Update for 2018

Hello everyone,

We hope you’ve all had a very Merry Christmas and enjoyed some time relaxing with those you care about. We certainly have and are feeling the benefit.

It’s been an eventful year here in Badrallach and we have made significant progress.

Mick had his hip replacement finally in April (the week before we were due to move out of the cottage we had rented for the winter so that Mick would have a warm, easy place to recuperate in!) We were thankfully able to spend a few weeks at my mum and dad’s new house in Ullapool until Mick was 6 weeks post op and able to drive again. He is recovering well and is back teaching Historical Fencing and doing Jujitsu although he frequently pushes himself too hard and makes himself sore – but that’s nothing new….

We moved back into Badrallach in May and spent the glorious summer building and (rebuilding) various structures that now house our variety of off-grid electricity supply equipment. We hauled 100’s of metres of water pipe up the hill (thanks to Reuben for being amazing  🙂 ) to supply our water turbine, rebuilt the electricity shed roof that blew off over the winter as we didn’t have time to put a door on the shed before we left  – we came back to visit after the snow and ice had cleared to find the entire roof on the hillside behind the shed! Another case of us underestimating the power of the wind up here – not a mistake we’ll make again.

Cunning use of guttering to divert water out of the pool so that we could build a dam.

Joe and Star help with securing the water pipe.

Reuben was fantastic help in getting the pipe up the hill.

Visiting Auntie May in San Diego. We miss her terribly xx

The finished electricity shed (complete with door!)

The porch to weather-proof the barn door.

Solar panel array all secured to the hillside.

We managed to get away for some Autumn sunshine in Ibiza.

Electricity arrives in Bairstowpia.

Destitution Road records their first CD!

Glorious Bairstowpian sunrise.

My mum and I went out to San Diego to visit Auntie May in August as she was unwell, we spent a wonderful week reminiscing, making blinis and drinking more tea than is good for you. She passed away a few weeks ago and we will miss her lovely presence in our lives.

Destitution Road – the folk band that I am a part of have recorded and produced their first CD this year. We are frequently asked by audience members for one and now we can provide it. All profits will be donated to Connecting Carers. Many thanks to Erik and Jen Knussen for all their help and time in making it a reality.

Mick, Joe and I were able to get away for a week in October and soak up some sunshine in Ibiza before coming back to the croft for the final push to get the electricity installed.

Our off-grid electricity supply was finally completed and switched on in December, we now have a fridge, a freezer and electric lighting. It’s amazing what you can do without when you have to but by golly having these little luxuries in our lives again is phenomenal. The electric heating in the yurt can only operate on the dump load so only works when we are producing excess electricity. On these shortest of days around the winter solstice we pray for rain – oh how your perspective changes when your heating depends on it!

I do apologise for the sparse reports this year, it’s been a long haul and I have been developing several online businesses as well as running my private practice. Spare time has been virtually non-existent. Here’s hoping that I am able to make more time in 2019 but seeing as we are finally hoping to get started on the house, I suspect not.

We wish you all the best in 2019 and hope that at least some of you will be able to come and visit.

Love Alex, Mick, Joe and Star the dog xxxx