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little rant and dining room transformation...

Life is feeling a little more ordinary these days although we watch the number for covid grow daily and consequently we are still being very careful about what we we do and who with - It seems incredible that so many people have given up so much  -missing families - cancelled weddings - missed holidays - lost education... and much more to say nothing of those who are grieving lost ones and some still feeling very much isolated but its ok to have massive crowds at football games and there seems to be a fair few going to Wimbledon as well!!!  I  wouldn't mind but it puts the greater population at risk in the long run - so much for containment but I'm guessing it all about money as usual... there is a definite need to learn to live with covid and measures need to be reduced in a an appropriate manner - but at the moment it feels measures only apply to some and definitely not to sports fans.... rant over....


Coundon Tower now has a complete newly decorated fully functional dining room.... not that I think it will get much use given we almost always eat at the kitchen table or on our knees but its there for high days and holidays and best of all it has room to accommodate our lovely but quite large dining table which has been in storage in Leeds for quite a number of years.  Until now we have never lived anywhere big enough for it to come and reside with us and even here it required a little shortening!!! 


this is estate agent picture of the original room

Many years ago a lovely talented friend made this table from recycled timber - beams from a demolished convent - brought hone one at a time on his push bike - the legs are railway sleepers and the whole thing weight a ton!!! when finished it was originally 8ft 6in long but we made the decision to cut 12 ins off so that it would fit comfortably in the new dining room - this means we can still seat 8 comfortably and walk round the room...

This beautiful bespoke piece of furniture was built in the dining room of my old house in Leeds and only moved once to have a new floor laid - this required four people just to lift the top and we had to take the door off the hinges to get it out of the room- I was worried we would never get it out again and the whole manoeuvre from Leeds to Coundon turned into something akin to a military exercise.. we finally assembled enough people to move it and some one that had the right tools to cut it properly and it was all systems go.. I couldn't watch it being cut - it was a sad moment but better to finally have it here a bit smaller and in use then never to get to use again.... the whole move went without a hitch - losing the extra 12 inches meant it was easier to carry out of its original space and into its new home - a week on - it looks like it has lived there forever.  At the weekend we had friends round for a celebratory meal on it - I pushed the boat out - candles... serviettes... lanterns and pea soup  - the works.... (even a frock) fizzy wine and consequent hang over ..


It feels like the end of an era... having 'the table' finally up here kind of cements our home- while I never say never its unlikely I will live in that Leeds house again - tbh I don't think I could face packing up again... with the table came most of the books out of storage - there's still about 50 boxes to bring up and absorb back into our lives - some of it will find its way to the charity shop but a lot of it is a reunion with old loved possessions that we just never had room for until now.  there are two of us old gits who have accumulated a large amount of stuff in out combined 120 year plus... We are lucky we have space to house most of it - and its just not true the old adage if you haven't seen it for ten years you don't need it - we are both delighted to rediscover old treasure and welcome much loved and often missed items back into our home..... the house is getting very full 😂😂

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