A kind of hush as descended on the uphilldowndale household; after weeks of being busy doing allsorts of must do’s and wanna do’s, not to mention, my birthday (which was lovely, cake ,flowers, champagne, the works), I’ve found myself with 4 days with few commitments, a treat. Mr Uhilldowndale has set off for the Three Peaks Yacht Race taking with him what seemed like a vast array of kit, sailing gear (remember last years kit test?) then there is his running stuff, the bike and biking gear. The house is quiet and empty. I needed a bit of time and space to potter around, to catch up with that nagging mental list of things to do that has been nipping at my heels for weeks.
I’m on a mission to get the house straight, it has been woefully neglected of late. I’m not so fussed about giving it a deep clean, not that it doesn’t need one, its just that on Monday the builders arrive. It is a big job we are about to start, that has the potential to be messy and disruptive and one that is going to take a number of weeks. I know from experience nothing can spread and penetrate every nook and cranny quite like 300 year old muck and dust, so for the moment, I’m just going to enjoy having the place to myself. It might be dusty now, but I know this is nothing compared to what might be.
I’m sure these ladies wouldn’t have been as lacking in fastidiousness as I. They look formidable ( we think the photo dates from about 1906-10)
They used to live in this very house, the lady on the left is the grandmother of Freddy the farmer, who, like generations of his family before him, farmed these fields right up until the 1970’s (Freddy was a shooting pal of my Dad’s) The family resemblance between the lady on the left and Freddy was so strong that when my mum saw this photo she exclaimed ‘Oh my god, it’s Freddy in a frock!’
So you’ve seen the people, here is their home
Potentially I could turn this blog into a skip load of building tales, I will post about the work, I’m hoping that during the process we discover some blogable history about this ‘ere house. But for the time being I’ll keep the blog as a place to escape to. Think of me shrouded under dust sheets tapping away at the keyboard whilst the dust of past worlds floats by..
June 18, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Ah, the scourge of modern life that is “having the builders in”. I wish you a smooth job!
June 18, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Good luck and God speed!
June 18, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Wishing you lots of luck and smooth sailing with those renovations.
Those ladies look very formidable indeed.
June 18, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Oh how exciting it will be. At the end, when you get rid of the builders and get out the paint brushes. Not much point doing any housework in hte meantime. Get out there with the dog and the camera instead!
June 19, 2010 at 12:47 am
Here’s to four days to yourself! Good luck to Mr. Uhdd! I broke up when I read your mum’s comment, “…It’s Freddy in a frock!” LOL That’s priceless. Your home looks wonderful and I can imagine that 300 years of timeless dust from nooks and crannies will add to the mix for more exciting tales as the builders arrive, work, and then leave…
June 19, 2010 at 3:09 am
I love “Freddy in a frock,” and think it is a wonderful title for anything from a film to a poem, with stops at short story and Tribute Band.
There is no point to wishing you smooth sailing, what with it being a case of builders and all, but I do wish you a nice little corner well-shrouded in Visqueen or whatever it’s called, with a little window to let in some air. There you can blog away to your heart’s content . . . or perhaps even crawl out the window and escape into the day with the camera and Spud.
That is a wonderful house, and you know I will be enthralled by its history and the new things you learn as things are taken apart, very gently I’m sure, in the course of the project.
June 19, 2010 at 4:08 pm
I wish you luck during your renovation of the house! It looks like a lovely old house – with a lot of history. And now a new chapter begins in the history:-)
Our house was built in 1904, and needed a renovation when we bought it in 1997. So we lived with 2 children (and one more coming!) 6 months during the winter in a caravan in the garden during the renovation. But since then we have had a VERY NICE home!
June 20, 2010 at 6:25 pm
These old photos are absolutely priceless!! And – enjoy your time alone. Four whole days sounds absolutely dreamlike!!!
June 22, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Thanks for good wishes in the race. The runs have gone well, but sailing conditions have been frustrating for us and our boat.
I’m siting at the “nav station” with a broadband connection faster than we can get at home. Amazing!
It’s very strange beng away from home at a time when so much is being done to the house, but the timing of the building work wasn’t our choice, and it needs doing.
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