Monday 5 May 2014

A Mystery - Accident, Act of God or Crime.





We are getting ready to move back to the village. This always takes more time than expected because we are lazy. As befits two Pisceans sharing house, a lot of chat goes back and forth about what we're going to do, we visualise doing it and then we put it off.  When we're in the country, it takes us ages to move back to town because we really love living in the village and when we're in the town, it's a wrench to move back to the countryside because we really enjoy life in Bodrum town and only move out because we don't like sharing it with all the others who arrive in the summer.  We do eventually pull our fingers out and we have been paying regular visits to the village and have finally got the house spruced up. I've pulled several wheelbarrow loads of weeds out of the terrace and now there is just the pool to clean and a few bits of damp wall to touch up.  Or so we thought. Yesterday we arrived to find a bit of our guest house wall missing.  My first thought was, "A 12 foot giant has swung his pick-axe into the top of the wall".   I admit this is not the most likely scenario. My husband, who is more worldly, immediately blamed vandals, but any vandal worth his name would not leave all windows and pot plants unharmed and chose to bring his own ladder to knock a hole like this.   My thoughts then moved on to earthquakes.  We've had 100s of tremors in the past month or two and last week there was quite a long 4.1 shake.  Maybe this had rattled our foundations and made this bit of wall fall out.  This idea was entertained for a few minutes but we've had bigger earth tremors without any damage to the building and a quick call to the village confirmed that no one had suffered any damage.  Teo got the ladder out to look a bit closer.  Could an inept hunter have aimed for his supper and hit our house instead.  Hunting this close to a house is illegal but that means nothing here, but would a shot gun cause this much damage from outside our boundary?  Thinking of guns, I remembered that when I was at the house last week, a pretty lively wedding was in full swing in the village. Is our hole in the wall the consequence of too much rakı, machismo and firearms, a common mixture at local weddings?  We will never know.  Has anyone got any better ideas? 




23 comments:

  1. Is it possible that moisture or water got down into the wall and made it expand?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unlikely as there isn't any damp in this building.

      Delete
  2. A meteor? Drone attack? Large confused wood pecker?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Robin, the first two ideas had crossed my mind, but no evidence of meteors or mortars. Must be the woodpecker then.

      Delete
  3. You've flummoxed Dave - perhaps we should get a flight out, investigate further and make any necessary repairs!! X

    ReplyDelete
  4. I vote for the drunken giant! Seems the only reasonable explanation, although a large confused woodpecker seems an equally reasonable option...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Helen Devries5 May 2014 at 17:29

    Amazon were trying to make a delivery?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If only they would deliver here, I could put up with the occasional accident.

      Delete
  6. I must say, B to B, it looks like the work of a high motor vehicle, like the one that hit our building one day years ago and brought down one of our decorative cement brackets.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now we have to find a vehicle that can climb steps and leaves no tracks - entering the Twilight zone.

      Delete
  7. Hmm..very strange. I guess I'd go with the gun theory, for want of a better explanation, but it's a pretty big hole isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope it doesn't happen again when we are in bed.

      Delete
  8. sick concrete syndrome? A poor mix/unwashed sand/salts 'blowing'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Alien - strange it should happen in only one place after 23 years. Should we expect more?

      Delete
  9. I'm suspecting the wedding. Look out for a sheepish farmer passing by your gate. On the other hand, hailstones can be pretty big in your part of the forest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good job we won't be bothering the insurance company with it. The claim form would be interesting.

      Delete
  10. it looks like internal pressure has forced off the outer skin of rendering pulling a piece off the wall construction with it . could there have been an excess lump of lime turned into gas by damp conditions which caused the pressure. suggest you repair the wall with sand and cement mix mortar and forget it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There speaks an engineer. Strange it should happen on the least damp wall.

      Delete
  11. How odd - and sad - must be a shock to the system, SD has a good theory, hope not much damage done. Cok selamlar, Ozlem

    ReplyDelete
  12. Absolutely no idea at all.... Love the Giant and the woodpecker theories though and Derek's explanation which I am sure is rooted in " man who understands these things" knowledge sounds just as bizarre. As you say, hope whatever did it doesn't return when you're asleep. Keep us informed if anything becomes obvious ! Xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. If your house had been by a road, i'd have gone for for the high vehicle explanation too, but a large, confused woodpecker is a much more appealing idea - unless your drunken revellers have started uses mortars not shotguns?

    ReplyDelete