Sara Joy Sep 8, 2025

I like to think I might be getting my crochet mojo back...

My eldest wants a new scarf and wanted it to have a brickwork pattern - let's see how long this ends up!

One day I'll get back to the fancy big triangle scarf that's been a WIP for several years now. Hopefully.

#crochet #TunisianCrochet #yarn #bricklaying

EditorAug 18, 2025

Plans unveiled for new pre-16 Vocational Centre in Port Talbot

A vacant Victorian school building in Velindre, Port Talbot, could soon be repurposed into a bilingual pre-16 Vocational Centre offering practical training, qualifications, and career pathways for young people.

The scheme, subject to planning approval, is part of the council’s Strategic Schools Improvement Programme (SSIP) and would see the former Education Learning Resource Centre (ELRS) brought back into use as a state-of-the-art learning environment.

Artist’s impression of the new Vocational Centre in Port Talbot
(Image: Neath Port Talbot Council)

According to a spokesperson for Neath Port Talbot Council, the centre aims to offer “a diverse range of disciplines, from plastering, bricklaying, hairdressing, animal care, and catering, to emerging opportunities through AI, creative industries and digital media.”

Purpose-built learning pods would provide hands-on, practical training, alongside work-related experiences with local businesses and the use of virtual reality to explore careers of the future.

“We want learners to access the most advanced technology and gain insights from local businesses in these fields, so they are ready for the jobs of tomorrow,” the council spokesperson added.

Facilities would also be available for community use, creating a shared hub for skills and development.

The proposed net zero design includes green landscaping, a covered courtyard with trees and plants, and a focus on sustainability throughout.

The project is designed to support the Curriculum for Wales for learners aged 14–16, and to prepare schools for the new vocational qualification framework launching in September 2027.

#AI #animalCare #bricklaying #Catering #creativeIndustries #CurriculumForWalesFacilities #digitalMedia #education #EducationLearningResourceCentre #hairdressing #NeathPortTalbotCouncil #plastering #PortTalbot #Velindre #vocational #VocationalCentre #vocationalTraining

valentinziMar 2, 2025
29th November 2023: First fire #flames in the new #oven with #flat #vault realized as minor arch. Smoke outlet at the back left of the combustion chamber. Bottom of the oven lined with special #fireclay #baking plates ('Wieselburger Bäckerplatten')

PS: This amount of #burning wood is enough for the first #fire.
Unfortunately, I added far more wood afterwards.

#building #diy #handcraft #craftsmanship #bricklaying #fireart
valentinziMar 2, 2025
#New #oven interior with flat #vault built as minor #arch.
Smoke outlet at the back left of the combustion chamber.
Bottom of the oven lined with special #fireclay #baking plates ('Wieselburger Bäckerplatten')
Inside dimensions of the oven 100cm x 60cm.

#building #diy #handcraft #craftsmanship #bricklaying
valentinziMar 2, 2025
#Oven interior with #flat #vault (minor #arch).
Smoke outlet at the back left of the combustion chamber.
I crawled in through the oven door and repaired some small missing parts.

#building #diy #handcraft #craftsmanship #bricklaying
valentinziMar 2, 2025
9. December 2023: Plastered #oven sideview. Added an iron support frame propping up the abutment stones on both sides. Iron wrapped in high temperature insulation wool fixed with stainless steel cable ties.
Cracks in the fireclay bricks reclosed (after widen the opened cracks).
Old oven #door fitted in front of the ofen entrance. The old lid of the cleaning opening fitted above the oven door.

#work #building #diy #handcraft #craftsmanship #bricklaying
valentinziMar 2, 2025
Plastered #oven sideview. Added an iron support frame propping up the abutment stones on both ovensides. Iron wrapped in high temperature insulation wool.
Old oven #door fitted in front of the ofen entrance. The old lid of the cleaning opening fitted into the hole above the oven door.

#work #building #diy #handcraft #craftsmanship #bricklaying
valentinziMar 2, 2025
Plastered #oven sideview with oven sides prepared for adding and fixing support frame. Old oven #door fitted in front of the ofen entrance. The old lid of the claning opening fitted above the oven door.

#work #building #diy #handcraft #craftsmanship #bricklaying
valentinziMar 2, 2025
#Oven ceiling closed with fireclay plates brick and edges of the oven lined and rounded off. Old oven door frame refitted in front of the ofen entrance.
The old lid of the plaster opening fits like a glove on the new opening and is well sealed.

PS: It would probalby have been better to leave the wooden frame support in the oven until finished work.

#work #building #diy #handcraft #craftsmanship #bricklaying
valentinziMar 2, 2025
#Oven ceiling closed with eight fireclay plates brick. Old oven door frame refitted in front of the ofen entrance as well as the old round frame of the cleaning opening located above the oven door.

#work #building #diy #handcraft #craftsmanship #bricklaying