After some 3 months of building work, and untold noise and disruption, our long awaited extension is approaching completion.  The final external finishes are being applied, and internal work continues apace.  It is hoped that work will be finished by the 17th July, including installation of a new kitchen.

The work has, on the whole, been relatively hassle free, but as with any building project, there are a few gremlins that have appeared.  The main issue has been keeping the contractors working together and not blaming each other when things fall behind………..rest assured that I don’t intend doing such a project again in a hurry!

To show the progress from the start to its current state, the slideshow below links to our online photo gallery of the whole project.  Feel free to take a look and see what chaos we have wrought in search of our dream home!!!!!!

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So, after some 18 months spent designing our extension and getting the all important planning permission, we have now finally started work on the project! At times we thought we simply wouldn’t get around to having it done, but after much juggling of tenders and discussions with contractors, we have finally bitten the bullet and started building.

The current plight of the building industry was evident when we met with our chosen contractor for the first meeting to go over the project. I asked him when he could start, the answer to which was the following Monday!  However, much to both our suprise and that of our architect, the quiet construction market doesn’t seem to have resulted in build prices falling……….

Equipment and materials started arriving on the 7th April, and after two weeks on site we already have the drains in place, the footings laid and the outline of the floor is taking shape. As people often say, things look much smaller when you see them laid out than you imagine, but we’re confident that what we are building will make the house a family home to last us many years!

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We’ll be posting regular updates on the project as work continues, both on here and at our photo site.  To go directly to the photos, click here, where you’ll find them shown in weekly progress reports.

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So, after a hiatus in contributions to our blog, we’re back!

Some might say that after Argyle’s defeat to Arsenal (the subject of our last post), we were somewhat traumatised.  However, the real reason for our lack of contributions has been our ever growing daughter – oh, and the hassles of trying to get our extension started!

Sienna is growing fast and it is now approaching 6 months since she came into the world.  Time seems to just fly by now, with not nearly enough hours in the day to get everything done.  Abi and Sienna have settled into a routine that sees them doing activities almost every day while I’m at work, and at the weekends we try and make sure we do things as a family as much as possible.

It’s amazing how quickly our little girl is growing and developing a personality, although neither of us is sure from where she gets the tendancy to wake up regularly in the middle of the night!  She’s moved on to sampling the delights of ‘normal food’ now as well – the carrot puree seems to have been well received on the whole, but sometimes the look on her face at dinner time might suggest a certain degree of distain.

There seems no end to her ability to make us both laugh, though in the clip below, you can see that she is pretty ‘handy’ at the old giggles herself!  Make sure you watch out for especially loud laughter when we starting ‘bopping’ Mum over the head with the paper……..

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Having been given a ‘plum’ FA Cup 3rd Round draw of an away trip to Premier League Arsenal, the Harding Family set-off on into the cold morning air of the 3rd January 2009 heading for the bright lights of London……    Peter and Abi were joined by John and Kate and of course Sienna, who didn’t want to miss out on adding the Emirates to her list of stadiums attended!

The journey to London was rather eventful, with frequent stops required to de-ice the car, as the -6°C temperatures defeated even BMW’s technical advances!  We had been invited for lunch at Steve & Clare’s in Barnet, from where we could catch a train direct to Finsbury Park, just a short walk from the Emirates stadium.  After a bite to eat, and a play for Sienna with Chloe, we headed off to get the train.  Unusually (well, in my experience anyway), the train was both on time and cheaper than we had been advised when we checked online!

Accompanied by plenty of Arsenal fans, the train deposited us at Finsbury Park, and we enjoyed the 20 minute walk to the Emirates, passing the site of the old Highbury stadium on the way, which is now being converted to luxury flats!  On arriving at Ashburton Grove, to give it the correct name, the stadium certainly impressed.  At a cost of more than £360 million, it is a fine home for one of the country’s top teams.  As the pictures (click an image to enter the slideshow) and short video here show, the view from our seats was great, if a little far from the action, and the atmosphere generated by the 9,000 Argyle fans who had made the trip must have been superb for the players.

The game itself was somehwat of an anti-climax, with Argyle being outplayed for long periods, but always resolute in their defense.  Goalkeeper Romain Larrieu was outstanding in the first 45 minutes, making a number of fine saves and as the second half started, there was a real belief among the travelling ‘Green Army’ that a draw might just be possible.  However, Arsene Wenger’s half-time teamtalk obviously worked wonders, with Arsenal coming out all guns blazing, scoring two goals inside the first 5 minutes after the break, effectively ending the game as a contest.  Argyle fought back with a goal from captain Carl Duguid, but it was not to be, as Arsenal broke forward late in the game as Argyle chased an equaliser and Van Persie struck at the second attempt to put the result beyond doubt. 

All in all, it was a super day out, if rather long, and Sienna enjoyed her first taste of being an Argyle away supporter.  The return trip home was somewhat eventful, as we were put on the wrong train back to Barnet, but we eventually got back to the car and arrived back in Tavistock at 10.30pm. 

Best thing about the day:    Probably the help from the Arsenal fans en-route back to Barnet after the game…..

Worst thing about the day:  The completely inadequate toilet facilities at the Emirates……… (from a male perspective anyway!)

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So, December 25th, 2008, Sienna’s first Christmas. What can I say?! She seemed a little confused by the exchange of presents at home in the morning, and slept through the majority of gift giving and receiving at Grey Wethers in the afternoon so who knows what she really made of it! As a family we lit the Advent candles at Church, although Sienna only woke up as Pete lit the last one, and she also slept through the obligatory post-lunch walk on Whitchurch Down. Surprisingly the many party poppers and crackers didn’t even make her flinch, but I think she thought she was missing out on the lovely meals cooked by Grandma, as she did a good job of interrupting the rest of us enjoying them… Can’t say I blame her though, her diet is a little one-dimensional at the moment!

Sienna did manage to be awake for the presentation of her Christmas gift from Grandma & Grandpa – a photo of which just HAD to be included  - and, although she did get a little over excited at the end of the evening, seemed to enjoy the day. I only hope we haven’t confused her by having early Christmases with Nan & Grandad, and Jane & Gilles, so she thinks there are going to be three every year!

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