News from the Cottage

Builder boy

2010-11-05T09:19:00.000Z

A cool time. We're building a new regional HQ, I've been asked to help out on the design. I've only seen four other places like it. It's a real pity it is underground and nobody will see the work. In a year's time it will be covered by a skyscraper.

Holiday Ship

2010-05-14T15:29:00.000+01:00

I had a look over the plans for a passenger ship called the Silver Oak today. They are so complicated. Loads happening with the Foundation at the mo. We've finally moved into the cottage, my own rooms are great.

Spooks at my website?

2010-03-17T18:41:00.001Z

I've just been told by Deepa that some spooks have called Cyveillance Inc have been checking out my web site. I wonder why they were nosing around on there? It's there's nothing like secret on that website. Maybe they are just interested in the Foundation Cadets I belong to? And they have revisited today (18th March 2010)

Well that was interesting!

2010-03-02T08:01:00.000Z

I've been off line for a while. I've been away on a short "holiday". I've regained a friend and gained a tan. Along the way I've learned that girls can be highly sneaky.

Secret Tunnels under Hertford

2010-02-11T10:23:00.000Z

Ooops details of secret tunnels under Hertford released to the press. Someone will get very upset about that.

Duty calls

2010-02-04T07:23:00.001Z

I had to go to a meeting of the Guild Elders last night up in town. They always have one of the Sisters meet me in the tunnels and give a ride on their motorbike up to the entrance. It is amazing how the Moles never seem to spot them. Pretty boring really, the most difficult part is staying awake during the meeting. The Matriarch made it easy for me and told me what message I should be passing on to the Foundation. I still feel really weirded out by the ceremonial gown and stuff. So I got back to Chalfont really late last night and I’m feeling pretty wasted this morning.

Simon is well into the party organising, he and Gilly seem to be plotting something mega. Mum is getting a bit curious about what they are planning. Knowing Simon it will probably be best if the rents stay in this house on the night of the party.

Finally got a date for moving

2010-02-01T15:02:00.000Z

On current plans we get to move back into the cottage on 1st April 2010. Mum and Gilly are already planning a spending session to get new furniture, carpets and curtains. The Foundation insurance is going to pay for it, though I'm helping out through Dad. I guess I'd best warn Sgt Bates that some new stuff will appear on my black card. I'd best get party organiser Simon into motion.

Storms at the house

2010-01-28T07:17:00.001Z

We had storms in the house last night. I don't call the place home. It is not a happy house like the cottage was. Mum and Gilly were arguing about mum not letting Gilly go out with Bill last night. My dear sister tried to involve me in the argument seeing how Bill is one of my best mates, but no way am I getting between her and mum. I hid in my bedroom and played Thorn World and chatted on line to Barry and Deepa.

Not so good at home

2010-01-27T07:16:00.002Z

Things are looking a bit bad for Dad. The Garden Centre has lost business over the past few months and the owners are thinking about cutting staff. He may get made redundant and he's worried. He's not saying anything at home but I can tell that he's worried. He's over 40 and round here might find it difficult to get another job. Money isn't a problem because he owns the cottage (when it is finished) and I can help out from my funds. I think he will have real problems not having a job and meeting with people all day. I saw on the TV news that the recession has ended in the UK. Maybe the owners of the Garden Centre will be patient for a bit longer and wait to see if things pick up. Dad has worked for them for many years.

They are good people, they even took him back after he'd been arrested when the Drug Gang set him up.

Secret Stuff

2010-01-26T19:45:00.003Z

I had to go down to the building site after School. The Moles wanted to demonstrate the escape tunnel to me. They’ve fitted it out fully and fixed the security doors at each end. It is pretty much automated and is activated by Foundation Ring, though I’ll have a personal override code as well. With the lighting installed it is not so scary. You just lie on the trolley, push a button and it whizzes you to the other end. The escape hatch is really clever and quite hidden. The other guys at school would love it, but I’m not allowed to let them in there.
They showed me how the pumps worked if any water gets into the tunnel. There's even a standby battery system.

National Id Cards

2010-01-26T10:31:00.002Z

Oh whoopee doo the UK Government is inviting youth around London (16 -24) to pay £30 to have a National Identity Card and thus include yourself on their central database. No Way! Once you have one of those cards you have to keep the Government informed, for the rest of your life, of where you are living or face £1000 fines.

My grandfather told me what life was like when he was young. They had much more freedom from State intrusion then. There is way too much Government nosiness going on. Have a look at this website to find out more.

Helping out and routine

2010-01-25T15:13:00.002Z

I was able to help out with the earthquake appeal - though it was just working the phones in an office ringing people and getting them to contribute. It was another Company's turn this weekend to help at the logistics centre. The Foundation Cadet meeting was kinda focussed to how to set up field camps, kitchens, showers and latrines. We've already done the stuff on camp kitchens and how to make things like boilers from old oil drums, but it was good to go through it again. The controlling crowds bit was kind of eerie and makes you wonder what London would be like if there was an earthquake here. Our leaders are really convinced that the Armed Forces are no longer large enough to take control if there was a major disaster in this country.

Back to boring old school today and reality, though I've got to go to the cottage this afternoon with mum and check what the builders are doing with the the electricity cabling and water pipes. They are going to be installing air heat exchangers soon. All the stale air from the cottage will be filtered and have the heat removed for recycling in the winter. In the summer the air will be cooled through heat exchangers. The Moles say that in an emergency the cottage will resist a gas attack and stuff like radioactive dust/biological agents. The underground water tank used as a heat store can double to hold 20,000 litres of water.

Avatar tonight

2010-01-23T10:50:00.000Z

A quiet Saturday at last though I’m going to watch Avatar with Sally, Deepa, Simon and Darren this evening. Mom has gone shopping, Gilly is out with Bill and Dad is at work. No rugby team fixtures this weekend either. I’ll be down at the cottage site this morning checking out the building progress. The walls have now been poured and we have a first floor in place. By the time they have added the syntactic foam and stuff the walls will be about 60 cm thick. It is just a bit thicker than the old cottage so no one will notice, but it is like near perfect insulation. The builders are going to install the under floor heating pipes next week and the roof will be fixed too. That will have foam and stuff too to stop any bad stuff coming through the roof.

I’ll be really glad to get out of this temporary house. It just doesn’t feel like home.

Back to normal

2010-01-18T10:37:00.002Z

At long last the builders have restarted work on the cottage. They should have been there last week but all the snow made it a bit pointless. We checked the escape tunnel and that has stayed dry and undamaged. Also there was no water in the secure rooms. They will be pouring the walls and installing the metal shielding for the rest of the cottage this week. Then the roof goes on and it will be properly watertight. They are a couple of weeks behind schedule but we planned for that.

Meanwhile I’m at school doing stupid mock exams instead of being taught any interesting new stuff. It all seems such as waste of time but School Performance lists rule ok? Not! I could use my time better helping with the Earthquake Relief. I did get to drive a forklift truck. Random!

Shattered

2010-01-17T08:38:00.000Z

I've been working hard all night while we get the supplies ready for loading on to the plane. I can see a point to all the training now. I want to go out and help on the ground, but the command team say I'm more useful here getting things organised. I saw real body bags for the first time. We loaded 1000 of them. Amazing how important water tanks and toilets will be out there. You forget about that kind of thing in comfortable UK.

Earthquake

2010-01-15T19:24:00.003Z

It’s going to be a busy weekend. I’ve been called in by the Foundation to run a call centre for the disaster recovery planning following the earthquake. We are using our phone system and vehicles to help coordinate supplies. We are sending the lighter stuff by air, but also seeing what we can buy locally. I can see that my black credit card is going to be busy. This my first duty call as a Captain. Spooky that I’ll be telling men and women to do things.
AC

Holidays are too short

2010-01-04T11:40:00.001Z

Back to school tomorrow. Some of my Twitter friends tell me that they are already back at school. Going over to Ali's this morning. I didn't get to see much of him over the holidays. He wants me to tell him all about the expedition to Snowdon for the training session. I know he'd love to try these types of things but he is too young really and his blindness would mean that we need to have at least one person looking out for him, though it's no real barrier. I'm going over to Deepa's in the afternoon. Her mom will be around so I guess it will be "on best behaviour" all of the time. Then tonight I've got a meeting with Dad and the builders for the cottage. They want to check out the plans. They seem to want me involved, but I guess that down to my role in the Foundation. I don't know where the meeting will be.

I'm supposed to be "babysitting" Gilly because Mom & Dad are out. She doesn't need it really. Anyway she can get Bill to come round and look after her. [snigger]

Winter Training

2010-01-03T14:39:00.003Z

The call to go on survival training with the cadets was unexpected but it was really worth going on the trip. There were squads from 5 counties spread over a couple of mountains using different techniques. We did snow caves in the few places where the snow was deep enough. It took ages to dig the caves and it was really hard work. We got quite hot digging, even though the wind chill was around minus 20 degrees. Quite a cold night in the snow cave, but the sleeping mats and down sleeping bags kept us quite warm.

We watched a real life rescue with a helicopter in the Devil’s Kitchen near the Ogwen Valley. Somebody had fallen down the gulley while snow climbing. I heard later they were ok but had broken a leg.
AC

It's no joke - Survival training

2009-12-30T07:37:00.000Z

We had a a pretty good Christmas even though we are not in the cottage. Nice presents and even Gilly was nice to me. Yesterday though I got a call from Brian Harrison the cadet squad leader. "We are going survival training tomorrow. The snow around Snowdonia looks great. Are you coming Adam?" I explained to Brian that my house was warm and comfortable and that mom probably had loads of important stuff to do. He didn't answer. I just got silence on the phone until I agreed to go. So in 20 minutes time I'm off to the Cadet Hall to get kitted up with winter clothes then we go straight to Snowdonia by coach. He says we should be back by Friday.

Invasion of the cousins

2009-12-24T17:36:00.000Z

It seems like most of the Cranford tribe and the Telfords on Mum's side have decided to visit this afternoon and evening. I just think they all want to see their "famous" cousin - not. They all seem to know about the Scottish adventure, but thank god they are not so clued in to the drug gang thing. You can see them all wanting to ask me questions about it, but mum has warned them not to be nosy. It's a good job that I swore Bill to secrecy, but I don't know how long he will hold out against Gilly. She can be so devious when she wants to find out stuff.

So tonight I'll be a waiter serving stuff to the greater family, I just hope they go before midnight. After all we don't want to scare Santa and his reindeer away do we. No different from being at the Club really.

Fancy Dress b4 Christmas

2009-12-24T06:59:00.000Z

The meeting at the Guild on Monday night was just a routine thing. I had to go because of my new title. I got to wear scarlet gown, though I was not at all happy with wearing nothing underneath. All those old ladies knowing I just had the gown on and I was the only guy there. Now I have to tell the Elders about what happened at the meeting, but only what I'm allowed to tell. I dunno when I'm supposed to do that, because I've training days after Christmas.

Today is just wrapping presents and getting ready for the open day party as it is Christmas Eve. We do one every year and mum is insisting that we continue the tradition even though we are not in the cottage at the moment. Dad has escaped with the claim that he has to go to the garden centre staff party today. Gilly has been well skewered by Mum - she has to help in the kitchen even though she wanted to go out with Bill.

No rest for the wicked

2009-12-22T17:23:00.001Z

I thought it was going to be a restful week, but I've been called to go to a meet of the Sisters this evening. At least they are sending a car so I don't have to travel by rail. I think it is just their elders so I won't be seeing D & S there tonight. I dunno what it is about, but I suppose I'd best live up to my new title. I was going to wrap pressies tonight but I guess it will be Christmas Eve before I do that (as usual).

No hiding place

2009-12-22T06:56:00.001Z

Going to town and buying prezzies was epic. We got caught in a sudden snow storm just as we came home. The transport system just about collapsed because no one expected the sudden snow. We didn’t get back till 8 o’clock. It was a good job I had a mobile phone to keep the folks calm.

It is real strange living in a temporary house after living in the old cottage all my life. I’ll be really glad when it gets rebuilt. There seems to be nowhere to hide Christmas presents in this temporary house. I had to give in and ask mum where I could hide stuff away from the prying eyes of one sneaking blond haired sister. I do hope I got the right stuff that they will like. I can never seem to think of good presents and the real good ones are so expensive. I know I’ve got loads of money in the bank but I really don’t want to touch that money except for Foundation business.

Still I have got real nice presents for Deepa and Sally. I hope that Darren understands and doesn’t get jealous about Sally’s present. It is just that D & S did so much good stuff for me during the year.
AC

Christmas shopping

2009-12-21T06:46:00.001Z

I'm free from school for a while. Cool. I'm going shopping today with Bill Hetherington. I've managed to persuade mum and dad to let us go to London around Oxford Street. We can probably get the same stuff in a shopping centre, but just going up to town is going to be cool. Early start today to beat the main rush of shoppers so I'll be travelling with the commuter rats on the train today. Still I'm used to that with the trips to the Club near Pall Mall on Friday evenings. I still don't know what to get for Gilly as a present. I should have brought Simon along because he's an expert shopper.
AC

Chilled Sunday

2009-12-20T11:17:00.004Z

So yeah, there was a mega party at Sally’s after the Pantomime. Most of the cast from the show turned up and they all went a bit wild. A good job that Mrs B is tolerant. Sally had fixed it so that her folks moved out for the night even though the party was in the old cow shed behind their house. I sent some time with Deepa and Darren too. Simon got a bit wrecked. He is so outrageous at times. I saw him in town yesterday after the party. He did not look well. ROFL.

I actually have a day out from the Cadets. It is so close to Christmas that the leaders decided to cancel today’s meet. I bet they just want to get some extra Christmas shopping done.

Dad, Mum Gilly and me went down to the cottage site this morning to look at the building works. They’ve all stopped now as the builders take their Christmas break, they will be back in the New Year. Before they left, the CM's fixed the trapdoor for the basement in the pantry. It is good because it will keep nosey people out. Even now it is difficult to see the trapdoor unless you know where to look. The re-bar steel work is in place for the upper floor, but they didn’t pour any concrete because it was a bit frosty. Strange to thing that floor is going to be as tough as a bank vault wall. Mum and Dad are please with the work, Gilly was gloating because she got a bigger bedroom than me. We didn’t stay too long as Dad has got his old job back at the Garden Centre and is working today.

Yay - Parti!

2009-12-17T21:19:00.001Z

Party tomorrow night at Sally's after the School Pantomime. It should be crazi. Simon is well hyped at the moment, almost need to scrape him off the ceiling. He'll be so whacked on Saturday.

A penguin goes to rehearsal

2009-12-17T06:48:00.001Z

I watched Simon last night during the rehearsal. He looks weird when you see him in the full make-up like he’s made from plastic. He’s really good on stage and singing in front of people doesn’t seem to worry him one bit. He’s such an extrovert at times. I’m just relieved I didn’t have to go through with it myself, after all as everyone know I have a great excuse – Zombies can’t sing very well. Somehow despite my best efforts Deepa has got hold of some tickets and it looks like we'll be going on the opening night.

Someone emailed me about the heat pump system in our new cottage. Concentrate here’s the science bit. – It’s a closed vertical loop system with about 20KW capacity. There are four bore holes (15cm diameter) at each corner of our property. They each go down about 45 metres in depth. The pipes are filled with a kind of antifreeze liquid.

I was right about the rugby. It snowed on us and Mr Roberts showed no pity – we had to play. He said the ground was soft enough and if we kept moving we’d be ok. He wasn’t playing in the full back position like me! By the end of it I knew how penguins must feel in Antarctica.

Green Cranfords

2009-12-16T06:52:00.001Z

The new cottage is being built to be green. The cottage walls, ground floor and ceilings contain a thick layer of syntactic foam. It is hard like rock, but has mega heat insulation properties. They are a better insulator than a vacuum flask. The windows will be triple glazed so not only is the heat insulation good, but it will be deadly quiet inside the cottage. The builders have installed ground source heat pumps with deep pipes underground in the garden. The heating bill is going to be about a third or less of what it was in the old cottage. In fact most of the heat will come from our PC’s and the TV. Just think all this science and all Gilly is worried about is the colour of her bedroom walls and the curtains.

Today I’ve got rugby lesson in Holliston’s. I hope I’ll be good enough to get picked for the team. There was some talk about snow on the weather forecast. Maybe Mr Roberts the Games Master will take pity on us, but don’t hold your breath. Simon has got final rehearsals for the school pantomime. I have to stay after school and watch him or he will do evil things to me.

It looks like Alaric is having fun in the snow over in Vail in the USA.

Simon is impressed

2009-12-15T16:34:00.001Z

The CM's have lined the escape tunnel and installed the rails and the electrics. It is kind of early to do that but they wanted to be sure that the pumps were working in case there was any flooding. One thing they didn't tell me about was the standby generator and the battery back up for the cottage. It will be enough to power most things if the mains power dies. It will keep the tunnel operating 24/7 if needs be, but most of the time it will be never used except for the occasional test.

As Simon knows a little about me and the Foundation I've let him see the tunnel today. It is really clean and well lit in there but is pretty cold in there. He's really jealous of me having my own tunnel. If only he knew the full story. The CM's won't let me use it yet until the main build work on on the cottage is complete. They will be sealing it all up in the next couple of days so pretty soon no one will be able to guess that it is there. Even now the exit is well hidden. They have done an amazing job.

I guess I'd best get my homework done before Dad comes home. This temporary house we have got is ok but doesn't have that many rooms so he'll be making loads of noise and stuff later and I won't be able to concentrate. Gilly is out with a friend at ballet right now.

Deepa's weird music

2009-12-15T06:50:00.001Z

Listened to Deepa’s new trax last night. It was ok I guess. She’d mixed it ok, but I don’t see she what she’s gets out of Indian Blues (Asia by the way). I’m officially a moron for not understanding. I think Sally agrees with me, but she was to chicken to say anything to Deepa. You could see it when she pulled a face when D said she would play some more. Thankfully her Mum was due back real soon so I couldn’t stay too long.

There was a big family row about who goes where in the cottage when it is rebuilt. I’d assumed that we’d use the same rooms as we had before the fire, but I’d forgotten about the Fashionista Gilly. Eventually I caved in to get some peace. She gets my bigger bedroom and I get her smaller bedroom. I just she doesn’t change her mind once the paintwork is dry. Still she is forgetting about my new den in the basement, but I won’t remind her about that.

Ruggers in school today. I hope that it doesn’t snow. At least the mud on the field is soft and squishy. We’ll probly bring half the field into the showers with us after the match. Mom always says my rugby kit will destroy her washing machine.

Music night tonight

2009-12-14T16:30:00.008Z

Going over to Deepa's place, her folks are out though Sally will be there too. She's been busy compiling tracks with her new mixer software and wants us to listen. She's into Indian Blues at the moment. I guess I'll find out if that's American Indian or Pune tonight.

Visited the cottage again to check progress. They are rocketing ahead. They reckon they will finish the shell by Christmas, but the main builder will close down for two solid weeks so the CM's are not certain. They say at the very least it will be weather tight. Mom was well pleased with the progress though there are two things that she wants changing with the design. Now she tells us that she didn't like the design of the original kitchen!

Just a normal day.

2009-12-14T07:30:00.001Z

Wow the weekend went so fast. Getting up ready for school. Even managed to get all of my homework done ready for school. Maths today which is a good thing, but Chemistry is a bit of a downer.

Will be taking mum to the new cottage site today. We've kept her and Gilly away whilst the most important underground building work was done. Except for the underground bit the cottage is the same size as the old one except that it is a whole lot tougher.
AC

Cold Sunday

2009-12-13T17:44:00.001Z

Isn't it cold today with the wind coming from the North East. Mom reckons we'll see snow this winter. Hasn't she heard of global warming? She was brought up in the country and her family have always been country folk. I swear that she has grass growing in her hair at times.

Foundation cadets was pretty routine today, though the film and discussion session was about the plans by the government if the City of London is hit by a terrorist dirty bomb. Pretty scary stuff really. We are going to be trained and do test exercises to do our own part in the rescue if that really happens. The really frightning part is the very limited amount of resources available to the government if things do go pearshaped.
AC

Saturday - freedom again.

2009-12-12T09:28:00.000Z

Mom and Gilly are off to do their final Christmas shopping. They are going to Westfield shopping centre. I think they are absolutely crazy. It will be packed. I'm going to do my shopping next weekend. Today I'm going to chill with Billy, maybe show him round the work they have done on the cottage. The CM's are trying to get the roof on before the weather "gets too bad" - Lol. If we haven't had bad weather with all the rain I'd h8 to see what they call bad weather. As it is they've been using water pumps on the site. Next week they'll be casting the foam armour on the walls. That will make the walls real thick like the old cottage. I guess that will keep the English Heritage people happy.

2009-12-11T19:47:00.000Z

School was boring today. For some reason Simon was not in a very good mood. I think he has problems at home or the Panto is not going right. The teachers are kinda winding down for the Xmas holidays but still making nasty noises about mock exams not too long after Xmas.

Visited the cottage re-building site after school before rushing to catch the tube to get to London tonight. The CM’s have mounted a pair of small rail tracks in the floor of the escape tunnel. It is not very large diameter so you’ll have to lay on something like a Luge to use the tunnel. It will be powered, though they say you can do it manually. I can’t wait to try it out, but even though I’m the boy paying for all of this work (well the Foundation really) they still wouldn’t let me try it out.

ps the Kindle version of Company Mole is on sale here. Alaric has just sms'd me to say some sold today.

Routine night tonight - Foundation Work

2009-12-11T14:12:00.000Z

I'll be off to London via London Underground this evening for routine servitude at the Club as part of my Foundation duties. I'm beginning to to get used to the journey now, though it is a bit of a rush to get ready after school. The other cadets think I get it easy, if only they knew what it is really like. The members can be really childish over tiny things. You would find it hard to believe that they are important public figures outside of the club.

My first Blog

2009-12-10T19:28:00.000Z

This is my first web log. Amazing that it has taken so long. I did get a nudge from Deepa who said I should come out of the Stoneage. She is such a geek at times.

Anyhow, just got back from the building site where they are rebuilding the cottage. The secure rooms in the basement have been built, but not plastered or anything like that. The security firm fitted the armoured door to the secure area. It must weigh a couple of tons and they had to leave part of the ground floor open until they had fixed the door. It is all damp down there with temporary lighting and stuff. Pretty gloomy but at least the smell of burnt cottage is starting to go away.

I managed to shine a light down the escape tunnel. It seems to go on forever but the Moles say it not all that long. They will start to put the inner lining on tomorrow. The concrete segments from the burrowing machine are all locked in place.