The Pig Yard

June 2012

The weather this month has not been particularly normal with high temperatures separated by periods of cold and plenty of rainfall. There has been so much rain that the water companies have removed their hose pipe ban and the village experienced several days when the road out was flooded with Jane having to go to work via a more circuitous route.
We've had a really northern aspect to our lives with a few days staying with Jon & Susie in Holmfirth and a weekend away with Graham and Sue in Darlington. Lots going on and plenty to keep us both busy with the prospect of even more activity if we manage to get planning permission for our housing project.

Our Friends in Yorkshire

It has been nearly two years since we've seen our best friends from college Susie & Jon but it was worth waiting for. Whenever we get together it's like the years drop away and we go back 40 years in time to when we were carefree students. The Saturday afternoon was very, very wet but that didn't stop us walking down into the town, wandering around and then take the long way back so that we could enjoy the views across the valley. We arrived back at their house wet but happy.

The following day the skies were brighter and we took a walk around some of the local reservoirs - click here for a map of our walk. We stopped off at The Fleece for a lunchtime drink and a bite to eat before heading back around by Brownhill Reservoir stopping at a local pottery where we saw some wonderful pieces and determined we would purchase something on our way home the following day. The few days went very quickly and we came away sure that we wouldn't be leaving it another two years before we met up again.

New Smart Phones

After nearly three years of being wedded to our Apple iPhones we both felt it was a time for a change. Steve's iPhone had become particularly slow after he upgraded to iOS5 and the old 3Gs just wasn't up to the job. On several occasions we both had to reboot our devices because they would freeze.

Steve was determined not to buy another iPhone because the whole Apple following has become more like a religion than a technical device so we decided to wait for the release of the Galaxy S3 which promised to be better than any phone on the market. After several launch dates came and went we eventually managed to get our hands on them. Jane got her white one first from Tesco using her Tesco vouchers and this proved to be a superb deal whereas Steve had to get his from O2 because Tesco were not getting hold of blue devices.

The first few days proved quite traumatic particularly because we could collect emails but couldn't send any. Eventually Steve got it sorted and we were soon moving Apps around on the screen and downloading Apps from the Android Store. Now that we're used to them we are really pleased with their speed, clarity of screen, usability and lightness & thinness.

Darlington Market Building

This is where we used to go to buy our Marvel magazines when we were students. We could buy a few on a Saturday and the following week trade them back in part exchange for another set. Superman was our super hero of choice.

Even on a wet Saturday in a place we haven't revisited for forty years things had altered that much but the passing of the years had dimmed our memory of where the station was and how far it was from the middle of the town. It was interesting to return and it brought back many happy memories.

Durham Market Square

Durham is a lovely, ancient city. It has managed to retain the feel of a walled city whilst adapting to all the usual modern pressures of multi-storey car parks and shopping malls.

Even on a Sunday it was busy and there was plenty of students with their parents pulling large suitcases around as it was the end of the university term. Cities that have a university in their centre have a very special feel because it is alive with intelligent young people. We really enjoyed the initial feel.

Olympic Torch

On our way to the museum we saw signs telling us that the Olympic torch would be passing through the small village of Middridge so we decided to park up and see what all the fuss was about. We had to wait about 40 minutes before there was any activity and then numerous police cars, police motor cyclists and sponsor vehicles started driving through making a lot of noise. Here we were in the middle of nowhere and there was still a chap selling union flags, needless to say we didn't buy one.

Eventually a local hero came jogging through the village with masses of onlookers cheering and getting caught up in the kerfuffle. All we wanted to do was to get some photographs. No sooner had the torch appeared through the crowds when it was gone. If we hadn't been passing through it's doubtful we would have spared the time. The hype around the torch is the fact that this will only happen once in our lifetimes however, as Steve never stops pointing out, every moment of every day will only happen once in our lifetimes so why the fuss?

Nick's Microlight Flight

The usual suspects bought a microlight flight for Nick's 60th birthday and after nearly a year of waiting the man got his act together with the weather and managed to get his flight off the ground.

We all expected him to be doing it in one of those paper and string machines but he opted to have it in a more conventional looking craft. I think the spectators enjoyed the event almost as much as Nick, seated on a balcony overlooking the airfield supping freshly made coffee from the Pilot's bar/restaurant.

House Project

Whilst we wait for the decision on our planning submission we continue to look at the choices we have in terms of timber frame design and the windows. These two areas are where most of the money will go and so it is vital that we get them right.

We have become obsessed with u-values that indicate the thermal qualities of different materials. Inevitably this is even more complicated than it sounds because, for example, the u-value at the centre of a double glazed unit will be better (less thermal transmission) than at the window frame where there is thermal bridging. If you haven't fallen asleep already then please have some sympathy for us whilst we come to terms with a whole new set of jargon and potential sales people who may or may not be telling us the truth about what is the best material for our circumstances. And of the course the better it is the more expensive you can expect it to be.

Oh for goodness sake let's just get planning permission and then we can make our decisions and live with them for the rest of our lives.