Another cherrypicker

Unlike Skippy's, this fancy self propelled one had to be hired from an outfit in New Ross at considerable expense.  Mainly to paint the chimney, but also came in useful for the area above the conservatory.  

When it arrived, J did offer me a ride "later", but in the end, they had finished the job by lunchtime and were clearly "raring to go" so I missed out on an opportunity for an aerial view.  It's here for the weekend, but the controls are a bit daunting.  

We also had a visit from a man to sort out our calor gas stove - 5 burners, only 2 of which were reliably functioning, a third intermittent.  He sorted it out with a bit of tape in the knobs - job done in just 10 minutes*, but he's Irish, he was here at least another 30 minutes, telling us various stories about his job!

We weren't idle either - I've done the brush work on the walls of the workshop - now just needs an expert with a roller.  And W strimmed most of our "ditch" - the slightly idiosyncratic term for the field edges in this area, comprising an irregular mound of grass covered piled up earth and rocks, sometimes with a hedge on top.  Our property was built on agricultural land nearly 20 years ago, and the ditches were left on the road side, but with hedges planted behind for increased privacy.  The road verge and ditch were very overgrown, making it difficult to see when exiting the property.

*  We weren't in fact cavilling at the cost, but he clearly thought we might.  "You're paying for my experience, I've come across this problem a few times before"