Full Steam Ahead!

The permis de construire has been granted! As you know, we've been itching to get started. The permit came through just in time; any longer and my job would have fallen off Mr Kelly's busy schedule for months. So, Raymond sent the boys round and we're off with a flourish and a big bang! Only a couple of days in and already there is much to see, or less really -- there's been even more destruction.

Henny, intrepid foreign correspondent, sent these pictures this morning. She called first, "Open your email, I want to hear your reaction when you see this."

Holy shit! Plastic roof gone! Let me refresh your memory. Straight ahead is the former "hobbit door", which was once the main entrance to the house.

same view, before

The plan is that this room will become, in modern British estate agent parlance, a large kitchen/diner. What used to be a window --

--is now an entrance to the living room. Here it is from the living room side with a view of the great outdoors, I mean kitchen.

Scaffolding is going up. The little balcony has been removed. The 1st floor window will be made smaller (sadly) to accomodate the pitch of the new roof, which you can just make out by the 2 red chalk lines.

Here's the rear view. The men on the roof are preparing to make the opening for the new tower window which will have the most wonderful views. The rusty bracket holding the power line is going. Instead the electricity supply will come into the front of the house, out of the way, and as Raymond points out, then it will actually be legal.

My lovely friend Elina wrote from Maryland, "Please tell Henny we will NEVER get tired of photos of the ongoing work at Top-top. Personally, I want to see every tile laid."

Girl, we hope you were serious!