Work days 24 & 25 March 2012 Saturday Paul and Jean, Lee and Susan arrived at the house around 11.00 am. The workmen hadn't finished so the scaffolding remained in place. Paul had brought some flashing material to ensure the flat room of the kitchen was well sealed. When he was doing this he noticed that the hopper was clogged with debris and this was causing a problem for good water drainage. He proceeded to clear this and place some chicken wire across this to prevent a build up of debris. Jean and Susan cleared away the rubble at the back of the house and the rocks and bits of loose cement Lee took away in the wheelbarrow to the side garden to help with the levelling of the land and sifted through for large stones which will help to hold posts into place throughout the garden. A fire was lit in the middle garden to dispose of all the old cupboards pulled out from the kitchen. After this, Lee raked over the small fruit garden and planted some redcurrent plants. This means we have cherry, blackcurrent, gooseberry, strawberry and raspberry plants there for a second year. Part of the side garden in the middle garden was cleared and a lovely little area exposed for a bench to be placed. A little sunspot for anyone needing a rest from work in the garden! Sunday Lee and Susan returned. 4 bags of soil had been donated and collected from Tameside Freecyle and these were banked to one corner of the side garden for a later date. It is envisaged that the side garden will be the only landscaped/formal garden of the 1.375 acre garden but this would not take place until next summer and will be our main outdoor project for summer 2013. Much of the rubble had helped level the middle section of ground but the ground is very uneven and will require more building up and levelling off. The alpine garden and bog garden were watered given that it was 23 degrees C today. Chippings were also made from dead twigs and branches lying around the grounds and these were scattered over the pathways. The greenhouse definitely needs to be cleared out and cleaned - but this is a job for another day!