2013 'n' all that

It is 2nd January and has just stopped raining. We have to feed the sheep today and try to get the rest of the kit moved to a totally dry place as some panels have got wet this last week or two. Funnily enough we have had virtually no pure westerlies this autumn so the stored kit has been protected from the worst of the weather up til now. 

We do have enough bits of kit to put up the small 9m roundhouse which was to be the annex and then try to get it finished and move into it during 2013. As we do not have enough funds left from the damage done by Mr Tim Allan this will have to be finished as and when, unless there is a minor miracle.

2012 was a very bad year for us as, after we lost all the kit money and struggled to get some kind of justice or redress, we had major problems getting the missing splines made up for the kit due to supplier issues. We really have had far too many problems with building industry suppliers of whom a considerable number who seem to be ripoff merchants, unreliable, unable to meet the required quality or have poor customer relations.

We are still amazed that the law offers no protection. Anybody who knows how to play the system can run a business into the ground, either through incompetence or by corruption and will get away with it. Lets hope we make some headway with the powers that be in 2013 as their disinterest, unwillingness to act and lack of concern has been stunning up to now.

one step forward....two steps back

It's mid November and we've been thwarted in our efforts to get the 9m roundhouse kit erected before 'fall breaks and back to winter' as the bard had it. Too risky once we had missed the summer window we had available.
It's all stored under cover now till Easter.

We've been equally thwarted in our efforts to get the sewage plant in the ground, concreted and backfilled.  Sadly the water table rose after a weekend of heavy rain in late summer and won't lower enough till Spring for us to pump out the hole, install the plant and backfill it before filling with water again.

We can't move forward until we can save enough to get the 9m kit up and the work situation has been a total farce this autumn. After two months teaching Maths, and I really  do enjoy working at CGS,  I made a change in direction to forestry management (as it was a permanent contract),  only for the Scottish government canceliing all the environment/management schemes I was going to work on, two days after I started.  Job over. It is actually a fair  more complicated than that,  but the full story is for another day.

This was the job that was going to allow us to get our mortgage and build back on track, so we really are two steps backwards. We can't decide whether its Jayne or I who did something really bad in a past life to deserve the terrible run of luck we are still having.
.
Still getting a few new people contacting me about Tim Allan, other people who have been ripped off by him, either trades or clients. He has left an awful  lot of people much worse off as a result of his dodgy business 'methods'. I've been told he moved house soon after the TV feature, and there are certainly a good few people trying to catch up with him.  He has certainly destroyed our project , irreparably for the time being.  He is still  working in the SIPS business,  for another company in Glasgow. His employers, SIP PMC, know of his track record. Strange world the construction industry. It certainly  seems to attract a very high proportion of cowboys.

RIP OFF BRITAIN

The RIP OFF Britain episode with our story is due to be aired 
on BBC one on MONDAY 10th SEPTEMBER at 0915 am

It will be available to play on i-player for one week.

Update

Please go to our new post   "Better Late Than Never"  dated 12/4/13.

http://ardaillyecoroundhouses.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-power-of-publicity.html

Update

Please check post "Better Late Than Never"

http://ardaillyecoroundhouses.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-power-of-publicity.html

sheep

We've got three ewes, three gimmers (year old females) and six lambs on the croft. One of our gimmers was 'got at' by the tup last autumn so we have just have our sixth lamb. Hebrideans are all black, very hardy, don't need winter hay and are excellent mothers. 
Our sheep have escaped into the plot a couple of times but have only eaten one of the new trees, Strangely they polished off the mint patch which gives us an interesting choice of supplementary feed before they got for the freezer. Hebridean lambs don't go for slaughter until their second year, unlike most types which are only 6 months old when sold on.

It's good to see stock on the croft and the lovely traditional hay pastures getting grazed properly.

The next stage of running the croft is a planning a coppice planting scheme which will provide for all our fuel needs for both the Mill and our house. We'll plant mostly ash, but strangely there is sweet chestnut on the croft in a small copse planted about twenty years ago as an experiment.

Timeshare on a croft overlooking the Hebrides

We have decided to look for eco-partners to help us complete our build. We are offering a deal whereby folk will get an annual booking during the holiday season in our small roundhouse for a number of years - we think five years is probably about right. You'll overlook the Sounds of Islay and Jura, be able to swim or fish from the rocks by the Mill, help us manage the croft, walk the fantastic west coast of Gigha, watch wildlife, explore the archaeology nearby and just be able to relax in a truly fantastic setting. In return you'll put your rental upfront so we can refinance our kit after the disaster of being defrauded by our kit manufacturer, leaving us crippled in terms of being able to finish our life's dream project. The satisfaction of helping us pioneer a new type of building, uniquely engineered and designed to nestle into the landscape yet be warm and bright and ecologically sound is just another benefit of joining us.
We'll make sure everything is done properly.
If you want to follow us on our journey so far, then check out our website  at http://www.ecoroundhouse.co.uk/ and catch up on our story on this blog - there are 143 posts before this one...so give yourself a bit of time...
We'll need about a dozen like minded people to allow us to move forward, though we do expect to be able to buld the 9m roundhouse in the next couple of months
Email me on flit@gigha.org.uk or text me on 0788 758 3988

Smile

We have just welcomed a BBC film crew to Gigha for a two day shoot. 

Izzie was the star in the setting shots, racing along the Queen's beach, chasing the waves. It took an hour or so to get maybe 10 seconds of eventual screen time.

We filmed at the plot on the first carnivorous evening of the year - the midgies taking an early spring outing in the calm warm evening, biting us all without fear or favour.

The view to Jura was superb and the sun set over the Sound of Islay as we finished shooting, to the delight of the crew.  Not quite as many gorgeous sunsets over Salford docks as from Gigha.

We cooked Chinese style and ate late. Thankfully stir frying is quick. A few bottles of Chinese beer followed and we planned the next day's shoot.

Friday was detailed interview day. The rule of thumb is one minute of broadcast time per hour.  It took all day. We did several takes of each segment to allow for close ups, wide shots and cock ups.

The whole process brought back the difficult and unhappy sequence of events of last Autumn and Winter.

 

All the issues were outlined and will be aired. 

We'll post when transmission is due - we expect to be featured in early Autumn.

I'm not going to spell out any more detail now.

You'll just have to wait and see.

TIM ALLAN - FAMILY MAN

This afternoon, Tim Allan walked into Milngavie Police Station.
Did he confess his sins, admit to defrauding us and come clean to the Police ?
Did he tell all about how he did business, lying to his clients to get them to part with their money knowing he couldn't deliver ?
Had he had a sudden flash of conscience about how he did business ?
Did the desk officer hear those Scouse tones: "All righty, I've come to admit to some seriously bad business dealings. I've done a lot of bad things and a lot of people have suffered"

No sadly not.

Tim Allan , ex-Managing Director SIP Construction Company, now with SIP PMC and all round Family Man went to the Police to make a complaint that I had threatened his family. Specifically his wife and daughters. Now why would he do this ? The letter - extract included below - was written on 29th January, almost three months ago, asking him to refund our kit costs or supply the the kit. Some threat - if it took that length of time for him to make his complaint.
I explained to the policeman who rang me up that they would be better arresting him for fraud and deception or at the very least for wasting police time.

The relevant extracts of the letter are copied below. Blog followers, if you read it carefully you will realise we will stop at nothing. We will even threaten him with his own lack of morality.

" I’m not going to appeal to your honesty or integrity, or comment on the breach of basic trust. Nor am I going to issue threats. We will not get involved in any kind of revenge campaign. We are simply asking you to refund our losses."

"I pointed out to Ken Tait that your primary legal duty as Director is to your creditors. Well you have a moral duty as well. This must be to Catriona and your daughters as well as your creditors. There is a very high risk that you will face criminal charges and a custodial sentence while we remain creditors. This can be avoided. If we are paid back or the kit is supplied then clearly, no offences will have taken place."

Ken Tait is/was Mr Allan's accountant and the only official route to communicate with Tim Allan as he has gone to ground.

Now, for the avoidance of doubt let me make it absolutely clear. We have not threatened Tim's family. Nor will we. We are just not like that. We know he has had debt collectors round knocking on his door all hours - but that is the result of his actions. There is a fair chance he might be doorstepped by any number of creditors or their agents.

We are deeply offended you should judge us by your own standards Tim. Yes, we know where you live, and yes, we do know an awful lot about you, much more than you are comfortable with for sure. Your Facebook picture isn't even funny.
But to tell you the truth, the biggest threat to your family is your own conduct, Tim.
You could have answered our letter, you could have tried to make sure we got our house kit but no - you just ignored it and hoped we'd go away. Pay us back Tim. Then we'll go away.

TIM ALLAN - Tax

All round cowboy builder Tim Allan has been a very naughty boy. SIPit Scotland was put into liquidation by HMRC and evidently unpaid tax was the key factor. We have been informed that he has been doing a Craig Whyte recently - that is deducting PAYE and NI from his employees over the last few years but not passing it on to the taxman. He had quite a few employees so it'll be a tidy sum defrauded from HMRC. For those of you who have not heard of Craig Whyte he is the man who bought and broke Rangers FC - another thoroughly dodgy character.

Be interesting to see HMRC vs TIM ALLAN /SIP Construction Company as a parallel prosecution to the Rangers case. The main difference is that Rangers have assets. Mr Allan made sure he had none so his creditors get nothing. Mind you the satisfaction of his wife Catriona and daughters having to visit him in Barlinnie would only be a pyrrhic victory. We're still wondering why he didn't get disqualified as a Director years ago.