Hi

Digit · #1 (**permalink**) 26-09-2008, 08:39 PM

Evening all! Keith says to introduce myself so here goes.
Retired engineer who moved to west Wales some years ago to escape the rat race. Now 68 with a life long interest in the natural world the wife and I purchased a semi derelict ex WW2 POW hut standing in half an acre as we are both keen gardeners.
Living close to coast we have every form of of wild life imaginable all around us, sometimes even in side with us!
On the bird front I even have an occasional Peregrine in the garden and Buzzards and Red Kites are common. Our coastal path blazes with orchids and out back garden sounds like a cage bird show. One neighbour moved out 'cos he couldn't stand the noise of the dawn chorus!
With dark skies I am also a keen naked eye astronomer and visitors from cities are often staggered at the brightness of the Heavens that they have never seen before.
Mind you, public transport's terrible, can't have everything can we?

Roy.

Hedge Witch · #2 (**permalink**) 26-09-2008, 09:01 PM

Welcome to WAB, Roy.

Your life sounds idyllic. Looking forward to reading your posts.

Hedge.

juliejam · #3 (**permalink**) 26-09-2008, 09:05 PM

Hello Roy ..Warm Welcome..Have fun.

Julie

Morph · #4 (**permalink**) 26-09-2008, 09:09 PM

Welcome , glad your shyness has been overcome.

Tursiops2 · #5 (**permalink**) 26-09-2008, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hedge Witch

Welcome to WAB, Roy.

Your life sounds idyllic. Looking forward to reading your posts.

Hedge.

Likewise

T2

Digit · #6 (**permalink**) 26-09-2008, 10:13 PM

Thanks everyone.

Roy.

Deer Stalker · #7 (**permalink**) 26-09-2008, 10:14 PM

Hi Roy.

Ollie · #8 (**permalink**) 26-09-2008, 10:18 PM

Hello Roy and a warm welcome. Sounds like a fantastic place you have there. Look forward to seeing you around
Roger

ellen h · #9 (**permalink**) 26-09-2008, 10:23 PM

Hello Roy and welcome!!
ellen

galanthus · #10 (**permalink**) 26-09-2008, 10:23 PM

Welcome from me matey. Your place sounds very groovy, I love west wales and go there when I can. Do you have choughs where you are ?

Digit · #11 (**permalink**) 26-09-2008, 10:41 PM

Choughs are the only southern member of the Crow family that we don't have locally. I'm just north of Cardigan.
For those who don't know the area it is hilly, windy, wet and warm. Frosts are rare and snow almost unheard of. I've lived here since 1990 and we have have had only three falls of snow in that time and those not very deep.
I moved here from Telford and we grow plants outdoors here that in Telford would have been killed by the cold.
Does wonders for my heating bills!

Roy.

Keith Talbot · #12 (**permalink**) 26-09-2008, 10:54 PM

welcome to wab roy.

keith

DaiTheDragon · #13 (**permalink**) 27-09-2008, 12:10 AM

A warm welcome to WAB Roy.

Dai

rlchew · #14 (**permalink**) 27-09-2008, 11:07 AM

Hello Roy

A warm welcome to WAB.

"A semi derelict ex WW2 POW hut" does not sound too inviting but everything else about where you are living certainly does.

Richard

Digit · #15 (**permalink**) 27-09-2008, 01:52 PM

Hi Rich. It's a bit different now, it had better be, we've been working on the house and garden for nearly 20 yrs mate.
We moved in with no hot or cold water, no drainage and no electricity.
The house hadn't been lived in for five years and the garden hadn't been touched in a generation. Yes, we are mad!
I rewired, re plumbed, repaired the septic tank, replaced the drainage pipes, replaced the asbestos cement walls with plaster board, installed central heating, laid out paths, built dry stone walls and we planted hundreds of tree and shrubs.
I'm in the throws of replacing the inner porch doors with hardwood D/G ones at this time that I built myself and that will be the last of the doors and windows to be replaced.
And that is just some of the tasks we have completed.
We actually bought the place because of the large garden!
An officer for the Council for the Protection of Rural Wales was astonished at the list of birds we have in and around the garden, 31 at last count.

Roy.

Dutchess · #16 (**permalink**) 30-09-2008, 12:16 AM

Hello Roy,

A warm welcome to WAB. Your home sounds idyllic.

My aunt and uncle did the same, after retirement they moved from Surrey to Llechryd (not that far from you!) in order to escape the rat race. They love it, and have never looked back. They took my nan with them, she was old at the time and we thought it would do her no good at all, uprooting to move all that way....However, she died at the grand old age of 104 just a couple of years back, so it can't be that bad up there!

Very brave of you to have taken on an old building like that. Were there certain guidelines that you had to adhere to, or were you more or less allowed to renovate as you pleased? Just curious as I have an interest in old and derelict buildings and wish more were preserved, rather than pulled down to make room for new.

Enjoy the site!

D.

Digit · #17 (**permalink**) 30-09-2008, 10:01 AM

Hi D. Know LLechryd well, as you say, not far from me. A lot of my customers were in LLechrhyd when I was working. We might even know each other!
When we moved here the house was being used as a store for gas cylinders, which didn't go down well in the village when they found out!

We bought the place as a building site with full planning consent, but closer examination showed that was little wrong with the basic structure, so we decided to stay with it.
The worst part was that it was painted bright orange!
We applied for a renovation grant, six months later we were told there were no grants for timber buildings!
We were on our own.

Roy.