, its proximity to coast and country, the peaceful streets, the local walks, and the garden.  Not enticed to spend thousands of pounds moving, we eventually arrived at the idea of extending - knocking through the kitchen into the adjoining garage, keeping the front end of the garage for a utility area, and sticking a bedroom and en-suite shower room over the top.  

Well fast forward through the builders' quotes, architect's plans, council planning permission, ecologist report and building control, and what a transformation it has been.  I'm going to gloss over the year of absolute misery (we didn't even bother celebrating Christmas last year, most of our new kitchen units were piled up in the lounge and there was nowhere to put a tree) and tell you that it has turned out to be one of the best decisions we've ever made - to the point where it feels like we've bought a new house.

This is how our house looked in September 2019.  Amazing really, the bobcat's sitting roughly where our oven now sits, in the corner of the kitchen.  And the kitchen is the best place to start, because it's my favourite part of the build. We've transformed it from a dingy, small cooking space of "utility" feel, to a whole new living space.  Yes I cook here more than ever, but it's also a wonderful place to sit and read the paper, listen to the radio, or (if coronavirus ever desists) host friends.  I'm naturally drawn to the space now - we've made it bright and inviting, and I also love that because it's at the back of the house, it's completely out the way.  The eagle-eyed will even notice that we've re-positioned out "ooh la la" Becky Bettesworth print, which hung in the old kitchen - it looks better than ever and, well, who doesn't love a bit of continuity?

Upstairs, the new bedroom sits atop the kitchen and garage space.  We put in a south-facing Juliet balcony to maximise the light, and I'm particularly looking forward to spring, as we overlook next door's magnificent magnolia tree - that'll be a treat indeed.  The view from the window (particularly in winter, when the trees are bare) also stretches out to the countryside surrounding our town.  The bedroom is well insulated, and really cosy - perfect as we head into the bleak winter months.  

The front of the property has taken the longest time to get right - there was a huge delay in the manufacture of the new garage door, and then delays with the renderer coming due to the rain.  It's pretty much there now, barring another coat of paint around the frame.  We're hoping to get a nice climber growing up through the trellis next summer - a clematis (if it reaches) and a Virginia creeper (if it's safe enough) are both of standby and will provide a lovely covering.  Meanwhile at the back of the house, we also undertook a full refurb of our decking.  This wasn't in our plans for the year, but I put my foot right through the rotten old boards back in the spring, so it had to be done.  The decking we've chosen is a composite, which should last for years and years, and requires only the occasional soapy scrub (being relieved of the misery of having to stain and treat the deck every spring is worth its weight in gold, as far as I'm concerned!)    

It would be a lie to say that we're not both a little scarred by the goings-on here this year, but in many ways that makes the enjoyment of our new spaces all the better.  And as we head into the Christmas season, the bond we're feeling with our home is going to grow stronger yet.  So here's to a more relaxed home life.  And as for the question of whether we'd do it all again, well...

(apologies to the non Home Improvement fans, to which this will mean absolutely nothing!)

Makin' mosaics

Lockdown (the second) has given us all a chance to slow down and look at things in a more leisurely way, and for me it's taken me back into  some of my travel photos from my past.  In 2008 I interrailed around Europe, visiting several  amazing cities and fabulous sites along the way.  On one sunny morning in Rome, I took the Metro out of the city in the direction of Ostia.  Something incredible happened that day -  though descended underground in blazing blue-skied sunshine, our train emerged 20 minutes later into a cacophonous thunder storm, and some of the heaviest rain I've ever seen.  Flashes of lightning and howling winds gave an apocalyptic feel - and I made an about-turn and caught the very next train back to Rome.  Incidentally it was on exiting Rome's Porta S. Paolo station that I ran into the Pyramid of Caius Cestius.  "A pyramid in Rome?!?", I hear you scream?  Well, yes, actually.  Built between 18-12 BC, and thought to be based on the pyramids of Nubia (which had been attacked by Rome a decade earlier), the structure is the tomb of the aforementioned Caius Cestius, who may have been a Roman general on that military campaign.  You can only imagine how exotic it must have looked 2,000 years ago.  

Anyway, I digress.  Take two, and the following day my train did emerge in more palatable weather, delivering me at Ostia Antica, the remains of an ancient Roman city, the major port of Rome itself.   In its heyday it sat at the very mouth of the Tiber, although two millennia of silt have had the final say, and the remains of the town are now a good two miles inland.  British archaeology is my true calling, but Ostia Antica must stand alone as the singular greatest archaeological site I've ever visited.  Now, granted I haven't yet been to Pompeii, but I defy even that famous city to impress me more.  It wasn't just that the site was so amazingly preserved, with its street system and buildings, its theatre and its mosaics - it was that on this day, I had the whole place virtually to myself, the town mine to wander and explore to my heart's content.  And I did. I spent all day there.  They couldn't get me out of the place.

One of the things that most stuck with me at Ostia was the abundance of mosaics, both on walls and floors.  And even more amazing to me was that, with a few exceptions, they didn't even bother to fence them off - you could walk on actual 2,000-year-old Roman mosaics of the highest quality.  Now as someone from Britain who sees even the most basic Roman mosaics placed behind glass in order to preserve them (Dorchester literally built a house over theirs) this was something of a revelation, although I couldn't bring myself to trot over them, but diligently marvelled from the sidelines.  

There are many - many - mosaics at Ostia, but my favourite depicts scenes of great importance to the city - fishing, shipping, and trade.  Far beyond anything else, they've stuck with me, and are probably the first thing I think of when I think of Rome (sorry, Colosseum!)  I forget, and cannot find any authoritative source to tell me, exactly where this mosaic was situated - could it have been a market, or a merchant's place of business?  The amphora clearly suggests trade to me, and it's an activity taking place with northern Africa (the palms are the giveaway - palms aren't native to Italy).  Whatever your interpretation, they're just stunning in my opinion.

So stunning, in fact, that over lockdown #2 I decided to grab a slab of air-drying clay, a big bag of glass pieces, and attempt my own version for the garden.  Now, I know it's a shadow of the original, but in a weird and wonderful way it ties in with our location - the Roman Army are known to have camped at Milber Down hillfort just up the road from us, and I have often sat in the garden imagining Imperial soldiers scrabbling down the slopes of what now forms our decking.  Fanciful maybe, but the mere fact that the same people who camped so close to here were also trading with Egypt across the Mediterranean should make us all marvel and the extent of the Roman Empire.

You can see all my photos from Ostia Antica in my photo album.  So that's how my lockdown's been going - what home adventures have you been on? 

Thought of the month - November

People don’t always say "I love you." 
Sometimes it sounds like: "Be safe. Did you eat?
Call me when you get home. I made you this."

Remembrance 2020

Remembering those who gave their lives in war, that we might be free.

This year I have taken part in BBC local radio's Remember Together campaign, in which you upload a photo of yourself holding up the name of a person remembered.  The photo will form part of a giant poppy mosaic, which will go on display in the REME Museum at MOD Lyneham in Wiltshire, and hopefully online.

I know of two people in my family who have died in war.  You can read about John Frank Turner and Wilfred Roy Major, remembered always, on my blog.