Douglas has an Accident

Jon has been busy in recent weeks constructing tees around the course. He has finished 3 of these on the 9th but has a little problem on the lower 5th tee when Douglas the digger broke through the surface crust and started to sink. Fortunately Jon was able to hook the bucket around a tree stump but not before the machine was submerged up to the cab.

After escaping through a window, Jon enlisted the help of local resident John W Sinclair who with the assistance of a co-worker and a big digger managed to rescue Douglas. A huge thank you to these chaps for coming to the rescue. Luckily no damage was done and both the lower and upper tees on the fifth are now complete.

Thank you

A big thank you to all those people who have contributed so generously and in so many ways to the project.

From greenkeepers who have lent equipment and given advice, friends who have made an investment, the staff of the Brahan Estate to Claudia and Jon's neighbours who toot their horns and wave as they drive past. There are people who have called in person to have a look, battled through snow and ice to lend a hand and who show interest from afar.

To each and everyone of you, we are extremely grateful and hope you have a very happy Christmas and fabulous New Year.

The picture is of the new Brahan Golf Club flags which have been very kindly given by friend in the USA. They arrived at the end of October and look amazing. I can't wait to see them out on the course.

Family Cesspit Project Part 2

Having moved the various concrete beams, Jon and Alisdair set about removing the first few rows of breeze block. They wanted to do this so that the top of the walls would be covered by a reasonable depth of soil and therefore not visible when grassed over. The pit had been well constructed and this proved to be the toughest job but they worked out a system using a lump hammer and pickaxe. We were all quite amused when Jon was splattered by a brick dropping into the depths of the solid tank. Alisdair saw it coming and I have never seen him move as quickly!

Continuing the recycling scheme, the concrete beams were layed across the entrance to the garage which had become very muddy.

Jon filled in the pit with some of the rubble from the shower block. The soil that had been dug out of the ground originally was piled to the side of the pit and was used too. Jon intends to make a grass bunker feature hence the depression.

So that was our holiday project and we hope you have found it informative.

Family Cesspit Project Part 1

On our visit to Scotland in October we were keen to help out again and Jon suggested that filling in the cesspit would be a fun project. This was located in the first fairway alongside the remains of the shower block.

After a quick lesson on cesspit design....the waste goes into a tank where solids settle out. Liquids flow into another tank from where they run out into a soak away and eventually the ground. Periodically the solids need to be taken away. When we started the excavation Jon had located the soakaway but wasn't sure where the liquid/solids tank was and if it had been emptied.

The first task was to clear away the fencing and all the overgrowth around the area.

That done, we uncovered a breeze block lined pit divided into three sections, the soakaway, liquid and solid tanks. To everyone's relief, the latter had been emptied. The pit had been capped with concrete beams and the picture shows Alisdair and Jon removing one from over the solid/liquid tanks ready for loading into the Cushman truck.

Keen as always to recycle as much material as possible, Jon and Douglas (the digger) removed several cubic metres of large gravel from the soakaway.

The final job before the area could be filled in was the rescue of four frogs from the liquids tank. Jon very bravely climbed down into the pit to scoop them into a bucket before Claudia released them by the stream.

We also found a fork, toothbrush, orienteering punch, batteries and various other rubbish which we disposed of properly.

To be continued

Loch Brahan

On my last entry I said that there was a puddle on the first fairway that would need some drainage works. Well unfortunately it has now grown into a full blown water feature which has been christened Loch Brahan...pictured below. Elsewhere on the course, Jon has borrowed some sheep from the farm next door to trim back some of the rough. With the weather having turned much colder, he is hoping to do the last cut of the season any time now and put the mower to bed for the winter.

Long Overdue Update

A bit of a break from the blog as I have been quite busy recently with various bits and pieces including a trip up north to see Jon & Claudia. Even though it has only been a couple of months since we saw the course, we could see plenty of progress. The picture was taken in August looking back down the first fairway towards the tee and the ninth green. All the tufty bits of grass have now gone and the fairways look great. The only problem is a rather large puddle roughly where my children are standing that will need a drainage solution. This has been caused by a deluge of rain during the last few weeks. I have some new pictures to upload over the next few weeks and look out for details of the family cesspit project!

Screaming!

It has been pouring with rain in Tollie during the last few days, in fact Monday was so miserable that Claudia & Jon spent the day in the office doing paperwork. Despite a drop off in temperature, the grass is still growing strongly and is quite difficult to mow when wet. Very frustrating and it brought to mind the sculpture pictured left. This was carved into a tree stump by expert woodsman Willie when he visited at Easter and reminds us of Munch's picture The Scream.

To remind everybody of the lovely summer months, the second picture is of teabreak time. We had been giving the fifth green its second cut having first raked off the cuttings from the previous mowing.