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massively impressed with mrs O’s green fingers!! - we have- carrots/ potatoes/ broccoli/ leeks/ tomatoes/ cucumbers/ beans and of course chillies!

after much backache and headache and about 5lbs! in lard - i present you with the new decking! - i think the hardest part genuinely was clearing the ground before hand, removing a huge rhododendron was the physical highlight! - The deck measure 3600 4600mm so not a small project! The way I decided to do this ( a combination of interviews with experts beally, billy and rob!) was dig out 12 post holes about 1 foot deep and approx 1 m apart. Concrete in some 4×4 posts with that east postcrete ( just add water - it sets solid in about 30 mins - genius stuff) Then screw 2×4 pretreated beams across the whole, to form a grid like lattice. Making sure it was all very rigid and stable do not scrimp on wood here! - with out this base it would be all bouncy and and shonky.

I bought the wood from wickes and transported them home in our 7 seater without too much grief, but as i wanted the deck planks to be all one length i needed to order online the larger pieces , (http://www.buydeckingdirect.co.uk was the best place i found at £170 for 20 planks 3600 x 150 - 40 needed in all)

The deck fitted a treat. and once stained looks great! ( managed to have enough stain left over to put some life into our old furniture so the whole thing matched.) I need a couple more planks to finish off closing the sides and back to stop the kids crawling underneath, then its all ready for the party! i think the whole project cost about £700 in materials and was complete over 3 weekends.

For Joes birthday party we headed off to Cardiff Millenium Stadium for the Monster Truck Jam where we met the likes of The Gravedigger, Backwards Bob, The Slingshot, Medusa, The Batman, Donkey Kong, Maximum Destruction and The Swamp Thing top name a few!! …petrol heads everywhere!! - awesome stuff…

Joe had bezzie mate Joseph down for a sleepover with Mum Lisa and sister Rosie during half term.  We took them to The Lookout where they did a bit of bonding whilst building a den.  A fun time was had by all, and the weather was fab!

good ole blue peter tradition…

I just love this picture (nice one@wife). They say there is no competition in school these days except from the shouty parents on the sidelines. Whilst ezzie and the girls wonder how close the gap, was the boys are screaming for their horse to come in!..

Our 73 Cortina was treated to a wheel sandblast and powdercoat…

looking lush…

Martin, one of our very dear friends died on 17th April 2009, whilst we were in Turkey on holiday - his cremation was 1st May. Our love and  thoughts go out to Carmel and the family.

A tragic loss and he will be missed by us.

RIP Jarv.

once the monster brambles were cleared out leveling the ground was easy work. The framework went in over 2 days now just awaiting the 2 tons of top soil…

Just a little stroll with Nanny and Grandpa (taking the photo)! before a swim in the pool!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZEREN - party later!

A lovely evening had by all - even managed to get the BBQ fired up and cooked over 50 kofte for the dancing guests! loads of 70’s disco mixed with a bit of take that. Husband not allowed to touch the Juke box!

Cake by Jo and Alistair - huge thanks - what a beauty!

Frenzy when Abba came on!

Julie discussing ‘the worm’ body popping incident with Ann - a recent skill that Julie has developed - not sure where or why but ended up with a chipped tooth and bruised hip - nice one Jules.

Go go go Mand!

sorry ann!