Marty

It's only that one wall that's damaged. As to whether it can be repaired: it probably could be, but it would involve quite a lot of effort. Probably the whole of the top half of it would need to be taken down and then rebuilt. I'm thinking that I may just take the whole of that wall down to ground level and completely remove that one of the two stone sheds. It's not as though I need a lot of storage space, anyway. There's the two story old stone cottage in the garden, not to mention the fact that I also own a two story storage area about the same size as the main dwelling house, and attached to it. Here's part of a screenshot from Google Street View showing the front of my property (the For Sale signs have long since gone). My dwelling house is to the right of the downspout, and the storage area to the left. (And, no, that's not my car)

So... It's Friday is it? Now what does that mean? Oh, yes!! I means it's week 42 of my attempt to take a new monochrome (okay, black and white, if you insist) photograph each week for 52 weeks, and upload it to my Flickr account. I decided this week to use one showing the work I am doing trying to remove all the ivy, Russian vine, brambles and briars that have overgrown the roofs of the two old stone sheds in my garden. I took this photograph today, before I started work for the day. So it shows where I got to by the end of yesterday. It's taken from a different angle to the one I shared yesterday evening, and I think it shows quite well the damage I mentioned a few days ago that has been caused to the gable wall of the shed by the overgrowth. Which caused a few of you to worry that I might be putting myself in danger with the ladder.

Greetings, Leo!

Brilliant news, clo!!!!

Snap!

I thought Val said it was a photo of me, Albert... But if Gary wants to come round and do the painting for me...

But I've still got to get the first corner painted...

Greetings, Albert!

Happy Friday to you, as well, Gary! Oh! It's Friday, is it? Hmm....

Greetings, Albert! I've just had a long relaxing soak in the bath. Cup of cocoa now, and then bed for me.

I can hear my mom saying the same thing. It was my granddad who I remember always using that saying. Usually about himself.

Greetings, young Drew!

So this evening I didn't come in from the garden until about 5:15pm. I will admit that it was almost completely dark by that time but, just to allay any concerns Albert might have on reading that, I had spent most of the last three-quarter hour or so actually on the ground, and not up the ladder. I think I mentioned when I started clearing all this growth over the two old stone sheds, that I am having to work very slowly because of the way the Russian vine stems - some of which seem to be maybe 15 feet (5 metres) or more long - have twisted around each other, and around the ivy, briars and brambles that are also in the mix. And, although they may look very thin, they are extremely strong. The fact that most of this growth is well above my head means that I can't just attack it with a bill hook (hedge knife), but am having to cut it piece by piece with either the clippers or the secateurs (pruners) (and occasionally the bow saw). Just to give you an idea of what I mean, here's a photo I took today showing the way the Russian vine shoots twist themselves. And, by way of a visual progress report, here's a photo I took just before I finished this evening showing what growth still needs to be cleared away (this one was taken from the other side of the two sheds than the one I shared the other day - actually from the top of the steps leading to the upper garden):

Fingers crossed for you and your brother, clo.

Jeez, Val! That's a lot to go through. Here's hoping everything turns out okay. I'm sending healing thoughts your way.

Greetings, Leo!

Belated greetings back at you, Albert! Sorry for the delay. I was outside doing garden work.

Thanks, Gary. Although I must admit that I intended it to be more of an amusing piece than a powerful one.

Indeed. I had tried using that quote when I was writing the piece. Just couldn't fit it into the 5-7-5 haiku format. And if you read the link I included in the endnote to this chapter, I think you will see that dear Iris is certainly not without sin herself. Thanks for taking the time to comment, @Mawgrim.

I'm delighted for you, bro. (Did I mention that Manchester United are currently at number 1 spot in the Premier League?)

Thanks for your concern, Val. ❤️ It was written around 2008.

Coughing my lungs up Nicotine stained fingertips... I really should quit.

So ... If the game turns out to be really tense, will that mean you'll be needing a third shower?