Update from the Stone Caravan - what do you want to hear?

(In about 50-60 years the cute pink blob to the right will be my landlady)

It’s cold, it’s damp, it’s smoky and it’s over run with spiders. And I think I am in love.

It’s been 4 weeks since I picked up the keys, and although I haven’t slept overnight yet (more on that later) as I sat alone by the dying fire on that first Sunday afternoon, listening to the chug of the stream (more of that later), I felt at home.

The next morning, as I drove back to station to start the long haul back to London I glanced up at the hill, the trees parted to reveal the cottage - with a rainbow arching over it. Aw!

There has been so much to take in (and juggling work etc with the project has been so hectic) that it has been hard to know where to start with this journal. So I’ll keep the update bite sized, and try to focus on a few aspects at a time.

Actually – you tell me. I’ll take a show of virtual hands. which of the following topics would you most like to hear about first?

• Finding eco friendly paint
• Transport by mule to and from the Stone Caravan
• Fire/range/chimney issues
• Floor - past, present, future
• The big bonfire
• Damp, damp and more damp
• Spiders
• Mice
• Spiders, Mice and Sprays....
• Falling down - me and/or the caravan
• Skin care in Northumberland winter winds!
• Four generations of Landlords
• The reaction of the Corporate Colleagues
• The reaction of the Gene Pool
• The gruesome 200 year history of the Stone Caravan
• How the Stone Caravan got its name
• Bloodshed and Border Reivers

Requests?