I was in the centre of Fishponds today looking at a fairly substantial semi-detached dwelling house, where the agents, almost insisted that the tenants were ‘difficult’. Not to me they weren’t; charming trainee nurses, rather pleasant, actually! At first appearance the house seemed in acceptable condition, but as is often the case, things ain’t always what they seem. There are three tie bars high up in the side elevation, but these were historic. More serious was the cracking on the rear elevation. Although it did not seem recent, well not very recent in that it occurred last week, there are drains in the immediate vicinity, and I think that there could be a problem here. Bristol was heavily bombed during the last war, but back in my office, I had no records of anything happening here. I checked my ‘drift’ map – a geological map that showed close-by there were three coal ‘veins’ or seams, the chick and the hen but the cock vein was very nearby (all coal seams have names). A mining report will be required, and I think that this time it will make interesting reading, but my guess is that the movement and cracking is not connected to the mining. As a whole the house was also a bit damp, a bit damper than I would rather have found, but these things can be cured, given time and money…   more »