Phew!!! The pit props came out of the doorway today and the house is still standing! What a relief! Nick and Kieran have completed the wall to partition Nick’s workshop from the corridor; there’s a large hole in it at the moment, which will be filled with glass bricks, to let some light through, but it’s beginning to look something like a room – well, if you have a good imagination, anyway.

This afternoon we went to the local eco-centre; a place dedicated to the promotion of eco-friendly living. It’s built of straw and other natural products and is heated by solar panels and is full of books on every aspect of living in an environmentally friendly manner.  They have advisors who will visit you and report on the best form of heating/insulation/building materials, etc, for your project, and because they’re not selling anything, the advice they give is impartial.

The high point of the trip, however, had to be a visit to the waterless loos. We approached with some degree of trepidation; after all, they are in a building several metres from the main body of the place, and were ready to turn tail at the least excuse. But we were very pleasantly surprised to find that they were immaculately clean and didn’t smell at all!  I don’t think we’ll be investing in one, though; that’s taking our “green” creds a bit far. After all, we don’t want to put off anyone who may want to visit.