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Trouble!

You’d expect it really – that if you have builders in creating chaos and disorder that you also develop major plumbing problems (nothing like discovering a pool of water in the bathroom in the middle of the night..), electrical problems, knee problems – and you would find your custom made bird bath disintegrating.

Glad to report that the company which made it reimbursed us completely. It was sad though – here is its nightmare history – Part One and Part Two

So Charles took some pleasure in taking a sledge hammer to it.

Demolition of Bird Bath, Veddw

And we contemplated the replacement. To our great pleasure we found a corten steel bowl. And then, by a fortunate stroke of serendipity, we found some oak sleepers in our local builders merchant. So I designed a new bird bath.

The next bit was interesting – we did a mock up and ended up wondering about a narrow plinth (Charles) or a wide plinth (Anne). So I asked on Facebook and got an amazing and fascinating response. For which many thanks, everyone. So we went outside having read all that, looked again and spontaneously and together agreed how it should be. Now you wait…

Mock up bird bath, Veddw
Narrow mock up.

So the wood arrived, rather scarily –

Sleepers, Veddw
Took two strong men to carry one. (Thanks Jeff..)

And Charles set to work:

Debris…..
Cutting to manageable size..,
New bird bath at Veddw copyright Anne Wareham
Removing the concrete we’d so carefully added, with such hard work, to stop small boys climbing on the old bird bath and squishing themselves.
New bird bath at Veddw copyright Anne Wareham
Gluing and clamping..
New bird bath at Veddw copyright Anne Wareham
Planing (thanks again, Jeff..)
New bird bath at Veddw copyright Anne Wareham
Levering, with help from car jack. (and invisible Anne)

If you wonder what I contributed, I should add that when I was heaving and shoving no-one was taking pictures…

New bird bath at Veddw copyright Anne Wareham
IN!!
New bird bath at Veddw copyright Anne Wareham
Filling in – with much stomping and levelling…
New bird bath at Veddw copyright Anne Wareham
Filled!

This was hard to believe – we had just filled it and sat down to look – and a robin arrived to take a drink. Sorry the pic is so bad.

Front Garden Veddw with bird bath
Done!

We love it. Good job we do. One of the most interesting things, though, is that I know many of the people who considered it on Facebook will not like it – and for once I do know that for sure. For years I’ve looked for critical discussion of what we do here, and still most people prefer to be polite and kind. But I discovered that garden people do see, think, consider and arrive at clear opinions about what works or doesn’t work and why. It was a joy. But the trick is clearly to ask before you do anything.

Anne Xxxx

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