Having arrived back in the uk with my mosquito net, a sleeping bag, my guitar and the clothes on my back i almost immediately went to work with my brother steve in some beautiful gardens in the countryside near Bath where he has and had some big landscaping projects.
He had also just met a very interesting guy called Pete who has done many things in his time, having been aprofessional scrambler in france for many years which led him onto Bristol's first and major importer of traditional artifacts from france. during the late seventies and through the eighties and nineties Pete started, grew and sustainaned what we now know as the reclamation business here in Bristol. He was the first and over the years it became big business and is now an established market place with many people now doing the same, but having got out at what he considers to be just the right time he has has turned his focus onto other things. For a start he is now designing and building wood burning heaters that can pretty much run off anything , however he is getting excellent results off burning sawdust. The main principal behind these burners is to capture and utilise the heat that is traditionally lost up the chimney flue of your standard burner, so instead of burning unnecessary fuel which just literally goes up the chimney, his burners give out tremendous heat into the areas you want to keep warm , i.e the room or space that you are trying to heat. Even when the heater is on full blast you can put your hand on the flue without it getting burnt. The next time you are standing next to a conventional burner, try touching the flue and you will see that you can't because it is too hot as the heat is escaping up through the tube/chimney and into the atmosphere. Pete calls his burners freet burners, as in 'free heat', as sawdust and rubbish costs next to nothing to acquire and burn. One full drum of sawdust will burn all evening and still be smouldering in the morning, literally pennies to run. Naturally they run off conventional wood , but as the popularity of wood burning and the cost of wood is on the rise he has found an efficient way of burning other combustibles. He sees great potential for this type of burner not only here but in the third world countries where this type of burner could really make a difference. He has and is also experimenting with copper coils wrapped round the exterior of the drum heaters which water can run through for the purpose of heating it up. In his yard he has an old lifeboat which he is going to turn into a hot tub which will be heated by one of the burners which will be a nice little feauture on his forthcoming venture on his land. Petes going Glamping. Not pete himself as he doesnt need to, as he has already carved out and created for himself one of the coolest and interesting places i've come across in Bristol. Having Built over the years his own cabin which he refers to as his shed, which to be frank is a liitle bit more than just a shed. He built on land he bought on what was just a quiet plot of land the otherside of the second railway bridge in st werburgs opposite the old city farm orchards, and he now has a twenty two seater conservatory restaurant, a full catering kitchen, a bar and even a small dance floor and stage area. He has called it bocoso which stands for bring your own, cook your own and smoke your own. basically you and your friends can hire the place off pete for the night and literally do what it says on the tin.Its a brilliant night out for a fraction of the price of a night out on the town , and the word is spreading. in the forseeable future he is bringing Glamping to bristol. very soon there will be eco efficient vintage caravans complete with their own burners and solar power supply too stay in, for breaks away in bristol, with all the facilities you would need for a relaxing comfortable stay whilst vising the city for a few days, a week or whatever takes your fancy. In addition he is turning over part of the land to organic allotments, which will be tended by residents in the local community. That, with his workshop activities will add to what is already a positive hive of creativity.
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just cut the last of the grapes down that morning, during the summer they grow abundantly I built a raised bed dry stone wall with stone he had stacked in the yard, but a standard wall was not what pete was looking for. He wanted something a little quirky and interesting , so I had ago. I'm looking forward to seeing it planted How can a group of males not have fun with an electric go cart, a little competition and a big garden to razz around | Nick Meadows
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