Nice people thread part 4 - sugar and spice and all things

Davesnave

lostinrates wrote: »

as a matter of nterest: what is the wood like? its it decorative? or do you recon it will burn well?

The wood is a reasonably-priced softish hardwood, IYSWIM. Fine grained. I know because my BiL has just made doors for his barn conversion from it.

The offcuts burned OK! It'll be 2013/14 before I burn my tree.

lostinrates

Davesnave wrote: »

The wood is a reasonably-priced softish hardwood, IYSWIM. Fine grained. I know because my BiL has just made doors for his barn conversion from it.

The offcuts burned OK! It'll be 2013/14 before I burn my tree.

that's interesting! I had no idea it was well used!

LydiaJ

SingleSue wrote: »

Oh, forgot to say, also had some good news over the weekend. Found out I was hugely in credit for my electric, so am getting a refund of £120 (still leaves me with a decent amount in credit as a just in case measure)!

Ok, it probably won't be through for Christmas or possibly even New year but it will certainly come in handy for the typically eek weeks of early January.

They also wanted me to reduce my weekly payment (I pay weekly by standing order rather than monthly by direct debit as it is easier to budget that way) but me being me and for the sake of peace of mind, I opted to keep it where it was and said I would review come the spring.

Sue, I thought it was only recently that you came off a prepayment meter. If you've managed to clock up £120 of surplus in such a short time, then it would seem that your weekly payment is definitely too high.

Glad you'll be getting the extra dosh in January, though. You deserve some nice surprises.

lostinrates

we have a damp membrane under our concrete floor!...not so much of the old foundations under that more worryingly.

our neighbours in the village up the hill are on some kind of miracle gardeners soil called green sands that I've never come across before, but we are on cleay (both green and clay coloured). now the doing room has a big hole of exposed green clay n there and I just keep thinking its worth ot, utting UFH in there, it really would be I think. Not least because its such a pokey narrow room. Although also have been thinking maybe that should be the library, and the stidy go in where the library was to be and the dining room in what was going to be the study.........................

its all very difficult to decide.

tomterm8

Tulip tree wood used to be very highly prised for cabinet work, because it can make a very highly decorative inlay.

GDB2222

michaels wrote: »

My parents offered us a tree for the front garden of our house when the work was finished and we will no doubt give it some lights but I guess that will be next Christmas now.

Any thoughts on a tree that will grow not too large (15-20 feet?) but look interesting all year and give some shade for the car without dropping too much sap or other nasties? I'm thinking cherry but may be something that will have leaves year round would be less stark in winter?

I'm terribly fond of Acers, with their wonderful red leaves.

GDB2222

Davesnave

lostinrates wrote: »

our neighbours in the village up the hill are on some kind of miracle gardeners soil called green sands that I've never come across before, but we are on cleay (both green and clay coloured).

You can grow just about anything on greensand. That's what my friend John had in his patch near Devizes. He had a wonderful arboretum that plunged off a plateau into a valley, all full of wildness & excitement.

There are some (so-so) photos here, shot by a member of the public. They enlarge if you click them:

http://www.bakerlite.co.uk/rare_plants.htm

The party went on to someone else I know on Page 2. I think you may know her too.;)

John would grab a couple of carrier bags and whizz along those paths, snipping here and there and quoting latin names so fast they couldn't be written down quickly enough. I'd leave with cuttings to stock a nursery, but only a handful of positive IDs.....and only a fraction ever took.

John's living quietly in Devizes now, as he's well on the wrong side of 90. He still has all his marbles, though.

lostinrates

I particularly love that buttery crocosmia. I have George davidson and another whose name I cannot remember, but that one looks lovely

zagubov

Just got back from Center Parcs. A nice break from home! There's a nice illusion of peace and quiet and space, the way the place is landscaped -feel there's nobody overlooking you. Got a free upgrade but missed out on kayaking as DS had a cold and the "lake" was icing up.

Glad we brought our car round before 8 AM. The traffic gets horrible after that in their one-way system, and there's not enough spaces to park in front of the villas. I' ve been to all three older Center Parcs now and noticed they're all easy to miss from the main road (wonder if that's a requirement for planning permission- low visual impact).

Next time might go to one of the ones in Europe - a workmate went and said it was about 60% of the cost, but had less sporting facilities (but we don't use them much anyway)