The Boiler.

Hooray at last the new boiler is in, look at that beauty!

Now thats more like it, bit better than the old one.

So that monster took someone nearly a day to cut up with a welding rig cause it was so bloody heavy no one could move the bugger.

It all took about a week (with no heating) to get the new one in. The main difficulty being working out how to get 300kg's worth of boiler down the deep, dark, steep and slippery cellar steps to the grim hole that is it's new home without killing anyone or busting the boiler. Ended up using an old chain and pulley formerly used for raising flour sacks (we suppose, it is a mill after all) with me hanging on to it to slowly lower the thing down some planks on the stairs onto Neil and Mark (electrician) without squashing them flat. Which we achieved. And then Andy (plumber) did the rest.

The cellar flooded 2 days after we finally installed it, due to torrential rain (5 people airlifted of the Aysgarth road to great local excitment) but luckily only a distant part of it. That boiler won't be coming out again in a hurry.

So we now have unlimited hot water!!!

This is our smashing bathroom at present. The diasability chair is suprisingly useful for putting magazines etc on. The old hot water tank was about the size of a hot water bottle and not very efficient so you ended up with about an inch of tepid water. You have to feel for poor Dr Cole the previous (elderley) resident. That bathroom's bloody freezing at the best of times but imagine sitting on that chair being slowly raised up (those mobility aids never operate quickly) to be dunked into a chilly bath and then getting even colder as he was slowly elevated up to the pleasures of a damp towel (no towel rad in the bathroom).

Interestingly (or not) those floor tiles were originally used for the floor in one of the 2 kilns in the mill, the corn etc was put on top of them to dry. So there you go.

But soon we will be moving to the new bathroom upstairs.

Not bad. Previously had the same sort of sanitary ware our present bathroom has without the free seat. Great fun painting between the beams, can now barely stand upright and have a permanent list.

So Christmas came and went up here.

We had Christmas dinner in the "residents sitting room". It was really very cold. Have to up our game on the table laying front before the guests come. Just spotted the roll of poo bags. Can never find them when you want them and there they are where the side plate should be.

And to finish a nice picture of Dennis, the coldest dog in the world for you to enjoy.