A Right Pane

Photos Copyright: Maggie May

In one of my recent posts The Missing Glass Panel, I explained why my front porch looked a bit strange to other people because it had a whole section of stained glass missing and had been replaced by frosted glass before we moved into this house in 1970. Of course we were quite used to seeing it like that.

Anyway, my friend, Paula, offered to make a completely new panel for us and after what seemed like a very complicated procedure of measuring, drawings and glass cutting, the finished panels arrived the other day, in what seemed like no time at all.

While my son was taking out the old glass and preparing the cavity in order to fit the new panels, I took a snap of them while they were standing in my front room.

The colours look stunning and just as a reminder of how the porch looked like before, just refer to the bottom photo.

I am so pleased with the results, Paula. Thank you very much.

Any idea what I could do with the glass panel in the door?

The Missing Glass Panel

Photo Copyright: Maggie May

From the time we moved into this late Victorian house when our children were very young, Harry and I have lived with the plain glass panel on the side of the porch door. It is obvious that it was a replacement of a broken stained glass one.

We did vaguely wish it hadn't been broken and we did try second hand glass shops to see if there were any spare ones for sale, to no avail.

We got used to the look and didn't seem to worry about it or notice how odd it must look to other people.

You might remember that Paula made this lovely cross out of stained glass, held together with lead last Easter when I wasn't well.

I was really pleased with it.

I see her in our Church regularly and she came round quite a bit when I was in and out of chemo, never knowing quite what I would be like from one day to the next. Some days we went out walking when I was getting stronger.

I was really pleased when she offered to make me a side panel to match the other one but I did think it was rather ambitious and wondered if she would change her mind when it sunk in just how fiddly it would be.

No......... I was wrong, patterns were made and glass ordered.

Paula popped over one evening straight from night school and showed me how she was fitting it all in together.

When she explained how it was being done and each piece individually cut, it made me realise that this task was not for the faint hearted.

It was like fitting a jigsaw together and no two pieces were exactly the same size.

The glass has been matched up to the best of our ability but obviously will not be a perfect match. How could it be, with some of the glass over a hundred years old and some really modern? I think it will look much better than the plain glass panel though.

Paula is making the complete window in three sections and then they will be fitted into the frame with special metal ties.

My son, being a carpenter, will be able to fit it in place.

We will then have to think of some way to prevent it getting broken again.

Haven't I got a clever friend and aren't I lucky?