Rebuilding Diary

Happy 50th birthday today to Malcolm Rennie, our Distillery Manager!

It has been a busy week.

On Sunday 9 October, my father, Douglas Thomson and his wife Joan joined us for lunch, followed by a quick tour of the distillery site. The photo shows Christine Lyon (my sister), Dad, Joan, Teresa and me, plus 'Molly', my sister's Labrador. Dad's 87 so it was great that he felt able to drive the 200-mile round trip. (I sincerely hope that I have inherited his longevity genes.)

From previous diary entries, you may be aware that the roof to the East Bonded Warehouse had been stripped completely and rebuilt, so it's good to see that re-slating has started, (under the watchful eye of Billy Boyle, our Clerk of Works). The stone masons are replacing the damaged quoins and lintels on the Bonded Warehouses. These new pieces of Locharbriggs sandstone are hewn from the same geological seam as the original stone so they should be a perfect match when dried out and weathered in.

The builders have removed the roof from the Mash House (photographed from the scaffold surrounding the Kiln) and are in the process of carefully demolishing the main east wall. Both were in a state of near collapse so restoration was impossible. The wall will be rebuilt using salvaged sandstone and the original chimney will be reinstated. The Mash House roof will be re-constructed using new larch trusses and salvaged slates. This is a 'big job'!

The joiners are busy re-making the roof of the Maltings. Many of the structural roof timbers could be repaired and treated for woodworm. We used timber salvaged from the East Bonded Warehouse to make new trusses where necessary. We sincerely hope that the Maltings will be wind and water tight before the onset of winter.