Another clear-up operation

“Cold inni’, mate!” observed the first fellow-outdoor-worker I encountered this morning, almost by the doorstep of my own house.

He was very cheerful about it, but there was no doubt about it: it was cold out.  (“F***ing freezing,” was how the ‘hi-vis’ expressed it – with a broad grin on his face.)  As morning wore on, conditions also became wet and windy.  Thankfully there was not too much rain, but weather not sticking to Green-Gym schedule, as per forecast, was disappointing. 

The plan had been ‘more of the same’ as last time we did a job for Earth Trust, which was coppicing in Broad Arboretum.  Same again, only darker and greyer, was what I had anticipated:

WGG 6 Nov 2018

The works schedule as it turned out, was to: 

• bundle & tie whips and stakes
• clear teepees, which had been built unofficially 
• coppice the last of the hazel
• load trailer with brash to be taken to the as yet unlit bonfire

 

 

Highlight of the day?  The cake of course!  But there was good reason for that, beyond Green-Gymmers’ affinity with hobbits.  It was a memorial cake: a gift (thank you!) from the widow of a much-missed former member.   

She reminded us that he always liked fruit cake.  Indeed, our late colleague’s contribution to The Wallingford Green Gym Cake Book (2009, sadly now out of print) was a recipe for Healthy Fruit Loaf.  The list of ingredients ran:

• 400 g (14 oz), mixed dried fruit
• 250 ml (9 fl oz) hot tea (no milk)
• 2 mugs (c 300 g or 11 oz) flour, self-raising
• 1 mug or less (up to 250 g or 5 oz) sugar
• Foresight

This led – or so the story goes – to two non-native English speakers wandering sadly round a supermarket in home country, asking a bewildered shopfloor-assistant where (in which aisle) they might find the “ingredient foresight”.

Rake Britain Great Again?

Foreword from <guess!>

It was kinda fresh out there this morning?  A cold wind – so cold! – from Scandinavia.  Home of the best kind of troll.  And it had been so mellow this past week.

Wild rose, late November

Well I’ve got news for you: anyfinnk the Finns can do, we can do better.  Because we have the best rakers in Europe.  Totally.

Because, folks, it’s not about the rakes.  (We have the best rakes by the way.  Huge.  Believe me.)  It’s about the people – ordinary decent hard-working people – who stand up for what they believe in, and together rake our beloved countryside beautiful again.

They really are wonderful people.  They do a tremendous job.

Like the way they deal with fallen leaves.  Yeah, we get a lot of those round here.  Losers!  We put them in their place.  Bigly.  (They’re all dead by the way.  So sad.)

Our rakers are so amazing, we win every time.  It’s ridiculous.  I can even rake on water, I’m that great.  It’s true. 

[Actually that’s WGG “raking water”, 1 March 2017, at a different site – Ed.]

We’re the best in the world.  Don’t let anyone to try to tell you otherwise: that’s fake news.  Fake news.  From CNN.

Green Gym is great.  So great – for a little country.  You should come and try it sometime.  You’ll love it.

[OK, I think that’s enough from our ‘Guest Editor’.  Let me hand over to the Session Leader to tell what really happened at WGG this morning.  I’m sure it was a great session.  Absolutely fantastic.  Even though we don’t actually have any rakes ourselves.  Not even sure Green-Gymmers used them this session … – Ed.]

We had been warned beforehand that there was going to be plenty of work for us.  This was the plan as advertised to members:

• Bonfire (weather permitting)
• Move wood to the yard
• Repair boardwalk step
• Clear vegetation to and around boundary fence
• Fill potholes in drive

Fourteen Green-Gymmers arrived ready to brave the cold wind and get to work.  Our venue today, Withymead, we know from experience is one of the best places to work at when the weather is distinctly chilly.  Because, being situated beside the River Thames,
it is such a sheltered spot.

The task list, however, had changed: down to just two items, but bigguns.  Both of which involved plenty of walking. 

One – ‘Move wood to yard’ – started right at the bottom of the site, where a tree had been cut right back.  There was a large pile of brash and logs to be dragged or barrowed up to the bonfire site.

A small part of our group headed straight down there to get to work, while the ‘fire team’ began work on the bonfire.

The other task turned out to be even bigger, and needed the services of the majority.  
It was right up at the top of the site, beyond where we have worked before. 

Not just ‘Clear vegetation to and around boundary fence’ but something much more destructive.  It should have read: ‘Clear vegetation, remove chain link fence and posts, and break up wooden fencing panels; transport all debris down to the bonfire site.’

 

This was right up our street for the more destructive members of the group.  But not much scope in either job for haravointi.  [Finnish for raking – Ed.]

No sooner had we started on the demolition job than an SOS came from the bonfire site.  A fire had been started, but urgently needed some of the fencing panels.

A good blaze and heat were needed, as there was also a large pile of damp reeds to be burned.

Tea break had the luxury of a table …

and chairs:

So the resting workers could watch two more energetic workers keeping the fire fed too.

At the end most of the brash and logs had been shifted.

The chain link fencing had been removed.

(That’s just two of four rolls)

And the last bits of fencing were barrowed away ...

leaving a clear boundary waiting for a new fence:

As for the ‘promised’ rain: that never developed beyond an occasional slight drizzle.  

PS from the real Editor:

I’d have said myself that some of the drops which were blown into my face this morning felt like they had entertained ambitions of being snow – and might have fallen as the white stuff if they had not been blown over to British Isles.  Time to go inside, and make some warming coffee, I think …