At the end of January, a mild spell in the weather allowed us to progress with the removal of the floorboards in the main salon, in preparation for the laying of the concrete floor on which we would set the rustic tiling. Four inches of the subsoil and rubble beneath the floorboards had to be removed, and, over a total of 45 square metres this amounted to muscle straining work.


Then, on 11th February, the team of three betonniers arrived with four and a half cubic metres of sand and aggregate, 36 bags of cement, polythene sheet and reinforcing mesh and after testing the levels by laser, started to mix and pour. By mid afternoon, the task was done, the outside area cleared and the room was ready for the next stage.

Using the 8 days drying time needed before the tiles can be laid, another guest bedroom's renovation is completed to the stage where it is ready for final hanging of curtains and a few selected prints on the walls.



24th of February sees the first few square metres of tiles set in place and being checked out by the house cat and the centre's new puppy. Just five days later and the entire 45 sq metres of floor is covered, grouted and looking great.

Just a few days into March, wood panelling creates a feeling of warmth and finishes off the room, tables are built and the cybercafe's furniture starts to come together in preparation for its network cabling and a decision is taken to install an air-gap wall so as to prevent any chance of dampness.




The team and our friends from Poland enjoying a well deserved celebration in preparation for the Easter break.





Now running a little behind schedule, but mostly functional none-the-less, the GNU/Linux Lab workshop furniture is finished and assembled, the workstations are thoroughly checked and the whole room is networked, utilising some stand-alone desktops and several LTSP'd systems, that can demonstrate just what can be achieved with what might otherwise be considered as obsolete hardware.



Here is a reminder of what the space was like less than 10 months ago, before work began, and now you can see Tux positively beaming.

Another two guest rooms are completed and furnished, and below these you can see the Electronics Lab where system hardware repairs and upgrades are carried out. Just the other side of the server room and quite nearby is the Gnome Coffee Nook, located directly off the GNU/Linux Laboratory for guests' use.




Work also starts during May, on the shower block in the Grange. The Cycas architect's package for Linux, on which this structure was designed on-site, proves itself as the doors and wooden frames, fixtures and fittings start to slot neatly into place.



Excited about the impending opening of the Centre, and its cybercafe, the local commune shows its appreciation and puts in a new pavement alongside the house, encouraging a flurry of floral activity around the village planter boxes.



With some work still to do, the Linux Coaching Organisation is now more of a reality than its original dream and should be open for business and running workshops in Spring 2005/ The program has been rescheduled to incorporate a 'Migration to GNU/Linux on the Desktop' workshop.

Any remaining work should not unduly affect those attending workshops.

First six months. 08/03-01/04
Third six months. 08/04-02/05 :
Miscellaneous.