We checked our blockwork building skills last night, with work's theodolite*, and found that the variance in level of the top of the blockwork wall from where it should be is +10mm / -12mm. NHBC guidance says +/- 15mm for walls longer than 5m, which is where the biggest deviations are - so we have built our walls to within acceptable tolerances. Which is pretty good for two people who haven't built a wall before :)

2 hours of back breaking digging followed, resulting in pretty much doubling the area we stripped at the weekend! One more evening like that tonight and we'll only have the two bedrooms to do, which should only take us a further two evenings! Much less time than I thought it would take. I'm starting to think about ordering the next lot of materials and when to schedule the pouring of the ground floor slab :)

* it's not actually a theodolite, but you all know what I mean.