Chapter 3 (Part 1)
Over the next few weeks there was plenty to do. Rob and Sam set to work in their loft. The workshop building had been built into the hillside. From the front you could walk into the workshop and up the stairs into the loft above. In the far corner at the back of the loft was a door. If you went through this, you walked on the slope of the hill at the back. In this part of the country it was common to see old houses and farm buildings like this, tucked snugly against the hill so that they were surrounded on three sides by soil. They were built like this for warmth and to reduce the draughts in an area where the weather could turn very cold and windy in any season of the year.
Sam like having the two entrances on different levels. He called the far door his escape door. If any unwelcome visitor came up the workshop stairs he could escape through the back into the trees and bushes behind. The last occupants of the loft had been hens. Sam and Rob had to move nesting boxes from the walls and take out food troughs. They needed a wheelbarrow and shovels to clean up the floor.
When it was clean and scrubbed, they painted the walls white and began to move in some of their things. Mum said they would have two old armchairs and the old kitchen table. Rob set it up near the window to do his modelling work.
During the packing up at the old house, Sam had found a box of old plastic soldiers and army vehicles that had once belong to Rob. He was busy arranging his new-found toys in a corner one afternoon when he heard a car. Looking down, he saw Grandad struggling to get something very large out of the car.
"Hey, give me a hand, you chaps!" he called up to them.
"What's he got now?" wondered Rob, peering out the window. "Oh,great! It's the train set." He dashed down the stairs to help lift out a large board with a train layout fixed to it.
"Here you are, boys. I promised you could have this when you had enough room for it."
"It's great, Grandad. Thanks,' said Rob delighted. "Will you show us how to set it up?"
"I'm sure i could,"replied Grandad eagerly, pleases to be asked to play.
Posted by
Emma Teh
25/05/2008
07:08pm
