Chapter 12 - It maybe a building site….but it’s OUR building site!

And so August slid into September and the weather remained predictable ie. rubbish. 

Talking of rubbish, we are progressing with the building although actually it seems more is still coming down than going up , so regular visits to the tip are required which gives one a rather odd sense of satisfaction as more and more ‘stuff’ is cleared and taken away.

Building control has finally got back to us with 17 queries but the husband is not phased and just sees this as part of a very long winded and necessary process to get our building completely ‘pukka’. Walls stripped back to brickwork, floors lifted to reveal original joists, and more archaeological?  finds.  Apart from the inevitable cigarette packets we now have a Lyons individual pie box and a very worn Victorian penny circa 1893. Which is about the age of our building.

I felt it was time to acquire a more studied knowledge of Bexhill, the town, so I signed up for a very interesting walk and talk arranged by the magnificent Bexhill Museum.

 

 

They focus on the events of one particular year which happened to be 1924 that Sunday. Not the most active year for the town but there did seem to be an alarming number of buildings set on fire one of which completely destroyed the building opposite us in St Leonards Road. A young fireman was killed while tackling the blaze and there is a small memorial plaque to commemorate the tragedy on the side of the building which replaced it.

 

August is a very active time of year down here and there were numerous festivities. The Rye Country show being one. A lovely sunny day……!

 

More interesting. Well to me. We are full on in preparing the front of the shop to become a Christmas ‘pop up’ opening in mid-October. It is a decision that we made after a ‘eureka’ moment when it became obvious that the building is nowhere near finished and time is marching on with still no end in sight. It will be a bit like the swan, calm and lovely on top of the water, but beneath, frantic paddling as we continue to dig trenches, re-place the roof, combat the damp, install the electrics, water etc. etc. 

Other than that, roll on Autumn! What thrills await I wonder?