It's becoming marginally clearer

The big tank has an exit under the plank on the far side. There are going to be various entries from various surface drains all of different heights. These will all drop the surface water into the bottom of the tank. Quite why the sewerage (it doesn't look right) pipe goes across rather than round still baffles. Perhaps more will become apparent over time. The blockwork is hollow and, together with rebars, filled with concrete, vibrated down. This forms a waterproof tank, so I understand.

The surface water system is puzzling?

This is the tank that Claude is building. The big diameter ribbed pipe exiting on the left is the surface water drainage. The smaller diameter one crossing the tank is the foul water pipe. Now, as I understand what they said, if there is a downpour and the water rises as high as the foul water pipe there will be an opening on the top to allow this excess water to run through the foul water pipe to give extra drainage. I may have missed something  but I can't help but wonder why they didn't put in a bigger diameter surface water pipe as they had the ditch dug. It was big enough!

And a week later?

Well, the diggers were there again first thing so I went over to see what was going on. They have dug yet another great hole that is going to be a tank for surface water. As I got over there I realised there was a man down the bottom. Claude is one of the council workers and he was levelling out the concrete that will form the base of this tank.

The mildly worrying thing is that the manhole access to this mighty hole will be just ouside our new gates. Why that should perturb me I don't really know.

The pipe that you see will actually run through the tank and is the sewer pipe. Looks like an odd plan to me.

Anyway the excavated clay is helping to form our drive. Great mounds of it as you can see here. 

You're quite right, nothing's happening again

We did some gardening, it was warm enough to be in just a T-shirt (best not to look too close, it was 22 degrees in the sun and the clay is solid enough to use for pottery!).
As we are going to lose the box bush we have put in a little hedge of cuttings. We had great success doing this in the sandy soil at the Moulin, be interested to see how it works out here.

Well it's Friday and they're still not there, but...

As I was passing earlier this morning I noticed there were a few blokes standing around having a bit of a confab. When I stopped I realised it was the Maire - Michel, Guy - the main contractor, Jean - the digger man and A N Other. I mooched over and wished them good-day and asked what was occurring. That was just what they were discussing was the response. Obviously an answer that was supposed to satisfy me, although by way of content, slim.

They've gone!

Not that they've finished. They've just gone. We wonder whether they were supposed to be starting another job today, so rather than let down another client they have just taken off to start the other work from which they will absent themselves at some point to come back and finish in and outside No 5. Who knows?

I know it says Sunday but I took the pictures yesterday

This first one is from the top of the steps looking over the playing field back towards our rented bungalow. In the corner of our garden is the slope that will be the start of the drive. This will swing round the other side of the fruit trees in the middle of the lawn to the back of the house.

The second is from just the far side of the left of the two fruit trees looking into the corner of the garden with the new drive being walked on for the first time.

I only missed one day!

Where they were on Wednesday, down the bottom of the hole, is all now filled in, though not levelled. The two manhole covers are for surface water and waste. (why is it a manhole?)

And I knew you would be unhappy without yet another panorama

The enormous pile of earth is in the corner of our garden and will, we think be the base for our new entrance. For those with the enthusiasm to do so you can zoom in and see the pegs delineating the line for the drive. You may also think your eyes are no longer functioning properly - Autostitch doesn't always produce the best panoramas but it's quick.

The new hole

But there's another one!!

And then that hole was gone

In between Brennie and the digger are the manhole covers that come up from those big pipes we saw yesterday. All that enormous trench has been filled in.

Enough already! It's been a busy day but thought you would like to see a panoramic (w)hole

Much of it is being backfilled now

It's worth enlarging this (click on the picture). You get a really good idea how deep it is. The smaller digger in the background is in the process of lifting itself out of the hole

They've got through to our garden - that's what remains of our fence

They're pushing their hole right into our garden now

It won't happen again until 2028

I'm not saying I won't be here in 2028 (I'll be 82), but will I be bothered to poke a hole in a piece of paper whilst lying in bed at 9.30 in the morning just to make a pinhole camera?

It's deep and it's not getting better!

They have had to re-dig all the stuff that collapsed and now they are filling with crushed limestone. One of the guys asked for no more photos as he was working "on the black".