Welcome to The Big Build!

I have become somewhat of a full-time blogger and following the success of The Great Escape have decided to launch The Big Build. Welcome!

The Great Escape told the tales of the process we went through to make the move from London to South Australia and our first year of life in Adelaide. On recent reflection, I felt that our adventures are no longer a great escape, but are now more building on what we've achieved... and the project for the coming year is coincidentally building a house!

So... a little history to set the context.

We arrived in South Australia in June 2007 and we found ourselves a lovely rental. After a couple of months we decided we should think about getting ourselves on the property ladder and began looking around at what we could afford.

We soon realised that a popular past time in Australia is to buy a plot of land and then build a house. We looked into various land developments and in September 2007 decided that McLaren Flat, about an hour south of Adelaide, was the place for us.

A joint 'hobby' of ours is wine - buying it, sniffing it, drinking it and if we could afford it, bathing in it. McLaren Flat is in the heart of the McLaren Vale wine region so this is a dream come true!

We signed the contracts in September 2007 but with various delays and procedures to follow we have only just become the official owners. The next step is to get planning approval from the local Council and the build can then commence!

Watch this space!

PS. It is my intention to not allow this project to become the 'be all and end all' of our lives so whilst the main plot of this blog is the house build, I will also keep you posted on any other goings on in our lives! Enjoy.