THE STORY OF THE MILL(Continued)
Life at the Mill
View from our front window
View up river
The "Maņana Man" factor together with our impatience to move in begun to make the wait
unbearable but eventually some three months late we moved in, the first to do so. The
stairway was rickety, The front door secured with a large padlock and of course no electricity.
Fortunately they only let us down by three days!!
Over the next three or four weeks all these problems were rectified and we begun to enjoy our
dream. I felt very pleased with my design as everything worked just as I had planned it. Mind
you I would never have heard the last of it if it hadn't. My wife's work had always been in
design and my best friend was an award winning architect and I would not let them anywhere near it. This was my
dream and my chance to do something creative for the first time in my life and I was going to
sink or swim on my own efforts.
Well we are still here and still enjoying it. I think my wife is still surprised that I managed
to pull it off. Would I take this risk again? Yes but only with Derek definitely not with any
other builder. Would I change anything? Yes with hindsight as prices and my life have gone I
wish I had bought the apartment next door as well and had two extra bedrooms, a second bathroom
and a study come library. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing?
A corner of the terrace
A corner of the terrace with company
The garden area which is shared by all in theory is in fact looked after by very few of us,
over the years we have planted bulbs, shrubs and herbs. We were all keen not to create a
suburbs style garden but to keep it is natural as possible. We planted honeysuckle and the
herbs for their fragrance as well as their culinary uses and shrubs and bulbs to lead
naturally to the trees in the background. We are now tidying up our part of the river bank.
Irises, Hostas and a Gunnera have now been planted along with Cyclamen and Foxgloves.
When we get round to it other plants will be added. I am turning into a bit of a Maņana Man
myself. When the weather is warm and the river and wine is flowing ----- well you know how it
is.
I spoke to Derek about the mill a while ago and asked him if he had any regrets, he had but one
and that was the number of second home owners who have bought homes here. He wanted them all to
be local homes for local people. I didn't know he was a fan of The League of Gentlemen.
The river in winter
Winter at the Mill
Finale
