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The Beermoth goes international.
A few months back Marie Clare Maison got in touch from Paris asking if they could come up to do an interiors feature on the Beermoth. Implausible as that my sound it happened this week, the photographer making her way from London, the editor all the way from Paris. The truck behaved, the weather behaved and we wait with fashionably baited breath for the results. An added bonus was that the Bothy Project (which they hadn’t seen in their research) was ideal for a small spaces feature that comes out in February and they went away with an iphone crammed with photos of the house for further inspiration.
Balancing out the Interior features with some holiday press, Red magazine were here to review the yurt on Monday and that spun itself out into another feature on the estate for the sustainable lifestyle magazine Sublime. In the meantime look out for the next edition of Jocks and Nerds magazine who swung by to take my portrait a month ago and until that comes out here is a review of the yurt from TNT magazine, and another little number on the truck, neither of which I had noticed coming out. My favourite in the burgeoning press folder is this elegantly constructed analysis of the of the truck from Architizer, if only I had I known I was breaking free from my structural and cultural fixities I might have put on a decent shirt.
And then it’s back to telly land. Of which more later.
George Clarke’s Micro Designs.
Last weeks most amusing distraction, apart from ragwort pulling, was a day filming with George Clarke the Restoration Man. He is making a series on Micro Designs which will be aired later this year. The Beermoth is the focus of this episode and seeing as we had a beautiful day and lots of (I thought) witty banter, it ought to be pretty entertaining. It also brought to light a few other projects we are considering that he would be keen to cover – of which more later…
Heritage Commercial
There’s a lot of motorised activity going on down on the farm this month and the Beermoth is once again setting the PR pace. Here she is with a 4 page feature in this months Heritage Commercial magazine. The niche nature of the publication will be offset later this month with a more fashion / interiors related piece and her first TV appearance.
She has been joined today by this very pretty Jaguar XK140, the folk staying in the ‘moth have driven it all the way from Hampshire in a 1950s motoring pilgrimage.
Bygone Drives.
Over the last few months our friends at Bygone Drives in Aviemore have been on my kind of buying spree. Do you need a Bentley, a Range Rover or a convertible MG while you are holiday? Of course you do.
The Bedford is back.
Regular readers, of which I’m sure there must be at least one, will know that I’m a sucker for a motorised project and may have already met this 1962 Bedford. Last year it starred in a movie called 500 miles north, in which it broke down a lot between Warwickshire and here. It’s very pretty but under the skin is a terribly botched conversion to Ford power. In order to finish the film in a few weeks we have to finish the camper, remounting the engine, fitting more suitable steering, rewiring it and generally making it nice. Hence Jimmy Whitmore is here, alternative fuels whizz, ace fabricator and the only mechanical person I know who would be totally unphased by the horribleness of the task. I have been known to speak too soon, and with the house rented out and the new estate office conversion at a midway point there are certainly more important things to do, but with Jim about a few of the inhabitants of the Inshriach abstract motoring stable may find their way back on the road over the next fortnight.
Back to business.
That being the serious business of gardening. The vegetable gardens were a little neglected in the run up to the Insider and by July the dock was head high, the nettles and ground elder fully rampant and the mint and currants and last years new fruit trees almost invisible behind deep grasses. Nothing that a couple of weeks attached to the strimmer and garden fork can’t sort out. Out of the 40 odd beds in the gardens we did at least manage to turn and till and rake the first 5 early in the year and get plug lettuces, purple broccoli and some peas in and now we are planning to turn and plant the rest as we go, with any luck leaving us with a bumper crop of hot leaves, rocket and other goodies late into the season.
The Insider.
Before life returns completely to normal here is a lovely memory from the Insider courtesy of the Paul Simon Treatment.
The Insider Olympiad.
That was a pretty special weekend of sporting shenanigans. Huge thanks to all of those who made it happen, the streams of volunteers, the lycra clad musicians and the many professionals beavering away behind the scenes to make it the best Insider yet. Gold medal for remembering that it’s a good idea to have lovely photos of such an event goes to Louise Bichan and just to proves that we weren’t making it all up here is a review from the Scotsman and Northings courtesy of Sue Wilson. Everyone’s a winner.
One week until the Insider.
Insider 2012 is nearly upon us, day tickets have pretty much sold out and weekend tickets are selling fast so if you want one get on the website and snap one up. At this rate there will be no tickets available on the gate but we are planning on keeping back an allocation of day tickets for anyone who can prove that they have a PH22 postcode (ie utility bill and ID). In the meantime here is the full line up to whet your appetite for next weekends sporting shenanigans.
Harry and Sophie.
Slightly belated Congratulations from all of us to Harry and Sophie who got married a few weeks back, many of you will know them for spending 18 months living in the dogshed here, helping us out and being generally lovely.
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