We have be cladded. Yes, yesterday was the day. We had three, or was it four, strong builders all working on our porch cutting styrofoam to the size needed, armed with measuring sticks and of course a spirit level to ensure that the finished wall was straight and had no inclinations. The No. 1 builder appeared and I made the suggestion that the various builders could sign on the styrofoam when it was finished as a record that they were here. He found 100 years would be too long to discover what was beneath the new surface when perhaps then our  building would be demolished to make way for something much better – who knows.

No, he made a better suggestion. He found when the job was finished some time in the distant future, probably Autumn (who knows) he would call all the builders together for a group photo that I could take. Afterwards the finished photo could be hung in the entrance of the appartment block for all too see. I am still thinking about it. Mr. Swiss finds I get on very well with the builders.

Of course mounting cladding is not easy, it must be done carefully and exact. When the size fitted, it was pasted with some sort of magical builders glue and mounted. Then came the precision work of hammering it in place with their hands to ensure the surface remained flat with no dents. This was precision work.

“Just a “mu” more”

“You think so.”

“Definitely.”

They now used pressure and were finished and admired the finished product. I was watching and could not resist clapping in appreciation. The turned and saw me, with camera hung on my shoulders and found the humour in the situation.

I have a new hobby, cloud shooting. I have taken photos of almost every cow in our area, every swan not to mention chickens. My collection of local castle photos is complete. I need something new. Taking photos of a building site brings surprises every day, but well built men drinking coca cola half naked on sunny days can also get boring.

Our clouds disappeared during the heat wave days, having only boring steel blue above. When the rains came it was 50 Shades of Grey and then the clouds returned. No cloud formation is the same as the last one. I mentioned something last week and one of my faithful WordPress disciples informed me that there is a Cloud Appreciation Society with a link in Internet. I immediately had a look, but discovered that the price of joining was too high for a 70 year old golden oldie. Had I discovered this possibility 20 years ago I would definitely have joined, got a badge to wear and all the goodies that went with it. I would also have a cloud a day entry in my mailbox. However, I can be a friend of the society, receiving a news letter now and again, and that costs nothing. For those interested here is a link Cloud Appreciation Society although it is not everyone that walks around with their head and camera in the clouds like me. At least I have something completely different for photos. At the moment there are no clouds, just blue skies.

And what shall we do today. It is time to move on, clean an appartment and especially a bathroom. I have no distractions today as the builders are now finished on my porch. although they send a good morning wave as they walked past to the next victims.

Here is another part of the local castle gardens to enjoy. Enjoy the day, I will be back this afternoon with more news from the Swiss outpost, when the builders say goodbye to each other.