The Kitchen and The Shelves

Update on BT Openreach:  we are still waiting for the 7th team to call.  They did come, when we were away (although they had been told to come only when we are around) but as the postcode /Sat Nav only works up to the half way point on Tinneys Lane, the man couldn't find the house so fortunately he went away again (of course checking the exact location of the house with one of his previous 6 teams of colleagues who have been here already was beyond the wit of man).  We have now left them this sign - just in case they call in our absence again.

Anyhow, on a more positive note, Christmas Lunch is definitely going to be cooked and served in Flowerdown, even if we are not fully moved in by then.  (Vicki has booked herself onto a 'How to use you new Steam Oven' course in November).  We are not quite there yet - they are coming to measure up the wall behind where the kettle is for a glass splashback next week - so watch this space for the full finished look.

The Shelves are David's current pride and joy and have resulted in the acquisition of loads of very interesting new tools.  These are made from Walnut (purchased from Worktops Direct - another company we can highly recommend for both quality and service) and will match the floor (when it is laid at the end of November). Here you can see some 'T' shaped aluminium which is screwed to the three sides of the alcove.  The wood has grooves in it so the shelves will just slide in place and have a 'floating' appearance.  David has made jigs and guides to ensure uniformity and now his production line is in operation they shouldn't take too long to finish - the only thing delaying him is having to leave the router to cool down at regular intervals as he is trying not to burn it out.  The lower shelves are all being routered and shaped to hold wine bottles, then there is a charging station and the upper shelves are for cookery books.

Walk in Wardrobe and the Internet

Credit here goes to Joanne Hindle, a friend from Littleton who with her husband has done a fair bit of house building/rennovating and is a wealth of experience and ideas.  The Hindles, came around, saw this space to the left of the ensuite in our bedroom and immediately suggested a 'walk-in wardrobe' and sent us some designs for a similar one they had done themselves.  Given that we had a shortage of wardrobe space in this room due to the sloping ceiling this is a masterful idea - thank you, Joanne.

Here we have a photo showing the van of the sixth team of different people to come from BT Openreach to connect the phone line and thereby the internet.  Only one more team still to come to complete the job (he has been once but couldn't find the house so went away again)!  We have never known such inefficiency - but "'Twas on a Monday morning when the gas man came to call" keeps popping up in our minds.