dining terrace

Tag: dining terrace

Happy Birthday Ben!

By Alec,

Yesterday was yet another scortcher.  The guys arrived at six am to start work, finishing by lunchtime as it is just too hot for them to work outside in the afternoons.

Folowing our big clean up of the back drive the fence was erected and draped with dark green nylon windbreak which makes a very effective screening from the road, thus enabling us guys to strip off and soak up the rays in the way nature intended…

An invitation to Pratale is one not to be lightly declined.  Eighteen of us sat down in the courtyard under the ancient mulberry tree to celebrate Ben’s Birthday.

Dinner was as always excellent, with much of the  food being harvested just that afternoon, followed by a team made Birthday Tiramisu Cake, all washed down with good honest local wine.

Guests had arrived from as far afield as Paris, Sheffield , Canada and Zurich, and we talked happily until the wee smaa ‘ours

Happy Birthday Ben!!

Spaghetti Messicana at PrataleBen's Birthday

The great wall – more exposed

By Alec,

Yet another few pictures as the great west wall becomes exposed.  The foreground will be the dining terrace leading into the dining room.  A wonderful warm backdrop for summer evening dining…….

Great wall west endgreat wall looking west

The Great Garden Wall

By Alec,

After many days and hours of hard work the main garden retaining wall has finally reached full height and boy oh boy how good it looks.

The guys have worked very hard and created a fabulous dry stone wall that will provide the backdrop to our outside dining terrace leading off the dining room.  The wall is south facing and will retain the heat of the summer sun thus providing a warm zone for outside dinners.

We have created three feature niches in the wall that will be back-lit .  The lower niches are infact almost one metre above finished ground level – it really is a great wall

Now it’s on to the tidying up, the earth infront of the wall needs to be removed thus showing the wall in its full height splendour.

job well done, thanks guys!

The wall looking westGreat wall looking north