Home Improvements.

Team Inshriach have taken advantage of a fortnight off to prepare for our first wedding of the year. We redecorated a bathroom in this fetching Edwardian ochre, complete with barbers shop still life on the shelves, replaced the only bed in the house which didnt meet our exacting Edwardian aesthetic standards (Miss Blacks) with a lovely distressed Victorian brass number and oiled the floors of the veranda and the front porch to tidy everything up. We also finished the new soakaways off the sunroom, a job that was snowed off in November.



Elsewhere round the farm we started tidying up the woods by the river where the beer moth will end up and took apart the coldframes ready for vegetable season. Harry and I then took the 'moth on largely unproductive but very amusing expedition to see if the Highland Folk museum and the Strathspey steam railway would put some of their Victoriana behind the Insider. Watch this space.

The Beer Moth.

Last week I conducted a Facebook poll on whether to choose a 1950s Commer lorry or another yurt and the result came out resoundingly in favour of the truck. The milweb classifieds threw up an ideal candidate and on Sunday afternoon I flew to Manston, on the North Kent coast. A deal was done and by 6 o clock I was crunching gears and annoying roadusers, foot to the boards at 40mph. First stop was The Dove on Broadway market for a New Year reunion, then a taxi run to Canary wharf and back to Bow, a round trip of 10 miles and a fuel bill of £20.

Monday saw wingman Ali and myself make it to Captain Bob in Derbyshire, covering a blistering 150 miles in 10 hours, trailing a comet tail of traffic all across the Peak District.

On Tuesday evening we reached Edinburgh, this time the Pennines and the A68 held our average at 20mph. On Wednesday afternoon the Beer Moth entered the Cairngorms and a mere 5 1/2 hours after leaving Edinburgh (average 25mph) she was parked up in Aviemore. 650 miles, £600 in fuel and 28 hours behind the wheel later.

Once I find somewhere for all the useful things we collected en route a new roof with windows is being made. A woodburner, fairy lights, lanterns, drinks cabinet and a double bed are going in. We will make a staircase, a front door and a back wall and we will run a massive raid on an army surplus shop to have her ready for April. Bookings will again be through Canopy and Stars unless you have an existing booking at Inshriach.

Watch this space as the Beer Moth settles in.

The Insider.

Plans for the Insider 2011 are now underway. The theme is Victorian, the dates are the 17th to the 20th June and you can find more details about it first on the Insider 2011 blog. We will soon have a fresh new squirrel, a website up and tickets on sale at www.insiderfestival.com.

See you in June.

Late availability and a big truck.

Due to cancellation the next 2 weekends are available in the house for £1200 rather than £1500. Its snowing too so get your last minute skiing plans in. The only other remaining dates until June are the first 2 weekends of March.

Just to run another idea around, the yurt has been really popular this year but as an alternative I'm thinking of getting one of these. Its a 1954 Commer Lorry, an ex Auxiliary Fire Service Hoselayer. I reckon with a double bed and a woodburner and some Inshriach craftsmanship by way of cupboards, a door and a staircase on the back, it could be cute - in a 'Where Eagles Dare' meets "Little House on the Prairie' kind of way. I would be very interested to hear what you think, especially if you have stayed in the Inshriach yurt over the last year.