When the bales were seven layers high, the wall plate – a timber structure that incorporated the floor joists – was pegged down onto them with more hazel rods. Five more layers of bales were stacked up and pegged down and another wall plate, on which the roof was to sit, was then added.The roof was an enormous endeavour because of its varying pitch of 14 to 45 degrees, and in total the house took around five months to complete. The walls were then given a close trim and plastered with a mixture of mud and straw, and then lime, which enables them to breathe. The inside walls are regular stud walls.For most of the time, the construction work was done by Norita and a couple of friends. Much to Norita’s relief, on about a dozen occasions Barbara and her colleague and a team of volunteers arrived stayed for a fortnight of intensive activity. Twice, a group of Dutch women drove over in a minibus to help, funding their trip by selling pancakes in Dam Square, Amsterdam Other volunteers came from Sweden, Germany and Denmark. In the end, more than 100 people helped build the house.”There was a great buzz, great energy, especially when the weather was good,” says Norita, who, during construction, rented a nearby house “Just seeing people’s generosity was extraordinary.

It was a life-giving way to build and a great experience.” There was, however, considerable emotional cost “A lot of things didn’t work out,” she admits. “It was a real up and down experience and at times I regretted having started it. There’s something about a house that challenges part of you.”There are, of course, no regrets now The result is a tranquil, characterful house. The chubby walls give a sense of cosiness, yet the rooms feel airy and the light floods in. Sitting by Norita’s peat fire in the living room, the shape of an orange segment, we can see out of almost three windows.There is still work to be done on the inside. Doors have still to be fitted and furniture will also have to be made to sit against the curved walls There are still no kitchen appliances But, for the moment, Norita is having a rest She has yet to come up with a name for the house.

At one stage, she jokes, it could easily have been “Blood, Sweat and Tears”. “After doing this I felt I could do anything,” she says.Amazon Nails – Strawbale Futures, 0845 4582173, .uk. Do the locomotion? They’ve been doing it in Darlington for more than 150 years. It’s the birthplace of actress Wendy Craig and comedian Vic Reeves, but Darlington’s most famed son is George Stephenson, whose engine Locomotion on the Stockton & Darlington Railway conveyed the world’s first railroad passengers.