News
Up here at Holestone Moor Barns all sorts of exciting things
happen! Below is a selection of our news ... !
Up and running!
27 July 2010
Our wind turbine is now up and running again, having been
switched off since November. The reason it was switched off came
from a directive from the Government, and was because another
wind turbine of the same make had thrown a blade elsewhere in
the country.
Just before Easter 2010 the turbine mast was lowered and the
head removed. We then waited until 3 weeks after Easter for it
to be collected. The idea was that the head would be 'modified'
and the blades reduced in length. We took delivery of a totally
new head on 15th July, and on 22nd July it was put back up
again. Hurrah!
We haven't measured what effects the modifications and shortened blades will have yet. Hopefully there will be no reduction in the amount of electricity we produce!
It's
back ... or it will be soon!
30 June 2010
We have a new date for the return of our wind turbine ... it's the 28th July! So we'll be producing again from the end of July - hoorah!!
And more news!
24 May 2010
At the end of April I was approached by the editor of a Wildlife magazine in Russia, to ask if they could use one of my photos. It's not published yet, and I think the magazine is called "Live Sight" but the website appears to be www.zoojournal.ru.
Hello
My name is Alexandra, I Bild editor-in-Moscow edition of the
Animal "Live Sight". We would like to print your photo
Flickr
(click to view) in our magazine.
If you certainly not against it.
Today, I've had another request - see below:
I'm designing a book about the British Middle Class and I’d like to use one of your photos in the book. It’s a witty look at eleven different types of middle class person with a chapter for each type. The book is being printed this year and the aim is to sell it in UK bookstores. This is the picture I’d like to use (great shot btw!):
www.flickr.com/photos/8390807@N07/3902914783/
As well as that, Treetops are now selling my greetings cards in the Hospice reception shop! I'm delighted!
The swallows are here ...
19 May 2010
We've got swallows nesting in the alpaca hut, and have heard curlews and skylarks around. Great news on the skylarks as we didn't hear them at all in 2009. Also our flock of lapwings (aka peewits) are in the area too. We've also seen a honey buzzard around.
Work
on our new road has started. Although we've had planning
permission to do the road for some time now, it's only this week
that we've been granted permission for the 'crossing', which is
the bit that crosses the grass verge belonging to the council.
We've employed a contractor to do this bit as it all has to be
done with tarmac from the edge of Holestone Gate Road, and go
down the track for about 10 metres. It also has to be properly
done with kerb stones. Joey our digger man has dug out the first
part the track and several hundred tons of hardcore have been
spread about a third of the way down the track. We now have
lorry loads of 'chatter' arriving which will form the top layer
of the road.
Spring time!
30 April 2010
It’s well over a month since I last wrote anything, and that's because there didn't seem to be much happening. However, now we’ve reached the last day of April, there’s quite a lot to report.
We've employed a contractor to do the 'mouth' of our new road, where it meets the main road. Work for that starts on Sunday 2nd May.
Spring seems to have started very slowly ... but in the last couple of weeks, the blackthorn has flowered at last. It's been so slow that the leaves are coming at the same time – usually it flowers and the leaves appear later. The hawthorns were the first to show leaves, and today (30th April) our first blossom tree has flowered. It’s the one near the Barn, so if we get some sun I hope to get some nice photos.
We saw the first swallow just over a week ago, again, it seemed
very late. We’ve had a honey
buzzard
flying overhead, and (I'm told) a song thrush in our garden. It
sits on the highest branch of the highest tree, and sings
beautiful songs. This morning I heard a skylark, though we had
none last year.
Our wind turbine sadly, is still in pieces – the head is on our drive, and the mast is lying flat in the field. We're waiting for it to be picked up and taken up to Glasgow to have the modifications done. For those who don’t already know, a similar model in the South of England threw a blade in November last year. Every other one in the country (90 of them!) had to be put 'on brake', and are all to be collected and modified!
Holestone Moor Barns has joined Twitter, so watch out for tweets about the cottages.
No more boiler problems!
2 March 2010
Over
the last couple of years the central heating system in The Barn
has gradually been dying; and between the two cottages we've had
5 boilers in the last 10 years! In the rooms where failed
radiators had to be removed, we installed convector heaters as
an experiment. We found these worked very well, so during the
last couple of weeks, we've removed the oil boilers and all the
remaining radiators in both cottages. We'll gradually replace
the 'older' convectors with smarter new ones.
For hot water we've had gi-normous water tanks installed (the one for the Barn is taller than Steve!), with 2 immersion heaters each. The one for the Barn will run 3 showers (out of 5) simultaneously, which is much the same if not slightly better than before.
So now we're 'all electric' which will be wonderful when the Wind Turbine is up and running again, hopefully later this month (March 2010).
News for February
8 February 2010
We have planning permission for our new road! We'll have to wait until the weather's a bit better, but will start as soon as possible. We'll start from the road end, and will get the council to do that bit, as it has to be done to their specification.
Watch out for photos on the Picture gallery.
Happy New Year!
7 January 2010
The
Holestone Moor Barns team would like to wish a very happy new year
to all our past and future guests!
Check out our recent Facebook pictures.
And then there's THE BIG FREEZE - as the weather forecast says it's set to continue for at least the next 10 days, may we ask enquirers/guests to phone or email, and to send payments by bank transfer (bank details will be given as necessary), as we've had no post delivered since New Year's Eve!
Old news - click here to see our 2009 News page.