22nd May 2013 - 6.20 in the evening and too late for a nap ...

How did that happen?
There I was - minding my own business putting the finishing touches on a few photographs, and completing a video from last weekend at the Bison Farm, and checking the van and then look at the clock...
In the Crimson Moon it would, of course, be a quarter to eleven, but this evening it is bright and the sun is shining and we are two steps nearer the completion of the Bothy Bertha....

But first, a weekend wedding in Wiltshire in a Bison Farm. They make an amazing sound and thought they were a field away - they still look pretty large and woolly. Did not get near enough for photos, but managed to get a couple of steaks to bring home. Large and juicy, though a little overpriced in my view, and rather like a large sirloin steak with a hint of that earthy taste you get with venison...    Very tasty with fresh mushrooms fried in butter.
Managed to take a number of photos of the wedding party and placed into the gallery and onto Flickr.

Which brings me back to the Bothy.

I have managed to get the entire frame into the van now - by removing a little part of the bulkhead holding the bed up, and adjusting the walls of the kitchen cupboards. It is a little bulky, but means now that the frame will not need to be placed onto a roof rack after all.

And today, after many searches on the interweb and ebay and enquiries over most of the world, we find that good old Lee Mill Fabrics in Swansea has the sort of canvas that we are looking for - and now we have 100 meters ( actually 105 meters) of light green and cream canvas ready to start the big job of sewing it together.

Looks as thought the living room will be turned into a sweat shop again for a week or so - but can't wait to see the result.

the canvas - and yes - there IS a green one!

 So, back to the Bothy, the frame slides into an area from the back of the van, and though it is a little fiddly, all the pieces go in quite easily, and do not take up too much room. I prefer it this way as it will keep the weight low in the body of the van and the only inconvenience I can see is that the water barrel for the sink will have to be inserted prior to adding the metal frame. Once the frame is up - the water barrel can be easily changed as usual. 

 So the next stage was to try the new building method. Instead of balancing ion the top of ladders trying to get the 10 ft lengths into the 8ft high uprights, I fitted the whole thing at chest height and then added the top poles. Worked a dream.

Sad to say, however, it is clear that all the wall hangings I have are too short for the 8ft high tent. We will have to work upon a way of extending them - either at the top or the bottom. Will also need to get more clamps to keep them in place.

So the last stage for today, was to put the top frame together to measure the exact distances form the ridge to the edges. This could have been done at the top of the poles, but I am beginning to think out of the box in some parts of this project, and fitted the ridge onto the uprights on the ground and laid out the rest of the poles to enable the measurements to take place...    Seemed to work.

So that is it for one day...  all moving in the right direction, but could have done with a little nap!!

May have to have a G & T and think about dinner......