KHPC Fabric Team

I sometimes feel as if the rain will never stop, then I look at the News and see what devastation has been caused by a cyclone in India - Half a Million people affected! All things pale into consideration -  Then I think am I scared of heights - Not if I'm careful! I really would like to see St Cecilia face to face again - especially as a technology malfunction has meant that I've lost a lot of photographs taken when KH was decked with scaffolding before, many have been retrieved but the tower on the Burne Jones Window just might give me the opportunity to retake some.  Then I also remember how happy I was to be up high on a ship's look out tower. SO I'm thinking I'm going to get a new boat, an Ark perhaps?

Please spare a thought for the our workmen who have to be outside in such awful weather. At this time we also think of those elsewhere who have suffered loss and upheaval because of the weather. We also think of all the emergency services who 'just carry on' whatever. I've just had a thought! If this weather continues to delay work then we might end up decorating the Fleche with fairy lights! At the weekend a few people climbed the internal scaffold to experience a different view, and some view it was ---- A completely different perspective and the ability to get up close and personal with some very grubby cherubs! The plan is for most of the internal scaffold to be dismantled this week. So it was definitely last-chance weekend

Although it is only part way through, much has happened in November. Finally the Fleche is being fixed. A great deal of Scaffold has been erected around it. Inspections have been made and our Car park has had more traffic in it than anybody could ever have envisaged. By the way, the scaffold at Oran Mor is so that the columns within the arches of the bell tower can be replaced with stone. --- See; I knew I'd find out! A well attended service of remembrance was held over there on the 11th., and the memorial bells were rung. It was most kind and thoughtful of Oran Mor to remember the heritage of the building in this way. Our thoughts have been with the workmen these last few days, as they have had some of the most atrocious weather conditions to deal with. High winds are forecast again for this weekend, but at least the roof is now stable, and the heating is on throughout as the plaster needs to dry before painting. The internal scaffold is starting to be cleared away and the task of...

Hmm! Similar artistic viewpoint, but you are seeing someone else's scaffold. Herr Muellers to be precise! Just goes to show that, after building ones' Cathedral over the last 700 years or so, one still needs to get the ubiquitous Scaffolders on site. I don't think any great Church or Cathedral these days is without its resident Contractors. All I can say is that ours have had to work in some pretty horrible conditions. It would have to rain the week they started to build our external access to the highest points of the roof. Therefore there aren't that many photos of them at work, as it was much too wet for the camera when the most interesting things were happening. Let's just be thankful that they were skilled in their work and accomplished it satisfactorily. and that they didn't have to climb quite as high as in these photos.

It was a pretty early start this morning; I had been asked by the contractors if I could leave my van beside the Church in order to save a space for the Scaffold lorry which was due in first thing. So my Friday morning was spent ensuring that we were able to offload yet more scaffolding. Yesterday (Thursday) the Church boiler had been fired up and everything seemed to be working fine., except the men said that it might be too warm for them working up in the roof space----some people are never happy! However, all I can say is 'Thank-you' because the carved Oak pelmet which has been removed temporarily from the front of the Church has been cleaned up and has been placed safely under cover within the Church. It really is a beautiful piece of wood with a craftsmanship which is not really seen nowadays. As for all that extra scaffold? ------ Well an extra squad of scaffolders are due to arrive on Monday to start erecting scaffold around the Fleche. So all of the neighbours will be a...

The sun was still shining when I visited the Church today; where was the heavy rain that was forecast? Fochabers! that's where, and I hope my friends up there are all Ok. There is some beautiful Burne-Jones Stained Glass in the Gordon Chapel up there. Anyway back to KH; The floors and the cupboard in the hall were being replaced today. No more backrest for the Choir on Sundays. Nor a place for extra notices, however the work upstairs is moving on apace. Today was also the last day at KH for two of the Hunter & Clark workers: Charlie who retires after 30 years with H&C and Paul who has finished his part of the project; setting all the concrete lintels in mortar, and he also proved to be a very useful pair of hands or perhaps more correctly shoulders up in the roof space. I'm not sure exactly what he was doing up there today, but he seemed to to have brought down a goodly amount of soot on his face and clothes. As good a representation of a chimney sweep as I've seen ...

The pile of Scaffold outside the Church seems to grow every night.

A friend mentioned The Scaffold's Greatest Hits, the musical analogy continues. Even more Scaffold has arrived. and when I visited on Thursday the men were very busy constructing a ----- Staircase to Heaven! No kidding, the front scaffolding towers are not tied in to the walls so the strengthening and buttressing supports have meant that the Contractors are able to build a Staircase and not just use ladders. Very secure it looks too, So eventually the Fabric Team will don their PPE and scale the heights. The Structural Engineer has also inspected and has declared that he is very happy with the Works Progress. Today the Concrete arrives which will be poured into the new big hole, which will form the foundation for Truss 3 N. Gosh it's all go this week.

One of the peculiarities of this particular repair project is that the work is hidden from view. Only a very people have actually seen the problem up in the roof-space, but everybody can see what is going on down below;----- Yet more scaffolding! Do we have enough? I certainly hope so. The roof is a very long way up---deceptively so and as the towers grow yet wider and taller, I'm aware of how much more is needed before the work is complete. This last week the Church has become in every way a building site. The precious (and almost irreplaceable) marble in the Chancel and the carved wooden seats and pulpit have all been boxed in to protect them from any damage. Yet despite all of this, the essential being of the building still manages to show its own strength and beauty. Smiling through its indignity, as if it was aware that what is now being wrought will benefit it in the long term. High minded and pretentious stuff, but to sit in the Church in the safe area when the sun shines th...