Make do and mend.

The roof in on and finished, now for the floor.
-->

I could have hired a skip thrown everything in it, laid a concrete base had someone build me a preformed concrete shed/garage but I would not have got one ounce of satisfaction from doing that. This is my hut there’s only one like it in the world and it’s mine.

The old floor consisted of old doors and pit belting:- conveyer belt that coal is transported on from the coal face to the pit bottom.

This was not a real good idea but it worked OK for a while. 

 After clearing the old rubbish out I rotavatored the ground then I tipped loads of sand and grit from my front garden. This used to be a make shift parking space for our Stevens car.

 Thirteen barrow loads later the bed was ready to lay the flags on.

 Cutting the flags to shape to fill in the gaps.

Time off (out).

Monday we were in Halifax West Yorkshire, it was scorchio.

 Food and a drink in Wetherspoons The Percy Shaw sadly no relation, he was the man that invented the cats eyes the aid for night time driving.

 Wednesday we were in Rotherham for the Yorkshire Regiments parade.

The colours were paraded in Rotherham and Sheffield the next day they were paraded in Barnsley and Wakefield. Then on to Warminster this week the colours were to be laid to rest The Duke of Wellington Battalion is no more. There were three battalions in Yorkshire but due to the cut backs now there are only two. We are a very poor country we used to be Great. 

 Saturday we had a new drive laid the old one was a disgrace I let some gypsies do it last time it was only any good for six months that was twenty years ago.

True Englishmen don't take there socks off.

This is a much better job I'm pleased with it.

 
I've straightened the grassed area up and reseeded it, should look well when it grows.
Now back to the hut renovation.

Finally got roundtoit.

I must be the roundtoit champion my black hut roof as been slowly rotting away for years but as there was nothing in there of much use I've never got round to repairing it. I've taken advantage of this heat wave and got stuck in first clearing the rubbish (good stuff) off the roof also an old hut floor that I had begged just to make it safe to walk on years ago all now rotten.

Then I started removing the old corrugated steel sheeting that I had bought from work 30 years ago I say bought they gave them to me. The sheets were originally on the mill roof when they were being replaced I sorted the good from the bad and offered to buy them. To my surprise I was told to take as many as I wanted as they were no good for scrap as there was more coating than steel and would have been uneconomical to melt down.

When I started taking them of the hut the steel had almost all rusted away and they just folded like paper, which made it easy to put in my trailer and take to the dump it site.
Now I had to empty the hut this was easy just chucked all the content all over the lawn to sort out later rubbish for the tip, rubbish that might come in handy sometime and scrap for the scrapman ( anyone with a flat back two ton truck are scrapmen).

Then I called it a day and took off to Halifax with Una for a bit of a change with the intention of getting stuck in the day after which did not go to plan. The Yorkshire Regiment were parading round Rotherham the next day and I love a good parade so the hut build went on hold again.

Thursday I dropped on lucky the council was having the snicket two doors away resurfaced with tarmac (black top) and my drive had been wanting doing for years. They did such a good job on the snicket I asked if they did drives, answer yes. They gave me a quote told me what they would do for the money it was what I expected to pay so I set them on.
Saturday they turned up and did the job and a good job they did it looks a treat.

Now I was back to re roofing my hut I had a load of planks that I have had saved for years (did I mention I am part magpie) I do not have the ability to through things away who knows when it will come in handy. Anyway I got the new roof on covered it with roofing felt and the jobs a good one.

I just had to put this photo on, I have not seen this bloke for twenty years (he's an exworkmate) much younger than me infact he was only a lad back then. I had gone to the wood yard for some odds and ends he did not see my face he just recognised my voice and came over and made himself known.
"Of all the bars in all the world you had to come into mine"
I've worked with hundreds if not thousands of blokes in my time at the Steelworks it's nice when they still want to be your friend I don't think I ever made an enemy of anyone.