Slates have arrived! This funny little pile cost £1,000. Well not exactly as a third of them are already up on the scaffolding.
Although we removed and sorted all the old slates, Mike decided to treat himself to some decent ones to get the bottom rows neatly started , and augment all the thick, broken, horrible ones.

Where to go for slates? the Carlisle Slate and Tile Company of course, which, fortunately, Mr McKerrals wood lorry drives past when they deliver wood to a mill down there. So a quick couple of phone calls, and there they were delivered to our door by the fish farm feed lorry (also Mr McKerrals!). We were advised to use recycled slates rather than brand new, but they are lovely Welsh slates (not knobbly Ballachulish ones), all beautifully sized and with holes drilled. What's more it looks like we won't need the usual huge overlap which means less work and they'll go further.

Good spell of weather coming up so off we go.