Just spent a couple of days at St Astier, learning and trying their extended range of 5 new lime based stone and brick repair materials which have variable rates of porosity, permeability, flexural strength, grain size and appearance, to ensure that building conservation work is carried out with compatible materials. We all aware of the damage that can be caused by applying ‘plastic’ stone repair that is too hard, dense, and inflexible, and also those problems of failure that develop, when the mix is too weak for the background.

These mortars are nice to use and have had the usual extensive research carried out into them, as you would expect from this company, who produced over two decades ago a full declaration and research on their Natural Hydraulic Lime products, called into question recently by the ‘hot lime preachers’. But shown to be correct by comprehensive research at Bath university, which is currently being revisited by Historic England and the results are eagerly anticipated.

Its nice to be in this part of France today, with its beautiful historic street scenes and the good food.