Saturday 7 July 2012

Dumb and Dumber


I've just had a couple of hands-on days at the castle as my summer holiday - hurrah! There's nothing like the satisfaction of actual hands-on work, however minor, when one is fighting with restoration bureaucracy and trying to earn the money to pay for it.

Some friends and I finally dug out the bottom of the dumb waiter shaft, which was five feet deep with hard-to -excavate rubble, due to the mechanism in there. The picture shows the large crank wheel devoid of rubble. One day I will be winding my cups of cocoa up to my bedroom level. :-)

Some  member of the public has claimed that no work is going on at the castle and reported me to the Scottish Civic Trust on the 25th June! This is patently untrue as work has been continuous at the castle since I acquired it in 2007. I am a loss to know how this member of the public knows what is going on inside the castle or on the roof. I can only conclude that this is a vindictive act - but I have found that the castle brings the best out of some people and the worst in others. I have written to the Scottish Civic Trust to ask them to correct their website.

I received a letter today from the company that make "The Restoration Man" on Channel 4. They want to feature Balintore which is gratifying - as "The Restoration Man" has had some absolutely superb episodes on fascinating projects. I shall reply that my timescales are probably longer than theirs.

dumb waiter crank - now clear of rubble!

my shaft is in excellent condition