shedful of windows

Sea Area Malin southerly F5-7, increasing F8 soon, squally showers. Such is the prime daily directive. XC Weather showed very heavy rain at 4 p.m. and wind increasing to 36 knots. Our windows were due to arrive on the 2 p.m. ferry until the very efficient delivery company rang me and said it would be the 12 o'clock. Good - gave us an extra hour to offload if the 7.5 tonner could just get down the track. Robin was hustled to get the Manitou over to the plot an hour earlier than we thought and arrived pronto. The wagon had five big pallets of shrink wrapped very expensive double glazed windows and doors -heaviest pallet 800 odd kilos, largest pallet 2.3m x 3.1m x 1.2m. Headroom under shed doors 2.32m. Hmmm. Could Rob slide the pallets under the door and into the shed ? Could the truck even get over the very muddy and slippery track and down to the plot. Answer no on both counts. The truck skidded heavily on the cow slurried entrance to the track but the driver persevered and got 9/10 the way down and stopped at Ardailly Cottage - just 100m away. We offloaded each pallet, strapped it tightly to the Manitou pallet forks and Rob reversed them gently down the track to the shed. Small pallet - in no problem. Second pallet at 2.25m high could not get under the doors as the angle meant the top of the windows touched the lintel and diagonally opposite bottom would not clear the door step by 5cm. Miss as good as a nautical mile so we stacked the pallets up outside the shed. It was a little nerveracking getting the 3.1m pallet along a 3.2m wide track. but - all pallets were safely delivered by the island maestro of telehandler. By now it was 2:30 and the windows and doors were all outside the shed with the wind freshening to 20 knots or so. A couple of quick phone calls enlisted the aid of Lindsay, Jane and Andy (plus Lindsay's dog Ash and Andy and Jane's two kids) We would have to offload each window and hand ball it into the shed - largest 3m long 2.3m high and 120 kilos, heaviest patio doors maybe 180 kilos - about three tonnes in all. Within ten minutes Jane and Andy arrived on their quad and Jayne came down too. An hour and a half later everything was safely stacked in the shed, upright with spacers and screwed together. The wind began to come up very fast after about 3:45 and Jayne was left trying to hold the windows upright on the pallets as we removed the stapled fixings. Wee Brandon and Amanda were brought down by Lindsay after school finished and helped Jayne stop everything from blowing over as we carried them into the shed. We had one small 25mm scratch on one window frame as the total handling damage. Five minutes after the windows were safely in store, spaced and screwed together the heavens opened and a heavy squall rocked the shed. Andy and the two J's had headed off on their respective quads and got soaked. This is just in time delivery and logistics with a vengeance. Many hands do not only make light work but trusted friends really do take the pressure off. After badmouthing my contractor handsaws Lindsay might even buy me a better one for Christmas. Everyone who is helping us is part of a self builder's community here on Gigha. Nothing as naff as the big society - Gigha is a small rural community with as much strife and as many petty feuds as anywhere else and is certainly no role model - but some of us really do try and help each other as we are all in it together - and this is not just a meaningless apology for a slogan by the well to do in government. As well as being a stunning place to live our friends make it a place worth living. Curry night at Kinnererach soon.

Photos taken the same day the Turner prize shortlist announced and have a reflective and existentialist feel I think. Maybe our windows installation in the shed will be considered for next year - the £60k first prize would certainly come in useful.