fictional reality from Reading town
Mar 08 2010
Since the arrival of a woodburner in the wendy house, things have started to get
Disco inferno is the current tune of choice
The Trammps sang Disco Inferno
5 of your perky thoughts on hi disco
Mar 07 2010
Terry: this chimney was added after the house was built
wendy: what makes you think that?
Terry: none of the chimney brickes are meshed with the outside walls
He then whacks another brick out of the bottom of the chimney and dust motes swirl through the sunshine.
The Wendy House was originally a coach house for one of the larger houses nearby. The large house is now two large family homes and the wendy house sits behind them. It always seemed a bit odd that a coach storage room would have a chimney. The Coach house became a garage and the garage was converted into a home in the late 1960’s. It’s likely that the chimney was added at this time.
4 of your perky thoughts on modern chimney
Mar 06 2010
Got WOOD!
Or rather, for £15, Thomas gathered 0.4 cubic metres of mixed wood types from Nettlebed Sawmill and shuttled them to the Wendy House woodshed. It was like stepping into the Waltons, the nearby saw operator smirked charmingly as I loaded Thomas…
2 of your perky thoughts on sourcing logs
Mar 05 2010
Fabulously orange brick dust swirls around the wendy house and out the open windows and doors.
The builder wears a facemask as he powerhammers through the brickwork to widen the fireplace enough to to fit the woodburner. He lends his oversized hammer to the gasman removing the supply to the fireplace.
Gasman “The conservatory wasn’t here when I last came round, how long have you been here?”
wendy “2 years”
Gasman “Did you buy the place from Claudia?”
wendy “Yes, she added the conservatory around 5 years ago”
It feels like all the service providers that come to my home have been here before and remember the previous owners. Very homely local feel. The gas man took a while to sit with me on the K2 snowboard garden bench, enjoy the spring sunshine in the garden, talk about what a lovely secret spot it is and how the kitchen skylight has transformed the kitchen.
I like that people like the wendy house, so far that seems to be everyone who visits. NICE!
4 of your perky thoughts on more tools than me
Feb 22 2010
During the recent snow, cars moved very, very slowly and often moved into unintended places with slow, steady momentum.
It’s difficult to forget the world while shivering. Its worth a try. Getting a good wood burning stove is also worth a try
snow patrol sang chasing cars
3 of your perky thoughts on snow crash
Feb 07 2010
Spoilt for choice in a local antiques shop
Picking a plain wrought iron poker for the to-be-installed over-hyphenated wood-burning stove
Breathing-in was required to walk between the goodies. The tiny antiques shop brimmed with lovely practical gadgets. It was like walking through a museum store room. There were leather straps for sharpening razors, there were copper kettles and iron flat irons. I was lucky to get out of the shop having bought only a poker
My self-control can be utterly astounding
3 of your perky thoughts on pokers
Feb 06 2010
Paul from warm interiors popped round to look at the Wendy House’s wooden roof beams. When the fireplace is opened-up to install the woodburning stove Paul will be making a fireplace opening lintel from oak to match the roof beams. The lintel will have bolts and hooks like the original (circa 1845) beams. Excitement levels are on their way up in the Wendy House.
write the first musing on beaming
Feb 02 2010
It’s beautiful
This weekend my gimlet helped me get dozens of flush screws in the woodshed
What was once a flat pack is now a full 3 dimenisonal experience with an asphalt roof. No avatar necessary, just a black and decker power drill, tape measure, tacks, hammer and the essential gimet
4 of your perky thoughts on a girl and her gimlet
Jan 25 2010
Recovering from an intensive weekend de-savaging the wendy house garden:
Savage garden sang I want you
1 inspired muse on in the garden
Jan 19 2010
Ashley F Harrold and guest Lesley Saunders reading at Reading’s poetry cafe.
In May one of my most-favourite poets, if I am allowed more than one favourite, Brian Patten, will be the guest. That’s as exciting as the delivery of dry chopped wood to a house heated by a wood-burner during a cold-snap when the current supply of wood has run-out.
There appears to be an ongoing controversey about the labelling and meaning of the sections. These sections, bits, stages, modes, are referred to as ‘halves’ by the young bearded Mr. Harrold. This controversey is revisited at the begining of each cafe meeting to ensure the audience is not suprised by the unexpected onset of an interval or ‘half’.
Many locals take part in open Mic’ sections. That’s not open micky-taking it’s open-microphone in trendy shorthand. I’m beginning to recognise some of the open mic regulars, especially those who’s work I like.
“Most of the open mic poets we have are pretty good, I think they must put something in the water in Reading as we always have a decent quality, compared with other open mics elsewhere in the country, which is heartening and inexplicable.”
Absolutely
3 of your perky thoughts on reading at Reading
Jan 17 2010
Cas: hello Dr. Wendy
Wendy: Wow, I’m impressed that you remembered me and that I’m a Dr!
Cas explained the differences between multifuel and wood burning stoves as she pulled together a costing for converting my fireplace (gas fire).
Paul: you’ve over-estimated the cost of the chimney liner, knock 20 feet of the height, Wendy lives in the cottage
Wendy: you even remember where I live!
Paul: and we put the fireplace in there about 7 years ago for the last owner. We’ve done most of the fireplaces round here, we’ve been here for 20 years.
Cas handed me lots of manufacturers brochures to help me choose a stove and I bounced out into the wet snowless winter weather.
2 of your perky thoughts on local store for local people
Dec 31 2009
List-i-ness abounds.
Highlights of 09:
Lowlights of 09:
New year resolutions for 2010:
These are possibilities rather than commitments…
4 of your perky thoughts on from 09 to 10
