Philip makes coffee in the newly extended kitchen

Philip B. contacted me with the good news – the builders had finished work. I arranged to drive up the escarpment to Ruscombe on the west side of Stroud to visit this morning for coffee with him, and I brought with me our favourite almond croissants from Waitrose.

He and his wife Ingelin had been wanting to expand their ground floor kitchen out towards their garden to bring space and light and a modern kitchen. when I arrived I could see why they are delighted as all their plans have come to fruition.

Philip and I had a necessary catch-up on many fronts and enjoyed each others company once again. Apparently I was the first visitor to enjoy the space. I snapped a couple of pictures as I thought it would be a good memento of the new space before they start making it more lived in. The downside for Philip was the enormous amount of cleaning of dust from the rest of the three floored house which he is in the middle of.

I took a rather abrupt snap of him when we sat down to drink coffee and eat goodies, which I’ve added as an ‘Extra’. When I left I stopped the car about half a mile from his house. Their road is called Bread Street, which drops steeply down the hillside from Ruscombe village towards Stroud. I knew there was an old stone stile where the footpath crosses the road on its way down towards the lower slopes of the Five Valleys. I’ve added another ‘Extra’ of the stile as it gives an idea of the views out from their new window. It is a another beautiful view of the stunning landscapes around the Stroud area of the Cotswold hills.