Green Gym is like pot-holing?

By the session leader:

This country is thought to be wet and rainy by its inhabitants, but – as Green Gymmers know – our weather spends far more time threating rain than it does actually raining. 

It is rare for us to get caught by rain on a Tuesday morning.  There are exceptions.  Today was one of them.

It poured on the way to Aston Rowant, but stopped when all 14 of us assembled at 10 o’clock.  ‘Maybe we will be lucky,’ we thought.  But not for long. 

The hillside looked bleak:

Some tried to keep dry as long as possible:

Green-Gymmers wrapped up for the pre-session briefing

Then there were those who, like a certain A A Milne character, didn’t mind what the weather did, as long as they were out in it.  While others reflected philosophically that getting soaked “saves on moisturiser!”

Whatever our view on the weather, our task was to clear a fenced-in juniper plantation of all the invading dogwood and other shrubs.  Severe penalties if we were to cut down a single precious juniper!

No sooner had we started then so did the rain.  It did not slow our working, but did inhibit some of the usual conversation topics.  All morning it continued, varying from steady drizzle to heavy downpours. 

Thankfully it was mild with no wind to speak of.  There was one small respite in time for coffee and cakes, then it came back again.

Our newest volunteer had his own way of carrying brash to the fire.  But it worked, so who were we to wonder how he could see where he was going?

Our new site warden, Martin, heroically tried to start a fire, but it was just not possible.

By the end of the morning we had successfully cleared the whole area of the invaders.  So there is a huge pile of brash waiting to be burned on our next visit.  

Our success was only marred by the fact that we were all soaking wet.  Waterproof clothing was not a great help, and boots were squelching with as much water inside as out.  Of course, as a certain well known law states, the rain stopped as we walked back to the car park.  Decisions had to be made as to whether to drive in one’s wet boots or change into dry shoes.  As one person found out, putting on dry shoes over wet socks is not easy.

The fact that we had completed the given task in such weather did give a lot of satisfaction.  And the prospect of getting home to the warm, and putting on dry clothing, deterred any thought of a visit to the local on the way back.  As for why Green Gym might be like pot-holing: well, I have never tried pot-holing, but am told that it is feels very satisfying – afterwards.  Very like today.