Dun(s) Roamin; revistedIn the Old Manse of Blessed Memory we used to enjoy the 'Hutton Effect'. Pouring in Paxton, crashing down in Chirnside, bucketing in Berwick-bone dry in TD151TS. Often coming into the village, immersed in a deluge there would suddenly be a line on the road-puddles one side, desert like the other. Now we have the Dunsclimit. Dry in Allanton and Preston, balmy in Ellemford and hissing down here. Even up Dun Law where the Convenantors picnicked it can be glorious and the Market Square, below, covered in recently arrived Cats and Dogs. Dunsclimit as a rare example of the Micro Climate in action-if it was slightly warmer we would be hacking our way through Rain Forest en route to the newsagents every morning. For Hutton sunshades and dining al fresco, Duns machetes and...
Last PostThe period of farcical 'consultation' is over and we have the official confirmation: Hutton Post Office is to close and will be replaced by a 'mobile outreach service' (Don't bother us with facts, any inconvenience is regretted, you know it makes sense). Another community institution is to go. I must say that when we had the post office in the Old Manse, paying out the pensions over the kitchen table amongst the remains of breakfast ( A £20 note with a couple of cornflakes attached is still legal tender, we were assured) I did wonder how long the blue suited accountants would tolerate such an anachronism. I can vividly remember the official gabbling into his mobile when he had come to 'measure up' the kitchen for the computer (replacing the ledger, grocery scales and hand date...
Duns! Here we come? Perhaps D Day minus 7The work on the extension has not started!The wood burning stove is still somwhere but not where it is needed. Like in our small house in Duns. Ditto the associated piping. The decoration is just under way and it will not be finished in timeThe Old Manse is a shambles.And its next Monday we are talking about.A week may be a long time in politics. But in a hyper spatial move time blackholeIts a blink of the eye...
The White Van's BurdenHuttonian washing hanging out the washing as one does in the Merse when it is too hot to do anything else-wrap yourself in one wet sheet and hang up the others -magic-when a White Van man arrived in search of Honeysuckle Cottage. His Tom Tom had lead him to Hutton-all the village shares the one postcode, and then he had spent half an hour looking for the cottage which is a former outbuilding in our 'compound' He apparently could not find anyone alive(and out of doors) in the village to ask in our post post-prandial heat induced stupor (it was 76F, honest) and when he did made the mistake of using the word Manse; which one? the former one?, the future one?, the Old one?etc etc. Honeysuckle due a blank but as he was about to return to Selkirk he met one of our...
A Scream is only a click awayBelow is the response which Huttonian got to a request made via 'when you are really stuck e-mail for help facility' on the Scottish Power website. It was to do with signing off our two cottages attached to the Old Manse in favour of the new owners, reading the meters-you know that sort of rocket science. The website was unable to help as it refused to accept the meter readings, the help link didn't nor did the FAQs (Ours had not been asked frequently enough apparently) and I gave up after 45 minutes of classical music on the not-quite-freefone to Scottish Power-your call is important to us-but not important enough to actually answer.Dear Mr ***** (the name of a long gone tenant)Thank you for your email.You can telephone 0845 2700 700 and leave your...
A House, not called Manse, pleaseThe area is swarming with Old Manse's, three of which are still on sale in Berwickshire-as far as I know, ours, in Hutton, is the only one actually sold; or technically 'under offer'. With the departure of an incumbent minister, there is a another ministerial pad on the market, also in Hutton. This is the Manse. Strictly speaking 'The Former Manse' So we have the Former Manse, down town, a snip at about £370,000, but yet to be snipped up, and the Old Manse, behind the Kirk, where Manses normally are. In Paxton, two miles away, is another Old Manse, once the residence of the Wee Free Minister. If you put Old Manse in the Royal Mail post code finder, TD15, out will come Paxton. Ours, having been called Antrim House for many years since it was demansified...
Are we mad? I wonder. The sun is warm, the sky a hazy blue, everything in the garden blooming, the tadpoles in the pond humming with contentment and the Old Manse basking in the glow of a Borders sun. Give this all up for a small, dare I say, poky, house, with a small garden, in a nice but unremarkable town? With a close up view of surrounding buildings rather than a never ending horizon with homo sapiens nowhere to be seen. Only gentle coos, carpe dieming like crazy. Are we mad?I refer the Honorable Gentleman to the reply I gave a few posts before.And I better resume my seat before I change my...
I don't know how they did it as the Frogs have been notable by their absence these last few days but suddenly the pond is full of spawn, bubbling away and in some cases looking a bit like primeval jelly fish. This is by far the furthest into 'spring' that the ejaculated sago has appeared -31st of March was the previous latest date for that. As for the proud dads they seem to have gone to ground-sleeping the sleep of the exhausted amongst the Daffodils. But I think we can say that Spring has really come despite the forecast for yet more frost and snow later on...
Sweet Smell of SpringThere's a fine brownish haze on the meadow its not from corn as high an elephant's eye but thickly laid excrement aka slurry. The meadow is due north, just beyond the old Glebe field and a soft northern wind is wafting in a sweet aroma, which once into your nostrils tends to stay there like Tom Cat territory marking fluid.And with a northerly airstream forecast for the next few days, the music may die but the melody will linger on. And on.In the meanwhile the in house mouses are already, it seems, starting their preparations for a long cold summer. I had wondered why the wife's store of nuts for No 6 bird feeder was so depleted. The Mices, presumably worried about the possible effects of global financial meltdown have filled the feet of two pairs of wellies with...
Question: what is a sign of Spring and happens in Hutton the 16th of March?No, all the daffodils do not come out-unlike southron parts Hutton's Daffs are timorous and reluctant to bloom and who is to blame them in such a piercing northerly wind.Bloggees with long memories will recall that on the day before St Patrick's Day, last year, Huttonian's pond became the scene of frenzied copulation. And dead on the button, 12 noon, 16th of March 2008 they are at it again.And this is Leap Year*. The images (click on them for full effect) tell some of the story-and one of them is from last March but who is to know? Unlike last year when they were going at it like the Jim Clarke Rally drivers at Bluestane Ford, a great spectator sport, this new generation of frenetic fathers are a modest lot and I...
Patience on a Monument No not about extreme card games but yet another penalty of a rural existence-waiting for the bleeding carrier. This time it is our contribution to carbon neutrality :a cast iron push-if-not-sing-along-mower. Made in the UK. No Chinese rubbish and no 12,000 air miles. Not much use in the broad hectares of the Old Manse garden where one mow of our meadows empties the petrol tank of a large motor mower and a hand mow would be a painting the Forth Bridge job, but ideal for the Small House in Duns. Unusually the company-www.cheapmowers.com or similar not only offered free carriage but also a number to call to arrange the delivery on the day that suits you. I rang. Agreed Monday. Morning or Afternoon? Sorry carrier can only agree the day. If out he can leave the mower in...
Duns Roamin'One thing we will really miss about the move to the-small-house-in-Duns is the view north from the back of the Old Manse. Especially on a crisp clear sunny February day, with the pond still frozen and a Merse horizon which stretches for ever. The horizon in Duns is confined to the backs of other peoples houses over quite a pretty garden but not as stunning as these broad...
Early callers Originally uploaded by old_greywolf2000 We could have done our RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch by counting and classifying the foot prints as seen 8 am this morning after a snowy night. This is our door mat.The birds are lucky to have the wife around-to defrost their water, put out the seed, top up the nuts dust the snow off the fat ball and anything else which postpones the preparation of Huttonian's breakfast. Strictly for the birds is apt in her caseLeft to my own devices I would adopt a different set of priorities.If they can't drink their bloody water let them enjoy skating on it.Is what I...
BIG GARDEN BIRD WATCHThis is the week end of the BGBW organised by the RSPB. This is usually part of the wife's portfolio as she is Fauna Gaulieter and Keeper of the Bird Seed. Today she is in Lunnon so I have assumed her mantle with some trepidation not being a twitcher and bad on brown job identification. THe idea is to watch the patio for an hour and record the highest numbers of species you see at one time. Now Robins I can manage (as long as they are male) ditto Wood Pigeons, Starlings,blackbirds, visiting Pheasants and collared Doves. I get a bit lost with Dunnocks and Sparrows, very similar and once I have identified one (from the RRPB's little chart) , it moves and some thing else very similar takes it place. But not to worry. The wife says we get more sparrows than Dunnocks so I...
Allanton Originally uploaded by Elizmar Thankyou Elizmar for this study of Allanton which seems, from this shot, to have even less houses than Hutton-but like Hutton, has a speed limit. Why show this image? THere is a very nice property for sale in Allanton (The bit with houses in it) which must be sold for specie to allow the owners to buy the Old Manse in Hutton. So hurry up and get your cheque books at the ready. Apparently the property is featured in today's Scotland on Sunday so hopefully the narrow street (s)-well only a street actually, will be crammed with potential buyers from the start of the working week. We can then get our cash, count it and move on to the Small House in Duns.Yes, Yes empatient of Eyemouth, if you go round the cormer you will eventually reach the...
One or two potential buyers of the Old Manse were seemingly put off by our adjoining graveyard-a bit surprised to find such a thing next to a Church never mind a Manse.My assurances that the dead made for quiet neighbours did not seem to impress them overmuch and they went, hands firmly in pockets, cheque books unopened, to somewhere less spooky. Last night, standing in the graveyard with a crimson sun set and bats whistling through the trees I could see that some folks might find it a bit creepy although with a still potent glow from a sunken sun casting strong pools of darkness it was difficult to see which of the graves were creaking open to disgorgetheir contents. I doubt if we will get sunsets like these in down town Duns. I was really enjoying the amazing colours until a owl hooted...
Hutton Power Trip HorrorSince the great blackout of 01 -the longest Hutton has been without power since it got the electricity Scottish Power has kept the home (electric) fires burning; no mains Gas in rural Berwickshire, thankyou very much. So it was a bit of a shock (no pun intended) when the Old Manse went dark at 0805. Scottish Power Emergency number (not in the Borders phone book but on a card sent to us 24 hours after power was restored in 2001) was at first unwilling to accept we had a problem. No faults recorded in TD151TS. I said we had one. Checked your trip switches? Yes. OK a van is on its way. By wandering around I discovered that some of our neighbours had indeed got power, but one hadn't and apparently half of Mr Rutherford's yard was off. This I reported to the emergency...
Cocky olligarchsSince we arrived ten years ago the bird area has been increasingly dominated by a pair of visiting Pheasants: Cocky and Ollie known by the cognescenti as the Cocky Ollie Birds.The original Cocky handed in his bird feeder three years ago-was found toes up, cold and stiff amongst the Hollyhocks. His bride of some years vanished and then may have returned with Ollie Mark Two-a shinier and more self confident exotic beast. Mind you it is difficult to tell one hen pheasant from another as they wear better than the males. Now after a period of fairly amiable confrontation Ollie Two has been seen off by the latest young Turk seen here strutting his stuff and eating his fill-when done simultaneously it must surely lead to severe indigestion. But now we suddenly have not one new...
The Mail must get throughHuttonian has posted before about the valiant efforts of Royal Mail, when not on strike, to deliver letters to the Old Manse, back of the sticks, despite the many variations in house names that our correspondents (mostly from south of the Border where Manses are not too common) use: Old Manic, Old Monie, All Monse, Old Moon,Owl's Mummy, Auld Manky, Awl Mace, but invariably the addition of Hutton (that is usually correctly written) makes it easy for Steve the Postie, (or Les on Thursdays), to track us down. The former Minister was uneasy about us using the Old Manse as she was in The Manse-or sometimes known as the new Manse, but in the event, this did not prove to be much of a problem except when we had a rookie Pat on the beat. Now the Manse, New Manse, formerly...
The Right Stuff'We are coming to empty your septic tank' said the cheery voice on the phone' (15-0) 'I have not got a septic tank' said Huttonian (Game and first set)) ' We are coming anyway. Be with you in twenty minutes' ( Final two sets and match)And they were. It was Scottish Water. And they wanted our cottages rather than the Old Manse and there is indeed a septic tank. I had forgotten that 5 years ago in a fit of panic after a major crap mountain crisis I had signed a maintenance contarct for the tank after Scottish Water had emptied it (or the rest of the contents which had not seeped out) Being a quiet day SW had decided on their own initiative to come and catch up with 5 years of effluent. Welcome. Carpe Diem. Problem. They had the 8 wheel mammoth tanker. It could not get up Kirk...
D DaySo today we take formal possession of our Duns property starting the slow and protracted (I suspect) metamorphosis from Huttonian to Reluctant Dinger-the reluctance pertaining more to leaving Hutton than actually being in ye olde towne of Dunse-as it was known until not too long ago-1882 to be exact. We will be spending a bit of time in a more or less empty house as various improvements are made and to sustain us for those long hours waiting for tradespeople to arrive we will gradually transfer the basic necessities of a nomadic existence: teabags,coffee percolator, kettle, 1938 Wisden, two teaspoons, 4 knives, forks and spoons, string, two Mugs -both 'Mugs from Muswell Hill--that was from yet another house ago.And to begin the paper work back ground reading we will have at hand the...
Cocky. Your days are numberedHowever early one gets up to make the tea in our **** kitchen Cocky, the mendicant Pheasant, often flanked by his hen bidees-near-the-same-bush-in, will be waiting beaks pressed against the glass. And they will demand feeding by stomping up and down looking fan tailed and eager until their breakfast of organically supervised mixed grain has been flung in their general direction.Today's (rather blurry)image is of Ollie, Cocky's senior consort, strutting off in high dudgeon after Cocky got to the breakfast first and was preventing any of the distaff side getting their share. The wife is worried that the next owner of the Old Manse will neglect bird welfare and is considering getting the brief to write in various 'burdens' into the legal documentation to do with...
Yes It's Still For SaleHuttonian said to the enquiring villager at the Kirk on Sunday. 'But's its been on the market for such a long time' 'Ten days actually'It seems a long time but we have had two couples over the house-one very keen, the other switched off once they realised that JR's Yard was visible from our bedroom window when the Ash trees had shed their leaves. And the distaff one was uneasy, indeed startled, at the prospect of having an old graveyard north of the house as if graveyards near Old Manses could come a such a surprise. 'Such quiet neighbours' did not seem to offer her much comfort. A third couple had to postpone but will be back and as I post people all the way from the deepest south-Peterborough-are hastening north to arrive on the most stunning Autumnal day you can...
Its That Old Manse againKnight Frank are selling an Old Manse which looks remarkably like Huttonian's. Worth a look-scroll down the page to the second property. And if ever there was a moment to get your pennies out of Northern Rock and put them into Borders' Stone. It is...
SHRINKING HORIZONShref="http://bp0.blogger.com/_rY3qa_8b3X4/Rs6xJgZOg8I/AAAAAAAAAZk/AnE3P5nfLlo/s1600-h/garden+001.jpg">A bloggee has asked what we will miss most after our move to the-small-house-in-Duns. The view from our kitchen in Hutton which was the main reason why we said snap to the Old Manse 10 years ago. Also the lack of light pollution-no escape from that in down town Duns.And the very small garden although pretty and manageable 'benefits' (as the Estate Agents insist) from stone walls-and if the weather it was finer you could see the war in China if it wasn't for the houses in between applies as well. A bit like Fishwick when Farmer's N and C have done their best although Dingers seem to have little appetite for McMansions. And Duns is intellectually stimulating (although it...
DingWell the Die is cast. Huttonian's offer for a -small-house-in-Duns has been accepted and sometime, probably later than earlier the move from the Old Manse to the new (well 1930s actually)establishment will take place. Huttonian farewell, Dinger hullo. 'Musings from the Merse' will still be appropriate but perhaps a new blog spot address: www.reluctantdinger.blogspot.com ? Reluctant? Yes we are not overjoyed about leaving Hutton but needs must when Times Winged Chariot Draws Near-time to leave a big house and a big garden for some more Saga friendly. So spread the word-magnificent house with marvellous Organic Garden soon on the market. Rush while stocks last. And in our case-buy one house, get two free.You know it makes...
Market OpportunityIt will soon be decision time about casting the mud of Hutton off our Fair trade Sandals and moving to fresh fields and postures new-ie Duns. First crunch is upon us and we will need to make up our minds about a-small-house-in-Duns within the next 48 hours-to bid or not to bid? If we do, step 2 will be putting the Old Manse on the market, Thanks to the junior son-in-law we have some nice images of the house-or at least as seen from the house to put on the brochure to be issued by Build, Flog and Run or some other reputable House Agent, the greedier, the better. The images above will make an admirable start to the portfolio What man, with an ounce of soul and a fat wallet could resist the prospect of lording over our wild organic meadow and viewing the amazing Hutton...
Blogging at the gallopThe gentle art of blogging requires total concentration and absence of worries about , for example how suddenly quiet the sitting room has gone. Has KB really finished watching the DVD on Fairy Godmothers/Princesses which was meant to occupy her for a whole hour and involves considerable careful preparation including dressing her for the role. Wand and all. Mr P can also be plonked -in his case in front of a computer where he can play games of imagination and terror with , fortunately the sound turned down as the music is 'too scary' He can also be diverted from, say, torturing his sister, by allowing his imagination to run riot through designing nuclear fuel enrichment facilities, complete with plutonium rods surplus to the Iranian programme, and in his case, not...
The Sun is blazing. The sky is clear. No wind. The Pheasant is dried out. The bushes are loaded with Raspberries, blackcurrants, Red Currants, Worcester berries, gooseberries-especially Red currants. The Wife has picked a large carton load; I have picked a large carton load-I have previously picked and frozen 4 bags fulls (Yes Sir Yes Sir) The bushes are still groaning. I am groaning.Come back rain.All is forgivenWhere are you when I need...
From Huttonian to Dinger?First step in a possible exit strategy from Hutton occur ed this morning when a surveyor called to value the Old Manse (Highly Desirable; inspection recommended; unrepeatable offer; hurry) Actually no hurry as we have yet to find somewhere to lay our head elsewhere; elsewhere being limited to Duns(Where they do have mains gas,a Sheriff, cable, shops, pubs,people in the streets,golf course,parks, a castle, tennis courts piscie church and possibly even beautiful Polish plumbers) The life of a pond rather than of a puddle.All the things which are good about Hutton are less desirable as time goes one. Too big a house, too big a garden,too small a village, too remote an isolation.So if anyone knows a nice smaller house going in Duns be sure to let us know-no Bungalows...
