A level playing field

A level playing field has been created this historic day at Vincent Close. We have a slab!

Those years of being an altar boy and Sunday school girl have finally paid off for David and me.  Our prayers were answered and it didn't rain. But it turns out the bloke upstairs has a sense of humour.  Here's what we woke up to - burgeoning storm clouds out to sea.

 Below is the scene at sun up at the block. The five man concrete crew is there, the concrete pump guy and his dog, the builder, the carpenter and a plumber, even a work experience kid. The whole fandango.

Below is the scene just across the road at 7.30am, sun poking above that bank of storm clouds.

Some last minute adjustments, an extra drain hole that had evidently been forgotten.

The installation of some mouldings to allow the sliding doors to be recessed level into the slab, so you don't trip over them

Then the rumble of the first concrete truck arriving; it backs up the slope

With the pump guy's dog chasing its big wheels up the slope, this is the high point of the dog's day.

 (Below) The concrete truck gets hooked up to the pumper

And off we go! The garage slab is poured first, it has had something extra added, so it will "go off fast" because of the risk of rain. There is therefore a certain urgency to their movements and some extra cussing.

(Above) We were watching it all from the top of a big mound of fill. The shadow of the anxious owners falls over the works...But not as anxious as the dogsbody of the team, one Brendan. That's him to the right of this shot (below), running.  Everyone got to boss Brendan about. During the pressured bits they would yell "Brendon! Get the yeller float" (or something) then, ""Quick! Run Brendon! Git it over 'ere" Brendon grinned wryly as he ran past us.  "It's me job" he said. The boss of the team is the tough-looking guy with the beard, the camouflage shorts, the biggest tats and a curly ponytail down his back. Can we take your photo, we asked? Yeah, he says. Just a minute an' I'll fix me hair. Her, her. As it got hotter they all took off their shirts except for the guy in the hat. His contribution seemed mainly to involve holding the leveller in one hand and a fag in the other. Did the entire job while holding a fag, as far as I could see.

 Meanwhile, the clouds were building...coalescing, threatening. Would it thunderstorm on the wet concrete before it had a chance to "go off"? Which we took to mean, "set" by the way.

No.  Not a drop. Whew. And here it is, the finished slab.  Next week, the frames.