The Lodge...

I'm feeling quite pleased with myself.  The Lodge is nearly complete,  it just requires its chimneys,  and a few roof timbers.   The porch is now fully attached to the house, all the bits of roof have been painted and weathered.   I've also begun work on the base, and ordered a few bits and bobs from PP, just some fencing, and headstones... !    It sounds grim, but it won't be, I hope to create a little country graveyard, the kind you have a nose around, but this one is being looked after.   I also spotted a lych gate, sooo tempted and it may still wing its way here.

It looks a bit smart with its painted roof.   It is far grungier in real life,  my camera likes to make things look nice.   I may have to play with the settings to get a truer picture of what this little Lodge does look like, complete with its grunge.

I'm just trying to imagine who'd live in the Lodge,  I can imagine a man who takes his job seriously, and has a sense of pride.  His wife would take care of their home, making it comfy for them,  pottering around her little veggie garden, wearing one of those wrap around pinnies.  

I'm painting a picture of a different time,  a gentler time in some ways, and much harsher in others.   I was watching Call the Midwife,  and while I was quite young in the early sixties, very young,  I can remember a very different world.  It wasn't bright and shiny,  people made to because they had to,  my family lived crammed into three rooms,  we were on the council waiting list but it wasn't till I was 12 that we finally moved into a spanking new maisonette.  Mum was so proud of having her first new home, she saved up to buy new stuff,  not cheap tat, oh no.    Gradually she furnished the place with new furniture,   she loved the house, we had nice neighbours and it was a really lovely estate.   Sadly over time it became one of those dreaded sink estates,  partly because of its location,  there was nothing to do, no employment locally and the right to buy meant that the nicer estates were all being bought up.  It is once again a nice housing estate,  the maisonettes were torn down, houses built,  new shops etc and it has come back to life again.  

That storm has arrived here, we've had strong gales all day, not so much rain, though I'm sure that will change.   Last night Harvey had a big fight with another Tom cat,  who could have been his twin.  In fact at first I was confused as to which cat was Harvey, he was really upset and so I brought him in.   It took him ages to calm down.  I've never seen the other ginger cat before, so no idea where he came from.  Never a dull moment. 

That's all for tonight,  work to do on the base and those chimneys, and must remember to post a card!