Sorry!
Posted by fredblog51 on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
Hi ALL, Happy New Years / Hogmaney!
I must thank MJC, for nudging me in the left ear to get me going………but under the current climate trying to drum up more work as its gone very quite here.
We are all fine, except the polytunnel is now in peices due to high winds just ripped it out the ground….So I will let January pass then re think it though maybe netting this time.
Oh I also wanted to say to Francis, I have seen your BI post, I think its terrible that you had to go through a very bad experiance with contractors well (SO CALLED LANDSCAPERS!!!!) and hope you can get it rectified quickly………..me personnally would have taken them to court!
Still have not got round to loading photo’s on but will try a little later, hope you are all well……OH and I will make sure TWS put a picture on of his NEW Bathroom.
See you ALL soon.
Filed in January 2009 |
Jillon 14 Jan 2009 at 3:10 pm 1Great to have you back, Fred. Frances’s fence was a disaster! You could follow this fencing guy around fixing up his bad workmanship
Hope you get some good jobs soon - meanwhile you must nudge Tws for a picture of his bathroom (unoccupied) so we can all see it.
Good luck!
Leson 14 Jan 2009 at 3:29 pm 2Don’t know what you used for your polytunnel Fred but there are some things around called Tufftunnels (google it) which are supposed to be able to stand up to Scottish weather (don’t know if that includes Island weather!).
There is an interesting blog about them here from a guy who mentions the Western Isles.
Flying Cat 2on 14 Jan 2009 at 3:35 pm 3Definitely unoccupied! Purrleeeease
fredblog51on 14 Jan 2009 at 3:47 pm 4Thanks Les, I will take alook…….Jill, FC, I going to take some pics of the bathroom and put them on my web site and I promise none of TWS on the loo !!!!
NiconCollon 14 Jan 2009 at 7:12 pm 5Hi Fred
Did the tunnel frame come out of the ground, or the plastic off in one-ish piece, or did the plastic rip to bits?
I lost half a frame due to strong winds and resolved to fasten the polythene to a separate set of ground tubes rather than the hoops (haven’t done it yet though!). Don’t give up, the worse the weather the more benefits the tunnel offers.
thecrofton 14 Jan 2009 at 8:48 pm 6Les: That would be a blog of mine then
There are a fair few polytunnellers on the island and it would be worth stopping the car and asking what and how they have set them up anytime you spot one.
The island wind is a mean mofo…
Barneyon 14 Jan 2009 at 9:57 pm 7Hi Fred, good to read you again, it is quiet everywhere just now. The Swedish government is discussing wheter or not to try to “rescue” the Saab automobile company from the grips of GM. Obviously they would use taxpayers’ money for the purpose. As SAAB has not made a profit for over 15 years, and the average LOSS per unit over that time has been around £ 1,500 (sic) that doesn’t seem a good idea at all. When I arrived in Sweden in 1965, the country was the largest or next largest shipbuilder in the world. The plug on quality ships got pulled out by S. Korea (OK, Japan was a bit ahead but did not dump prices as much) in mid 70’s. The then gov’t subsidised the Swedish industry for several years to the tune of over £100,000 per year per employee. It would have been a lot cheaper, and probably far more productive, to just give each employee £200,000 to set out on his own (they were pretty well all blokes in those days). I don’t really see what that has got to do with our blog but I’m glad to get that rant off my mind before meddy-byes. Oh, best wishes to Holly of course.
fredblog51on 15 Jan 2009 at 10:32 am 8Hi Barney, Nice to hear from you, and its good to get it off ya chest now and again……things will pick up…we should get used to it every 10-12 years cycle we go into recession.
I will sent you wishes on to Holly….Keep well.
Flying Cat 2on 15 Jan 2009 at 1:43 pm 91965 eh? Gosh. Fpu was hardly out of nappies…
Honestly, is any other cat ever forced to write such rubbish!
fredblog51on 15 Jan 2009 at 6:39 pm 10Hi N,C yeah the weather ripped both ends out 1st, then the trench all around, it was to bad to salvage so i took a knife to cut it away as he could not hold on winds were 80 mph, plus it completly bent the frames to, but these are re useable…..I still feel netting would be better as the winds can then blow though.
Thanks Les it worth a try.
It's Nic! It's Nic! It's Nic!on 15 Jan 2009 at 9:53 pm 11I tried a netting cover. it was on a one-inch diameter tube frame we brought up with us from Northants. It kept the hens out but I didn’t see any other advantage in the summer. Come autumn the whole thing folded up, just leaving the two ends which had beefy timber frames concreted into the ground. This was a very flimsy frame but netting seems to be neither warm, protective or safe. My opinion only.
My big tunnels are Clovis Lande and Northern. Northern is beefier but Clovis Lande was easier to put together. I’m looking at quotes from McGregor Tunnels; tunnels look good, price is OK and I love the name!!
mjcon 15 Jan 2009 at 10:32 pm 12You took the knife to it, did you now, Fred? Soaplady would have taken her chainsaw to it. Nic merely lets her chickens have a go at it. Such is life’s variety.
fredblog51on 16 Jan 2009 at 9:31 am 13Thanks for info Nic, very useful…….as I say I will rethink this one though, i know installing it without a plastic (STORM PROOF) cover LOL……will not allow tempatures to be withheld, but as you say the mesh idea was to keep the chickens at bay as thay are free range. Saying that I know alot of people here growing without Poly’s and doing a grand job to???
island threadson 16 Jan 2009 at 10:18 pm 14thanks for the concern about my fence, pity you were not here when I had it done but it was summer 07 when you had just arrived and busy on your own home, I don’t think I could face the hassle of the courts I just don’t want anyone else to get done as I have been, for those on Lewis I can say here what I could not on the beeb blog, his name is Ray Fisher and he advertises in the Stornoway gazette as Island Landscapes he is in Galson,
now poly tunnels, there is one up the road from me and it has been there a few years, they have put a ranch style 6 foot fence around it and I was told this was to help protect it from the winds, well it must work because it is still there and it is exposed to the south westerlies, I think it was there when we had the really bad storm Jan 2005 (before your time Fred),