The White House

My mission to paint the South wall of cottage #1 is fulfilled. Kevin, bless him, was concerned for my safety, so he added extra support legs once the tower was heightened even further. There was a fair degree of wobble up there, accentuated by my feverish wire-brushing technique and a prevailing wind. At first, my knees were a bit fizzy, but it's surprising how quickly one can adjust to working at heights. It did cross my mind that the last time I'd been that high was on the Isle of Wight, on a school outward bound trip to Little Canada, while abseiling. Only, on that occasion, I'd been strapped into a harness (unflattering) on a safety rope and wearing a safety helmet. I know it doesn't look very high in the photo, but when you're up there, and 'on the wobble', it's challenging! Mid-paint, Kevin thought it would be funny to come under cover from the inside, banging at one of those boarded-up little window holes. Not funny, Kevin. I nearly dropped my brush.

Kevin offered to paint the top little peak, as it required the acrobatic balancing skills of an electrician. I really do appreciate his act of gallantry, but he hasn't done it properly. He'll have to go up again on a ladder to fill in some of the gaps in the porridge-y surface. The peak looks grey compared to the rest of the wall.

Kevin quickly moved the tower on to begin his tile-replacement initiative. He may have a point about the blinding nature of the white...

We've removed the old metal window from the roof, the one I half-destroyed during hornetgate. And, for now, we've boarded over the hole until the next dormer goes up in that position.