Hello there, greetings from the Highlands of Scotland – I have been meaning to write for the longest time – As an owner of a W.Cooper iron building and an original battered copy of An Illustrated Catalogue Of Goods Manufactured And Supplied By W.Cooper I was deelighted to find a ‘kindred spirit’ who appreciates these simple, beautiful, functional structures. (AND the amazing printed catalogues….)
We also once built and lived in a turf roofed dome, and spent 18 months living in a yurt…but that is another story!
We now live in an old croft house (much more practical…) in the far north of Scotland (Nedd–yes Nedd!)) in Assynt) and run an open art studio from a gypsy caravan. There are some interesting buildings in the Highlands….Many thanks for your books, your inspiration, and for being a totaly decent bloke! kindest reagards, Sara Garnett. www.albaartstudio.wordpress.com.

This has had 275,000 views.

By photographer Warren Kirilenko, Boiling Frog Productions™

www.wkphotography.ca/ www.BoilingFrogProductions.com

This (as well as our Wonderful Houses Around the World) is a great building book for children. This one is out of print, but obtainable used. Lovely drawings by Stefen Bernath. Igloos, longhouses, tipis. yurts, desert tents, stone houses, earth lodges and more.

Victorian skating rink, now the home of the Country and Eastern store, in Norwich, UK. Thanks to Vic Long

What a trip! I love being on the road, the serendipity of it all. Except:

1. I miss home.

2. I run across so much stuff (shoot so many pics, make so many notes) that it’s frustrating not being able to communicate it all. Fragments:

    I’m back home from a doozy of a trip. Left San Luis Obispo around 11 AM Saturday sunny morning, north on Hwy. 1. By the time I got to Cayucos, it was foggy. Ahh! Northern Californian consciousness kicks in. I like the fog (grew up in San Francisco).

My body adores Southern California.

My mind revels in NorCal.

Sirius music was on a roll. Just 2 examples:

-Jimmie Rodgers, Blue Yodel #3: https://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Blue+Yodel+No+3/3WMJfN?src=5

-Muddy Waters backed by the Rolling Stones, Mannish Boy: https://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=rolling+stones+muddy+mannish+boy Oh yeah!

Got to my house (built it in late ’60s). near Esalen. Ehren, the caretaker was there, said I could spend the night. (He lives in a tuned-in tiny home on the road above.

   Ehren is a stone mason, in his 30s, surfer, fisherman, gardener, hunter, explorer. He keeps the house and grounds beautifully. He’s like an extension of and extrapolation on all the things I did or wanted to do when I lived in Big Sur. Cross-generational soul mates.

   We went for a swim in the pool (creek-fed water, no chlorine). Later that afternoon I had a beer at Nepenthe. That night I had dinner at Deetjen’s, by far my favorite inn in all the world, the ambience of the dining room with candles and chamber music as soulful as it was 50 years ago. That night I invoked former-resident executive privilege and got into the hot springs at Esalen. Mmm.

   I’m goin’ home…home, bom bom bom bom bom-bom…