Leaks and ladders

Full respect to S who suffers from a fear of heights for, once again, courageously facing his fears and doing it anyway, in fixing some missing slates on the farmhouse roof this morning.  This involved building a complex structure of ladders and fence posts and slabs of wood, to ensure the roof ladder was steady and safe, with the quad bike weighing the base of it down, whilst I stood on the second ladder which would stop the roof ladder from slipping along the surface of the roof.  It looked all very Heath Robinson, but it kept him safe on the several up and down journeys he needed to make, carrying his tools in a Harbro feed bucket.  Hopefully that will last a while.  It is the one section of the roof we have not rerooved and it catches the worst of the storms. 

SM turned up at lunchtime to look at a leak in West Cottage, which is deemed to be coming through cracked pointing on the outside of the very thick stone walls.   Hope he is right, I am clinging on to the confidence he displayed in his diagnosis and that it won't take long to repair.  

Beautifully sunny morning.  I had hoped to walk on the beach but had to go and photograph some ceramics for my neighbour.  Clouded over this afternoon. And now I have a festive season phone date with an old friend who lives in Devon! 

The sheep skull was found by someone walking along the coast and brought back to West Cottage garden. 

Grateful for the sunshine and much needed brightness this morning, for a lovely relaxed evening at my brothers house, for a good catch up with J in Devon.