Easter's been and gone - my, how time flies when you're busy. We had a lovely break in Vietnam, and our Project Manager went off for a week's holiday himself.
But work continues on the barn. Before he went away, Neil sent us a few photos of the progress on the interior. By the time he'd sent them on Maunday Thursday, we were already in Hanoi. Then he phoned us on Good Friday and we were in a beach bar in Halong Bay. We'd just met an English guy who lives in Stockholm and was on holiday with some giggly Vietnamese ladies who were all intrigued by my beautiful wife and wanted their photo with her. So we were in the the process of emailing it from my Blackberry via UK and Sweden back to the guy who was standing next to me in Halong Bay when Neil phoned and wanted to discuss the width of the driveway. Isn't modern technology amazing!
Things are going on well on the inside now. The interior is almost fully plastered, and they're fitting the kitchen this week. Misan is frustrated - she wants to instruct Neil to lock it up once the kitchen's in as she wants to be first to see it!
Good news on the services front, too. The electricity is finally live, and the sewers are connected. Just waiting for final approval of the plumbing installation now by Anglian Water, then the water supply will be linked up, too. That has been a real nightmare for Neil, as he's had to source taps that are WRAS approved, not an easy process (he's even been calling manufacturers in China to ensure he proposes approvable products). Apparently WRAS is a mandatory scheme that has been around for 5 years or so but not all authorities enforce it and even suppliers and manufacturers aren't fully aware of it's implications. Of course, our water authority had to insist on us complying with it, hence the headaches for Neil!
And the news from Hong Kong is that Misan has a job! She's the Visual Arts Technician at the local college. That's it, she'll be able to choose the barn decorations with confidence now!
But work continues on the barn. Before he went away, Neil sent us a few photos of the progress on the interior. By the time he'd sent them on Maunday Thursday, we were already in Hanoi. Then he phoned us on Good Friday and we were in a beach bar in Halong Bay. We'd just met an English guy who lives in Stockholm and was on holiday with some giggly Vietnamese ladies who were all intrigued by my beautiful wife and wanted their photo with her. So we were in the the process of emailing it from my Blackberry via UK and Sweden back to the guy who was standing next to me in Halong Bay when Neil phoned and wanted to discuss the width of the driveway. Isn't modern technology amazing!
Things are going on well on the inside now. The interior is almost fully plastered, and they're fitting the kitchen this week. Misan is frustrated - she wants to instruct Neil to lock it up once the kitchen's in as she wants to be first to see it!They're also doing the landscaping and driveway this week. We've had some long emails and phone calls with Neil to try and agree details, and we think we've managed it, although we'll leave some things 'till later like a (possible) pond and (maybe) a sliding gate.
Good news on the services front, too. The electricity is finally live, and the sewers are connected. Just waiting for final approval of the plumbing installation now by Anglian Water, then the water supply will be linked up, too. That has been a real nightmare for Neil, as he's had to source taps that are WRAS approved, not an easy process (he's even been calling manufacturers in China to ensure he proposes approvable products). Apparently WRAS is a mandatory scheme that has been around for 5 years or so but not all authorities enforce it and even suppliers and manufacturers aren't fully aware of it's implications. Of course, our water authority had to insist on us complying with it, hence the headaches for Neil!And the news from Hong Kong is that Misan has a job! She's the Visual Arts Technician at the local college. That's it, she'll be able to choose the barn decorations with confidence now!
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