Bud was the carpenter and handyman who built our barn. He'd never taken anything like this on before, and he really enjoyed the challenge. Then, just before it was completed, he had a heart attack and died. So this post is in memory of George Shiner, known as Bud to many Bradford households.
We tried to put our sustainability principles into practice in building the barn. The wood came from forest production at nearby Longleat. The tiles were rejects from a neighbour, who was re-roofing his house. And the windows were secondhand: the walls were built around them. And at the request of the planners, we organised a newt survey in case any wandering newts fell into the foundations.
But alas! the floor is concrete: did you know concrete is responsible for 5% of world carbon dioxide emissions?
If it's cold or wet when tour groups visit, we shelter in the barn, sometimes with a fire of hedge prunings. We do tidy up and move the tractor out first....