The weather has been…interesting, as of late. Getting stuff done outside has been a challenge but thankfully the weekend brought sunshine.

The latest project involves building a big play area which will replace most of the old patio. If you remember from last year, I lifted a lot of the slabs to build the base for the metal shed last year.

Lifting the slabs was a chore in itself. With these projects a significant amount of the work is in preparing the area. Moving the slabs. Tidying up the ground and levelling it with sand. Some of the slabs were hiding ant colonies. Once the ground was cleared, I laid out the rough area to plan where the sleepers are going to go. I’m going to dig down to make a shallow trench to fill with gravel to allow for good drainage to stop the sleepers from directly contacting water on the ground. This area will be lined by weed control membrane then filled with wood or bark chippings to a depth of 15-20cm to offer some impact resistance for the climbing frame.

I took the opportunity to demolish the 70s wall around the beds at the base of the wall. They hadn’t aged well, and were built onto slabs rather than a proper foundation. I haven’t quite figured out what I’m going to replace it with, but that’s a problem for my future self.

I have started building the climbing frame and have finished the first two boxes. I am really impressed with how the parts are organised and labelled. The instructions are pretty clear, and the bolts are all in marked sections on a card as well.

Food

Having a bit more time on our hands this weekend meant more exciting food. I made shakshuka and fresh bread rolls, and later we paid a visit to smAshland burgers in the Barbican. Unfortunately they were out of fries, but the burgers were delicious as always. We popped into the Refectory at the Plymouth Gin Distillery and had a cocktail before heading on to see Until Dawn at the cinema. It isn’t quite the PlayStation game, but it was still a pretty fun horror romp.

Bokashi

The first batch of bokashi was ready for inspection. It had a fermented/picked smell and some white mould which are both indications that the process was successful. I’ve dug that batch into the second raised bed so the next test will be to see how readily it composts.