Welcome to Techno-Billies

Our house was built during the 1960's. The land upon which it was built has had a few previous uses. It was farm land immediately before our house was built but previous to that it was the grounds of a lemonade and ginger beer factory. The factory is first recorded in the Eynsham Trade Directory for 1877. The site was chosen because there is a 'celebrated spring' somewhere close by which provided the pure water for the lemonade. The spring is apparently capped over and lying dormant in someones garden. Alas not mine. As well as ginger beer and lemonade they made soda water and non alcoholic raspberry champagne, football stout and cherry cider. During the late 1920's Blake & Co moved their business to another location leaving behind decades worth of rubbish from the factory. A large concentration of which are in my garden.

We have thrown away buckets full of glass shards and pottery pieces, these I kept because they are almost whole. The glass bottles would have had…

Armed with all the wonderful new ideas for uses for our old mugs, I decided to sort through and pick out the lucky ones chosen for their new life in the garden and the sewing workshop. I told the children to choose two of their favourite mugs each and that the rest would be disposed of elsewhere.


The look of horror that passed over their faces was indescribable. Quick as a flash I added that they were welcome to find uses for the other mugs in their bedrooms if they wished to keep them. Unfortunately this didn't help. With tears pricking at their eyes they looked gloomily at the mugs.
"This isn't fair" said PhillyBilly, "they are not just mugs, they are.... they are.... my friends!"
I know when I am defeated. The mugs went back into the cupboard and my stand-by soup bowls, mauve and yellow giant cups, which admittedly havent been used for a long time, have been sent to the garden and the workshop instead. Since the object of the exercise was to free some spa…