KHPC Fabric Team

All I can say is; Thank Goodness! we had the Extension's flat roof repaired last week and some of the Downpipes fixed as well. That bit appears OK! The High Roof is a different matter, the one good thing about very heavy rain, is, that you're able to experience exactly where the leaks are! Luckily there aren't any new ones. So far---------. I'll give another update later this evening.

Today, I'm supposed to be down at the Church cleaning and helping to decorate the Hall for our Harvest Service. Oops! However because I'm still at home working on an urgent report for next week; I was able to see the post when it arrived, and ----- a Letter from HS/HLF. I always get a little nervous when such letters arrive, but at least it didn't say ------No! It appears that our Grant Application is progressing to the next stage of Assessment. So more visits from Architects, and the letter also states 'as soon as possible' So Good News ! and tomorrow we celebrate Harvest; this is always a strange service for us, we are an Urban Church and Harvest can seem far removed from our daily life. This year however, I do have some pumpkins from our new Allotment which actually lies within the Parish! So, all in all, a very appropriate donation for KH's Harvest Service and with any luck the sun might shine.

Sometimes when I'm at work, I count myself very lucky to be doing a job I love, and also that I get to appreciate a very varied work load, in lots of different places. (For instance I'll be in Oxford and Warwickshire next week). Occasionally I'll see someone else at work and imagine that they also love doing what they do. So when I saw David today hanging off a rope from the High Roof, he did look very contented with his lot. I thought it also made a pretty picture.

This next picture shows that the Fleche is still slightly skewed, and still with its Green Garter!

Thank Goodness! Another week goes by and there were some dry days this week, the sun even shone! It meant that the workmen were able to get on with the holding repairs on the Flat Roof over the Extension.They also had to deal with some shoogly Drain Pipes, or RWG's (the official terminology). Of course the simplest way of dealing with this is to use abseiling techniques, therefore we ended up with our favourite Steeplejacks back on site. Good entertainment for the neighbours.

Following a very wet and windy trip North for business reasons, I've spent the time since catching up with all the various parts of KH's Repair and Conservation project. It may seem that we've stopped dead in the water, however let me assure you that there is a tremendous amount of activity hidden beneath. Any allegorical reference to a Swan should perhaps refer to a Glacial melt-down and the subsequent iceberg instead. Essentially we have applied for extra funds for the High Roof repair to Historic Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund, however if we start the work before the Grant is assessed then we negate our application. So we watch the weather forecasts with bated breath and hope that we can move forward soon. The Teacher Memorial Window repair is continuing apace in the studio of the conservators and we are also starting some essential flat roof repairs on the extension; and ---- continuing with other essential works in the Kitchen and Main Hall. So busy, busy, busy...

So now it's Autumn; and the falling leaves are starting to gather in the gutters and the downpipes. Already we've cleared out the hoppers on the extension's flat roof and discovered work which needs to be done. Why did someone think that flat roofs were a good idea in the West of Scotland? So on it goes: Sometimes I think it would be nice to dream up an interesting building project for the Church, instead of repairing and patching on top of other repairs. But that is obviously the task I have for now, and so I'll continue to co-ordinate an amazing bunch of people, all of whom are keen to maintain this place for all of our community.