More DIY

We'd planned for a mixture of DIY and having a break. John's DIY focusing in the un-seen stuff like pipe lagging and insulating whereas Liz's focused on the more visible stuff like changing light switches and sockets for something more contemporary and 80's, in keeping with the era of the house.

All sorts of bits and bobs at the house are kind of random and not really what we want. For example, the front door was moved outwards to incorporate the open porch into the house. This meant that we found a doorbell inside the house from before the door was moved.

In the third bedroom, there was a sink in the wardrobe and (one of the many) shaving light above it. Time for turning the water off, breaking out the pipe cutters and finding the cabling to the light, taking it back and making it safe. See the video below for the reclamation of the wardrobe space (and John's pants)!

As with all DIY jobs, estimate the time, multiple by a number between 2 and 5 to get the actual time taken!

Along the way we blew the fuses half a dozen times, broke an irreplaceable thermometer on the AGA (you can't get mercury thermometers anymore for health and safety reasons) and got a couple of mild electric shocks.

Then you get the unplanned, unscheduled stuff that happens in a house you've bought that's 40 years old, such as unblocking outside drains (John with his arm down the drain as far as it would go and bringing up 40 years of sludge).

As a treat we went out for dinner at the Oystercatcher at Otter Ferry, our nearest restaurant 8 miles away, which gets really good reviews. We weren't disappointed! Really friendly service, not overpriced, with some excellent local produce on the menu and a spectacular location. Also, a lovely drive for us on a 'C' class road which winds and twists over the 'mountain'.

As we finished our meal another couple came in to take the only other table by the crackling open fire, which was set up for a special occasion. This turned out to be the icebreaker to a potential new friendship. Sue and Colin were lovely. They recognised us and said they knew the house we had bought from their walks in the area, as they live less than 10 miles away at Stronafian. And, in the 10 minutes we chatted for we found out that Sue also grew up in Leamington, Colin had grown ups near Lincoln where Liz was born, they are both English (albeit with Scottish heritage and surname) and had only lived in the area for a few years. We swapped numbers and promised to meet up again soon.