Just posted Part 16 on the Brick Stories page. I realized this morning I’m seriously behind and not even sure whether I’ve even posted it already, though could not find it.
The crew having their Saturday barbecue … read the chapter in Brick Stories
The Canteen restarted finally … bringing the stuff back to the canteen pad …
The site as it stands. Work has begun on the canteen. Naturally there are some quibbles and quarrels.
Trish wants her cabin up asap.
Boz asks her where with his most irritating logic.
Tim wants to get on with it already.
Dan wants to go salvaging.
Drew stalks around looking inscrutable.
Nin Wizard is agitated and hops here and there with his teacup.
Nin’s younger brother and his crew have almost finished the Stone Dragon Teahouse with just the five of them … a fact Jed points out at least three times a day.
Big try out this … it’s a bit rough, but at least we’re back in the game … forgot the title I see. It’s part 16 … OK, no I see it in the header. And sorry, forgot to take my notes for the template from the end. I said it’s rough.
Bag 1 is done.
After balcony gardening for an hour this afternoon, playing with Moggy in between ten or twenty moves, thought I’d start on my Lego new project.
It’s my first set aimed at adult fans and promises to show me some new building techniques among other good things.
Now to try and fit it into Bosley & Co’s world. I bet there’ll be some disbelief, and even resistance. Because this thing looks bigger than any place they have up to this point.
Still, who could resist a …?
15. The Bunkhouse
Finally the day arrived when Bosley felt ready to put together the bunkhouse. He now had all the necessary elements stored here and there, and there was no reason, not even inclement weather, to hold off any longer.
He, Drew and Dan and Dan’s trusty four-wheel drive moved the components of the shadoof to the garage. While Drew helped Bosley put the shadoof together, Dan fetched the front beam to tie the side walls together and support the roof over the garage.
Drew and Dan between them managed that hiccup without Bosley’s input, though none were happy with the lack of control over the vertical movement. “Which is the bit that does the lifting, after all,” Drew said.
“Hmm,” Bosley said. “Think I’m going to need a lever. Have a holiday, Dan. It’s back to the drawing board.”
Dan went away and a little while later returned with Nin Wiz and the most northerly wall balanced on the truck. They stood it ready. Went back to fetch the south wall. Bosley and Drew took the shadoof arm off the upright frame and threaded a lever handle onto it. Stood the contraption back up.
With Nin Wizard supporting the walls as they were raised, the work proceeded so smoothly that Drew quite forgot to take the snapshots they’d decided on. He only remembered when Bosley said, “Stop. Wait.”
“What?” Drew said.
“I’m not happy about that window hole,” Bosley said. He pointed.
“We only have windscreens and French doors in our window store,” Dan said.
“Fine,” Bosley said. “In making do, we’ll invent something better.”
“We’ll sling a tarp and sleep up here,” Dan said. “I like what you did in the corner.”
Next morning, while Dan, Drew and Nin raised a further two courses of bricks on the walls so that people wouldn’t hit their heads on the ceiling, Bosley invented his preferred front window using a glass door on its side and a few modified blocks.
After re-installing the shadoof, the front wall was lifted into place.
Then the furniture, with Drew back on the drag-line.
“Let’s celebrate!” Trish called. She brought a stack of cups and mugs while Tim followed with the bubbly. They admired the bunkhouse, Bosley & Co’s first permanent dwelling, and partied into the night.
And after they went to bed, nobody got any sleep, Nin Wizard so busy with his build.
Clatter bang rattle! Something fell a long way down.
“What was that?” Dan grumbled.
“You’re all right,” Drew said. “Sleeping in the bunkhouse. I’m just lucky it missed me!”
Next morning, they one by one climbed the two and a half ladders to compliment Nin on his new abode, and exclaim politely over the corner-post that had clattered all the way to ground-level.
Nin shrugged. Ran out of magic, he indicated. Only Trish stayed to plan the new bathroom annex and her and Nin’s share-garden, and have a cup of celebratory tea.
14. The Stairs Go-to Crew
Bosley studied the staircase Tim put together to get people to their accommodation after the complaints about the ready-made he conveniently installed at the end of the block right by his and Trish’s quarters, with no access by anyone else.
He shook his head. Nice staircase but a heavy use of materials. And bulky. And not used now that that half of the crew were absent. Wendy and Jackie were at the hospital, Wendy at her midwifing. Dan was away somewhere salvaging. And Jed … Who knew if he’d even turn up again.
Think we scared him off. Not a happy young man. Just the six of us here, counting Nin Wiz who is a silent fella, Ruff who is not a noisy type either, Trish, Tim, Drew and me.
He looked around. Drew stood on the hardware store’s front terrace, gesticulating. Hard at work discussing the hardware store’s fire-stair with Ms Bee and Ms Sander that looked like. All three engrossed in the discussion.
Bosley listened for the rest of the crew. He heard Tim and Trish discussing the next stage on their cabin with a throw-away comment every so often at Nin. Sounded like they were all quite busy too.
He chuckled at the offending staircase. So I’m safe disappearing this object of despair? Object despite that it couldn’t be shifted without breaking it down. Despair because of the heartache the building of it caused the builder. Disappear because it’s in the wrong place, takes up too much space and I need it gone.
With each thought he jimmied off a tread. Stacked them back in Tim’s container. Then he fetched a brick separator and levered off bricks starting from the top. The clattering of the blocks on the ground brought only Ruff.
What idea haven’t I used yet to get a good stair go-to crew? Bosley ruminated. Well, I know we already have him, it’s just that he’s hiding his talents under a constant stream of denials. So. Idea?
“Before we begin on the bunkhouse,” Bosley said next morning. “I’d like for us to put together a semi-permanent stair or ladder to get to the top of the walls. Who’s going to give that a go? Drew?”
“Drew?” Drew said. “Drew gets to build the stairs?”
“What?” Boz said in an injured tone. “I thought you said that way back. That you wouldn’t mind being the stair-go-to guy?”
“I really really don’t remember that,” Drew said. “What about Tim?” he said at Tim, who just arrived at their little confab.
“What about Tim?” Tim said.
“Nope,” Bosley said. “Tim put his hand up for the freshwater supply.”
Tim spluttered. Changed tack. “This is about stairs? I saw you pointing. Shouldn’t be too hard to install a ready-made since we already have the scramble stair. But …”
“With Ruff the only user?” Bosley interrupted.
They all looked at Ruff scrambling up the uneven bricks, plates and tiles rising to roof-level.
“I don’t know how he doesn’t fall,” Drew said.
“I think Nin helps him to not fall,” Tim said.
“I want to see that, that ‘shouldn’t-be-too-hard’,” Drew said.
“Fine,” Tim said. “I’ll do the ready-made, you do a …whatever. A thing with which we can with our best foot forward rise from a floor to the floor above.”
“May the fastest man win the go-to-stairs moniker,” Bosley said. “The other one can be the freshwater supply guy.”
Drew and Tim went away together to think through their options. “Because,” Drew said, “The water supply is at least as big, if not bigger, than a handful of stairs.”
“Well, keep it under your hat,” Tim said. “But I’m better at walls and roofs than either of the other two.”
Drew laughed. “Me? I’m better at numbers and figures.”
Tim laughed too. “So let’s stay friendly. We’ll work at night. Keep the rest in the dark. I help you, you help me. Nin Wiz will help us both. Let’s do a kind of scramble-stair up to the half-floor …”
“With a brown three-rung ladder to the bunk house?” Drew said. “That way we’ll save the yellow ladder for us mortals to get up to Nin Wiz’s abode.”
“Nice,” Tim said. “Let’s now go locate the components without remarking on them and then knock off for the day.” He chortled. “Should keep everybody guessing.”
“See you at midnight?” Drew said.
“Make that 3 AM, when everybody is in their deepest sleep, and I’ll see you here.”
They separated, prowled around and fixed the different components on their internal maps. Met at 3 AM. Worked. Installed the stairs with Nin’s help.
Drew’s stair to the half floor.
Tim, caught by daylight, and needing all kinds of help.
Bosley studied the ready-made stair on its pedestal with him. “Why?” he said.
“The windows?” Tim said. “Umm.”
“Why the pedestal?” Bosley said. “And how do we get up onto the bottom step?”
“Mmm, I don’t know yet,” Tim said. “I was thinking that we’d need stairs something like this to get to our cabin, which will probably end up being on the same level as bunkhouse and so …”
“Tim, relax,” Bosley said. “I fully expect Drew to solve that problem. He’s probably already puzzling on it. I need you to start thinking about the freshwater supply.”
“We’ll need to get the power on first,” Tim said.
Rita de Heer 