I have been feeling 'out of sorts' recently. My walk to Crymych, all 8 miles of it, highlighted that I am also out of touch. It was a bank holiday so I was unable to engage in commerce, the purpose behind my endeavour. I was not disappointed. The walk served me well. Forays into nature often help to ground my spirit.
This morning I set off again. Business was as usual. I frequently lost myself in thought. Awakening at various points and aware of how quickly I seemed to progress whilst not conscious and present.
How dangerous and easy it would be to waste a lifetime in such a state. I dreamed various scenarios of thought, most of them regarding the purchase or procurement of various things.
I sat on a bench by the road and gazed over the buildings at a mountain.
At first the mind dismissed the elevated land but upon conscious inspection I saw this mountain was different to its brothers. It was purple. A vibrant purple too. How many of the towns inhabitants have noticed this beautifully painted heather topped giant? I'm sure they see its bulk, but do they see its temporary coating? The detail? The devil may reside in the detail, but God lives there also. Which of the two is perceived is decided by the beholder.
Kit, in my absence, spoke with Emma. He vocalised a new and recent dissatisfaction with our circumstances, specifically my input of labour. I have not shared his negative view, but I have been aware of how little activity I have been engaged in of late for the progress of the plot.
Shoveling up discarded stones in the car park and sawing up a large pile of junk wood are jobs that perhaps require completion. The former is dull and wearisome when done solitary and ranks low in my priorities. The latter is very slow going with a workbench and a bow saw, and again, does not seem to me at this time to be the most constructive application of my labour. Now is the time of year to get the winter wheat sown and harvest the bounty in the hedgerows. The hawthorn berries are ripening, the blackberries are fat and near ready for the taking.
He (Kit) and his wife Saara have left today for a week to stay with his parents. The sale of land by his parents house requires him to partially renovate and move his military land rover ambulance. With the proceeds of the sale and Kit's share of it, I hope we can finally get on to building the timber frame. I really do hope to not only have spent my time here having only done foundations and groundworks for buildings and never actually built a building.
M Jones
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Showing posts with label crymych. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crymych. Show all posts
Lethal Gas - Tuesday 21/12/10
A chance to mong out at Nigel and Cassies roundhouse whilst the womenfolk crafted various items. Green man thingymabobs and felt stuff.
Around 15:00, I couldn't put off the trip to Bwlchygroes for gas any longer. Supplied with a shopping list for others, we stopped off in Crymych. Whilst sitting in the car waiting for Emma, I received a call from Jane wondering if we were out and about. Her son Jake was due back from school at 16:00, and her car was parked a 50 minute walk away so could we pick him up? Only meant a 20 minute wait for us. In that time I called ahead to warn Nick the Gas of our intentions. His words were, "careful as you go, don't touch the brakes or clutch, its bloody lethal. Put her in low and let her go". Thanks Nick. As it happened all went well and another day ended safely.
M Jones
Around 15:00, I couldn't put off the trip to Bwlchygroes for gas any longer. Supplied with a shopping list for others, we stopped off in Crymych. Whilst sitting in the car waiting for Emma, I received a call from Jane wondering if we were out and about. Her son Jake was due back from school at 16:00, and her car was parked a 50 minute walk away so could we pick him up? Only meant a 20 minute wait for us. In that time I called ahead to warn Nick the Gas of our intentions. His words were, "careful as you go, don't touch the brakes or clutch, its bloody lethal. Put her in low and let her go". Thanks Nick. As it happened all went well and another day ended safely.
M Jones
The 'Last Trip' - Sunday 19/12/10
More vehicle recovery and rescue, as well as another resupply run. Took Kit, Jasmine and Ted into Crymych with Jasmine adamant this was the 'Last Trip' as the world would end in the coming days...she paid me a fiver for fuel which was kind.
After this I gave Nigel a lift to his car, followed him until he was safely parked at the bottom of the trackway with the other vehicles and gave him a ride a home.
M Jones
After this I gave Nigel a lift to his car, followed him until he was safely parked at the bottom of the trackway with the other vehicles and gave him a ride a home.
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| Vehicle Advert? |
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| Panels Down To 0% Efficiency. Ice On The Inside Of The Windows. |
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| The New Pink Wall Of Nigel And Cassies Roundhouse. |
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| A Fresh Crop Of Lollipops... |
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| Carols at Cassies |
M Jones
'Jonesing' - Saturday 18/12/10
Nigel from next door popped round during a morning game of chess with Kit. Primarily, he wanted to 'Jones' some tobacco. He also wished to know if we were planning on venturing to Crymych that day. No one else is able it would seem due to the snow and ice. My mighty 4x4 cares not a jot for it. Not only did I end up with a shopping list , but also a shovel and a tow rope. Unfortunately, without grit or perhaps snow chains, my truck couldn't grip enough to tow. We managed to extricate one car after the neighbours son freed his van, but that was it.
Good deeds done for the day, and neighbours resupplied, the evening soon skipped past as Kit and I played a few more games of chess.
3 more centimeters of snow fell and the night got extremely cold. I dare say my 4x4 will be called upon again.
M Jones
Good deeds done for the day, and neighbours resupplied, the evening soon skipped past as Kit and I played a few more games of chess.
3 more centimeters of snow fell and the night got extremely cold. I dare say my 4x4 will be called upon again.
M Jones
Who Put The Pigs In Charge? - Tuesday 07/12/10
Jesus Christ! I literally have not stopped since Thursday. I have done so much, I can't clearly distinguish the days apart, much less relate events back in much detail. The best I can do is summarise what I do remember. Friday morning, I read a copy of the draft agenda for todays meeting. Was upset and dismayed to read two letters in it written by the business manager. These letters, in my opinion, were full of inaccuracies, misinformation and parts of a conversation I'd had with him taken out of context and misquoted. Discussing this swallowed up the entire morning, and before I knew it, it was time to take Ayres to the station for his foray to London.
Upon my return, Emma, myself and Kit made a resupply run to Crymych. When we were done, the day was gone.
Saturday - an extremely busy day. The temperatures rarely got above freezing which meant the nights rain had frozen turning the track way into an ice rink. It also made the ground look wet and muddy, yet completely solid. Really weird.
Being the 4th it was Emma's birthday. As my present to her, I moved our touring caravan up to its new spot beside the static, and did the bulk of everything else. Her birthday means all of our little family have now celebrated a birthday here.
Sunday - Clean up operation. After pissing about with electrics. Saturday night I rigged up a battery from the car in order for Fran to watch a movie. Unfortunately, because it was raining, I moved the inverter into the dry underneath the static caravan in the dark and inadvertently touched the casing against the positive terminal. POP! Lights out.
Kit was kind enough to cut some slabs that will be used as thermal mass and protection around the wood burner. After all that I spent an hour or so ensuring Ayres and Marianne's land was left exactly how we found it. Unfortunately my electrical nightmare was set to continue.
Just before the sun fully set, I managed to rig up the solar panels and create a far safer and more satisfactory electrical set up. Sadly the inverter we'd borrowed decided to pack in and display a fault light, as well as my charge regulator no longer displaying voltage and seemingly also go on strike. BOLLOCKS!
Monday - Road trip. Once again, it was off to Llanelli to replace the inverter and charge regulator for the second time. £20 of fuel gone. As Emma said, this life is supposed to be simpler and less reliant on money, but we can't afford it!
That said, I and most others can't afford conventional life. She's right, but wrong. Wrong, because the things we cannot afford such as diesel, insurance, mobile phone bill, and electrics are non essential for survival.
Luckily we got the items replaced without any problems and in fact came out better off. The next inverter up was on offer and cheaper than ours. So we were told we could swap for that and take other stuff to make up the difference. We were at a loss as to what else we needed. I wanted a remote control helicopter, but settled on a battery charger for Kit...
Emma needed to buy a bra, so she and Fran went touring the naughty sections of various shops whilst Kit and I checked out boots and clothes in T.K.Maxx.
The car died on the journey here most likely due to the cold and bio-diesel, so we put in some mineral diesel, but this made us late for Ayres who needed picking up after returning from his trip to London. Felt bad about that...
Tuesday - Meeting. These meetings are obviously a black hole for productive time. Another 5 hour sitting.
This particular gathering was farcical. I couldn't help but draw analogies from George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' and '1984'. It is quite apparent that here at Lammas there is a power struggle now the Farmer has been evicted, and its definitely the pigs who think they run the show.
The 1984 side came from letters written by the business manager, or should I say the 'Ministry of Information'. These were written after I talked to him, a discussion in which I wanted to be absolutely clear and frank, especially when the matter was agenda'd for this meeting. So imagine my horror and disgust when these words were twisted and taken out of context in order to support his delusions. His letters read like WWII propaganda pamphlets. The inaccuracies so wild, it could have been interpreted as a joke. The irony is it also came to his attention that someone had written a damning article about Lammas in a local publication, and his response condemned it as "...falsehoods presented as fact". Well, Well! Its easy to spot when someone is pulling the same tricks you are!
The meeting started with the usual crap and it was obvious everyone wanted to get to the issue at hand, unfortunately, when it did, the meeting broke down into what can only be described as a slanging match. The sort of pathetic behaviour you witness on a primary school playground, etiquette was forgotten. At the one point I spoke, and tried to clarify the truth as opposed to the published nonsense, I was interrupted by Ms Anonymous, who was either lying, distracted by her child or just not paying attention. This completely threw me off and I watched as the meeting degenerated. A business/committee meeting. My God. Lord Sugar would have been speechless. Gross professional misconduct is being kind.
At the previous meeting, those present were informed Lammas had been represented at the Welsh Assembly and the message was "The world is watching". That's worrying! I don't think anyone here would want the world watching right now!
Lammas would definitely not be praised and lauded in the future.
One resident related his past experience in a "dysfunctional housing co-op". It is quite apparent to me that "Sorry mate, you're in one!"
Sickened, saddened and disillusioned is how I and others are feeling. Lammas is described as trying to emulate a traditional English village... well its not the idyllic one they were aiming for. Its one infected by all the crap that people bring, set in a beautiful part of the Welsh countryside.
Fear and Loathing in Lammas
M Jones
Upon my return, Emma, myself and Kit made a resupply run to Crymych. When we were done, the day was gone.
Saturday - an extremely busy day. The temperatures rarely got above freezing which meant the nights rain had frozen turning the track way into an ice rink. It also made the ground look wet and muddy, yet completely solid. Really weird.
Being the 4th it was Emma's birthday. As my present to her, I moved our touring caravan up to its new spot beside the static, and did the bulk of everything else. Her birthday means all of our little family have now celebrated a birthday here.
Sunday - Clean up operation. After pissing about with electrics. Saturday night I rigged up a battery from the car in order for Fran to watch a movie. Unfortunately, because it was raining, I moved the inverter into the dry underneath the static caravan in the dark and inadvertently touched the casing against the positive terminal. POP! Lights out.
Kit was kind enough to cut some slabs that will be used as thermal mass and protection around the wood burner. After all that I spent an hour or so ensuring Ayres and Marianne's land was left exactly how we found it. Unfortunately my electrical nightmare was set to continue.
Just before the sun fully set, I managed to rig up the solar panels and create a far safer and more satisfactory electrical set up. Sadly the inverter we'd borrowed decided to pack in and display a fault light, as well as my charge regulator no longer displaying voltage and seemingly also go on strike. BOLLOCKS!
Monday - Road trip. Once again, it was off to Llanelli to replace the inverter and charge regulator for the second time. £20 of fuel gone. As Emma said, this life is supposed to be simpler and less reliant on money, but we can't afford it!
That said, I and most others can't afford conventional life. She's right, but wrong. Wrong, because the things we cannot afford such as diesel, insurance, mobile phone bill, and electrics are non essential for survival.
Luckily we got the items replaced without any problems and in fact came out better off. The next inverter up was on offer and cheaper than ours. So we were told we could swap for that and take other stuff to make up the difference. We were at a loss as to what else we needed. I wanted a remote control helicopter, but settled on a battery charger for Kit...
Emma needed to buy a bra, so she and Fran went touring the naughty sections of various shops whilst Kit and I checked out boots and clothes in T.K.Maxx.
The car died on the journey here most likely due to the cold and bio-diesel, so we put in some mineral diesel, but this made us late for Ayres who needed picking up after returning from his trip to London. Felt bad about that...
Tuesday - Meeting. These meetings are obviously a black hole for productive time. Another 5 hour sitting.
This particular gathering was farcical. I couldn't help but draw analogies from George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' and '1984'. It is quite apparent that here at Lammas there is a power struggle now the Farmer has been evicted, and its definitely the pigs who think they run the show.
The 1984 side came from letters written by the business manager, or should I say the 'Ministry of Information'. These were written after I talked to him, a discussion in which I wanted to be absolutely clear and frank, especially when the matter was agenda'd for this meeting. So imagine my horror and disgust when these words were twisted and taken out of context in order to support his delusions. His letters read like WWII propaganda pamphlets. The inaccuracies so wild, it could have been interpreted as a joke. The irony is it also came to his attention that someone had written a damning article about Lammas in a local publication, and his response condemned it as "...falsehoods presented as fact". Well, Well! Its easy to spot when someone is pulling the same tricks you are!
The meeting started with the usual crap and it was obvious everyone wanted to get to the issue at hand, unfortunately, when it did, the meeting broke down into what can only be described as a slanging match. The sort of pathetic behaviour you witness on a primary school playground, etiquette was forgotten. At the one point I spoke, and tried to clarify the truth as opposed to the published nonsense, I was interrupted by Ms Anonymous, who was either lying, distracted by her child or just not paying attention. This completely threw me off and I watched as the meeting degenerated. A business/committee meeting. My God. Lord Sugar would have been speechless. Gross professional misconduct is being kind.
At the previous meeting, those present were informed Lammas had been represented at the Welsh Assembly and the message was "The world is watching". That's worrying! I don't think anyone here would want the world watching right now!
Lammas would definitely not be praised and lauded in the future.
One resident related his past experience in a "dysfunctional housing co-op". It is quite apparent to me that "Sorry mate, you're in one!"
Sickened, saddened and disillusioned is how I and others are feeling. Lammas is described as trying to emulate a traditional English village... well its not the idyllic one they were aiming for. Its one infected by all the crap that people bring, set in a beautiful part of the Welsh countryside.
Fear and Loathing in Lammas
M Jones
Changing the Game - Monday 08/11/10
A game changing day. Emma had been feeling 'off' for the past few days. Being past her sell by date and having inclinations towards incubation, we took a trip to Crymych at 09:00 to get a pregnancy test.
The result was "Pregnant 3+"
A flurry of text messaging to random folk and an emergency meeting with Ayres and Marianne. Frances took it upon herself to spill the beans before we had a chance, and subsequently faced Emma's wrath.
A serious talk about the whole thing brought forth many ideas and potential possibilities, the main one being to consult Paul and Hoppi. Paul knows the ins and outs of both the planning and the leasehold agreements. therefore is it even feasible for Lammas to absorb another family? It was only designed and got permission for nine. We are looking for long term stability along the lines of 2-5 years. This being the case, i simply don't feel Lammas is the place. We do have an offer from another plotholder that would grants us that, but to accept this would fly in the face of rules and policies. As always one can manipulate such things but its definitely not a practice i wish to engage in.
Here's the truth. We have no right to be here. To remain beyond Spring would tread on toes and upset people we've come to hold dear, and whose generosity has known no bounds thus far. Once more i am writing lists of options and at this moment in time, here they are;
1) Remain in or near Lammas. kits plot verbally guaranteed for two years. Possibility of more living space in the form of a static caravan. Other options and possibilities could evolve from this, but mindful of aforementioned factors.
2) Tipi Valley. Plenty of experience in residents r.e. Homebirths. Poor access to lower valley - emergencies. Ideally a yurt to live in. Would entail logistics moving our life and home. Would be guaranteed for as many years as we'd require. We have visited and know people there.
3) Join a different community. Tinkers Bubble? Would be an unknown unless we used the time we have to make prior visits.
4) Go back home. Ideally rent/buy/get permission to reside on land in a caravan or yurt. Alot of unknowns.
5) Sell out and return to the system be it in Wales or back in Stroud. For me, the least desirable of all. Benefits could be seen as wide and numerous, but at a vast cost spiritually, morally and financially.
6) Squat on land. Extremely unstable. Many variables and unknowns. One important disadvantage, we'd be on our own...
7) Buy our own land. a big ask financially. would require major help from family. Unlikely in probability and unlikely to be finalised in time frame.
8) Wait and see...
Listing is useful. But inconclusive. Will follow option 8 for now. I feel immense pressure to properly lead this family, and lead it well. Its bewildering and overwhelming now. One realisation is that, at this point, nothing has changed. The considerations, yes. But as those who've read previously will know, the options haven't really changed. I've created a mental pressure that has left my stomach knotted and mind exhausted.
If anything, this news has become a catalyst.
Will have to ransom this grandchild if money is the answer.
Hopefully a good hour of football tonight will help clear this over active brain.
M Jones
The result was "Pregnant 3+"
A flurry of text messaging to random folk and an emergency meeting with Ayres and Marianne. Frances took it upon herself to spill the beans before we had a chance, and subsequently faced Emma's wrath.
A serious talk about the whole thing brought forth many ideas and potential possibilities, the main one being to consult Paul and Hoppi. Paul knows the ins and outs of both the planning and the leasehold agreements. therefore is it even feasible for Lammas to absorb another family? It was only designed and got permission for nine. We are looking for long term stability along the lines of 2-5 years. This being the case, i simply don't feel Lammas is the place. We do have an offer from another plotholder that would grants us that, but to accept this would fly in the face of rules and policies. As always one can manipulate such things but its definitely not a practice i wish to engage in.
Here's the truth. We have no right to be here. To remain beyond Spring would tread on toes and upset people we've come to hold dear, and whose generosity has known no bounds thus far. Once more i am writing lists of options and at this moment in time, here they are;
1) Remain in or near Lammas. kits plot verbally guaranteed for two years. Possibility of more living space in the form of a static caravan. Other options and possibilities could evolve from this, but mindful of aforementioned factors.
2) Tipi Valley. Plenty of experience in residents r.e. Homebirths. Poor access to lower valley - emergencies. Ideally a yurt to live in. Would entail logistics moving our life and home. Would be guaranteed for as many years as we'd require. We have visited and know people there.
3) Join a different community. Tinkers Bubble? Would be an unknown unless we used the time we have to make prior visits.
4) Go back home. Ideally rent/buy/get permission to reside on land in a caravan or yurt. Alot of unknowns.
5) Sell out and return to the system be it in Wales or back in Stroud. For me, the least desirable of all. Benefits could be seen as wide and numerous, but at a vast cost spiritually, morally and financially.
6) Squat on land. Extremely unstable. Many variables and unknowns. One important disadvantage, we'd be on our own...
7) Buy our own land. a big ask financially. would require major help from family. Unlikely in probability and unlikely to be finalised in time frame.
8) Wait and see...
Listing is useful. But inconclusive. Will follow option 8 for now. I feel immense pressure to properly lead this family, and lead it well. Its bewildering and overwhelming now. One realisation is that, at this point, nothing has changed. The considerations, yes. But as those who've read previously will know, the options haven't really changed. I've created a mental pressure that has left my stomach knotted and mind exhausted.
If anything, this news has become a catalyst.
Will have to ransom this grandchild if money is the answer.
Hopefully a good hour of football tonight will help clear this over active brain.
M Jones
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| Barley shoots growing from a bale weighting our awning down. |
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| Mushrooms... Unmagical ones... |
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