Having completed the many and various works needed in remediation of my period of household abandonment, I can step back into the workshop with clear conscience to pursue my main passion.
TheWall refers to another passion; dry stone wall building. Around the cottage I have built about 75m of wall, predominantly dry stone, over a period of 40 years. The final part to be completed is a ludicrously massive semi castle/folly which I will finish next Spring.
It has taken so long because I apply the same thrawn principle to this as to my box making; I must do absolutely everything involved personally. This has meant collecting 75/80 tonnes of rock from the hillside above and carrying it to site. What has given added difficulty is that this basaltic rock has to be used as found, which means a lot of searching.
That said I have sufficient stone gathered for completion, which is adding another 18inches or so on top of the face behind me in the image.
To conclude; a short “poem” I composed recently seems apposite:-

On Looking at a Photograph of Myself.
I look at my photograph and there I see,
Time`s stealth slide ,looking back at me.
Though my youth, in mind, remains undimmed,
With exuberance, joy and vigour,
The reality is, quite sadly, this:-
My mortis has begun to rigor.