The Kitchen Project is Completed

July 2014

Apart for a few minor items the kitchen is now complete after starting in January !!!!!!

Doreen is very pleased and after she learns how to use the new appliances, Geoffrey is expecting some gourmet meals.

Kitchen progress week 1

We are now at the end of an exciting week of activity on the kitchen project, Chris and Kevin have started on the installation and seems to be progressing well (see photos below).

Day 0 -The units were delivered.

Day 1 - First Fix.

Day 2

Day 3 - Doors and inserts underway.

It is now Friday 13th. June (oops !!!) and the fitters have finished for weekend and will return next week to install appliances door handles etc.

Doreen is combing through the cookery books and promising to cook some fantastic meals, although she may be a little out of practice as she has not cooked for nearly 6 months !!!!

Kitchen Project Phase 2

24 April we returned fully relaxed from our 55 day holiday to find that the fairies had not finished the kitchen whilst we were away and the Electrician had been booked to start first fix 28th April.

So after 3 days non-stop washing/drying all our holiday clothes the electrician arrived on time.

The rubbish built up in the back garden, but two days hard graft by Geoffrey and a six yard skip it was soon gone.

Resorted to the help of a plasterer to box in the support beams, create false ceiling and plaster walls (money well spent, thank you Neil) meanwhile Geoffrey relocated plumbing to kitchen and the new toilet, including boxing in the electrics to the new toilet.

We seem to be on the homeward run now, with painting and decorating getting underway with help from Andrew with coving (thanks Andrew)

We are now relaxing after a hectic 5 weeks since our holiday (seems more like 5 months) waiting for the kitchen units to be delivered tomorrow for installation starting next week. 

Kitchen Project Phase 1

We thought you would be interested in an update of progress on our new kitchen project started during January 2014.

After reviewing various schemes ranging from a quick paint over , to a major extension across the back of the house, we finally decided on a scheme involving knocking the existing kitchen and utility room into one and relocating the downstairs toilet to the hall utilising the old larder.  So decision made we embarked on the project in January.

First job for Geoffrey was to remove the existing units and tiling and making good the damage around windows, a major job as the walls were tiled from floor to ceiling. 

Geoffrey rigged up a temporary sink arrangement so that Doreen could continue cooking etc. using the fridge,microwave, electric wok, kettle, larder all relocated into the conservatory !!!

Next job for geoffrey was to demolish the old doorway into the kitchen (including a very large concrete lintel weighing 100kg ) then rebuilding in new location. 

We then decided to get some help knocking out the wall between the two rooms and installing a new support beam.

It was now nearly the end of February and work came to a halt whilst Doreen and Geoffrey went on a well earned cruise from Shanghai back to Southampton via Asia and South Africa, see blogs above.

Lisbon

Lisbon

21^st April

Unfortunately we had an emergency call into Teneriffe en route from Cape Verde to Lisbon.  This was because there was a member of staff who was taken seriously ill that morning.  We all hope he will be OK.

On Easter Sunday the galley had made a beautiful display of Easter Eggs, which we looked at prior to going to a formal dinner in the Alexandria Restaurant.

Despite the delay at Teneriffe, the Captain made up the lost time and arrived on schedule into Lisbon.  Our berth was just upstream of the Lisbon suspension bridge built by an American company and modeled on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  Also near the Bridge was a statue similar to the Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, but this time not shrouded in fog. 

Our tour today was entitled Lisbon by Land and Water, where we boarded a luxury boat for a two hour trip up and down the shore line of Lisbon on the River Tigres.  The trip included a light snack consisting of sandwiches and Geoffrey’s favourite custard tarts, that Portugal is famous for.

After a pleasant and relaxing trip we re-boarded the coach for a tour of the town, where we elected not to return to the ship but to be dropped off in the centre of town to explore at our leisure.

After an hour wandering around the streets admiring the architecture, the squares, and of course the shops, we stopped at a roadside restaurant for a cool beer and Mozarella salad.  We took the opportunity of a free wi-fi connection to Facetime both Nicola and Andrew, although it was difficult to hear due to the incessant noise from the various street buskers. 

After spending the afternoon exploring more of this beautiful city we stopped at a local café for a coffee and three more of those famous custard tarts, whilst using the free wi-fi to listen to Charlton beating Sheffield Wednesday 3-2 to secure a valuable three points.

Reluctantly we had to return to our ship to start our final journey back to Southampton .

We arrived safely at Southampton and struggled ashore with our 6 cases plus hand luggage and bags to be met by Tom who drove us home (thanks Tom), where we had a reality check- despite us dreaming the fairies had NOT finished the new kitchen whilst we were away!  Oh we!l !! we have had a wonderful trip with many happy memories.