endlessrarities | Johnstone's Burning

Now, long-term followers of this blog will no doubt remember the long-running saga of the Patons Old End Mill in Johnstone...

Built in the late 18th century, extended in the 19th, it's the last surviving remnant of a much larger industrial complex that used to exist in the town of Johnstone. A little while back, it suffered a mysterious fire. Today - surprise, surprise - I am reliably informed that it is ablaze AGAIN.

Once again, I'm not going to make insinuations about naughty developers because it's the firebug time of year and vast tracts of Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire have been burning. But I can't help wondering if perhaps the owners/developers would take better care of their property if they were expected to pay at least some of the costs involved in putting out the fires.

There must be a better way of safeguarding the future of derelict listed buildings that have the misfortune to be bought by companies that can't cope with the costs/pressures/responsibilities of renovating them, surely...

We had a staff meeting today. The bad news is that we're back on a five day week. The good news is that we're back on a five day week. This means less time to tend the garden. And more money to buy plants to put in the garden...

I shall try and update you on the situation with regards to the mill this weekend...