Tuesday 18 December 2018

Last Green Gym of 2018


Remember the summer of 2018?

Endless hot days great for holiday visitors to Wallingford beach: a nightmare for many farmers
Earliest wheat harvest in living memory (but barley growers paid more for the straw than for the cereal)

Cows fed nutritional supplements in the field in August

Today all that seemed a long time ago.  Temperatures were still remarkably high – for the time of year.  But the forecast was for wind and rain: lots of both.  The only question was when that heavy rain would arrive.  We hoped it would not be this morning.

Eleven stalwart Green-Gymmers would not be put off by the uncertainty of the forecast, and made our way to the crest of the Chilterns scarp.  Even among these elite volunteers there was some difference of opinion about the blusterous weather.  To some it was a deal too blowy; to others it made for an exhilarating day to be out on the roof of Oxfordshire.

The particular spot where we were working, however, was more sheltered.  Indeed almost too sheltered from the point of view of establishing a bonfire to burn the cuttings we would be producing when we got stuck into a session of scrub clearance.  There was plenty of breeze up on the ridge, just not so much at the fire spot:




Our Fire Marshal had the situation all in hand, though.  As soon as he heard breakfast sounds (‘snap, crackle, and pop’) in the depths of the fire which a previous party had begun, he primed it with a little scrunched up newspaper plus a stick or two of kindling – it blazed into life, and instantly asked where breakfast was:


“Hurrah!” exclaimed another volunteer: “We’ve got flames.”  To which the answer was a sober “But it’s not about flames: it’s about heat.”

Once the fire was going steadily, the task then was to restrain over-enthusiastic volunteers from either feeding it too much at a time or treating it to a diet over-balanced towards light, dry brash. 

There was plenty of the latter arriving in large quantities, from the pile left over by another group, which just needed reducing further, and supplying in right portion sizes to the fire:




Meanwhile, other volunteers had their eye on targets which needed cutting down first.  Most of the targets which were out of bounds to us were marked with red-and-white tiger tape, for instance the infant beech tree in the first bonfire photograph above.  One Green-Gymmer caused his colleagues a moment of alarm:

I think that’s one of the trees we are not meant to cut down!
– I know: I’m just going to free it from overgrowing bramble.

That he duly did, thus revealing that the true destiny of that little tree was to serve as a coat-stand:




Also due for removal were a carpet of bramble and a few smaller arboreal specimens in areas which are supposed to be chalk grassland:




Tea-break was an opportunity to pause and appreciate better the loveliness of the spot we were in, chat, and of course eat mince pies which had been ingeniously kept warm by means of what looked like a large parcel of bubble-wrap and duvet.  (We do appreciate creative engineering at Green Gym!)






After the break, more attention was paid to removing some of the sturdier hawthorn.  The best technique here, it was found, was to cut UP before cutting DOWN.  Also to wear one of the pairs of safety specs which are always in the kit-bag:



2½ hours into the session, and the brash pile had all been consigned to the flames.  It seemed a good moment to halt work on cutting any more, and let the fire die down:



While the rest of the team set about manhandling tools and equipment back up the slope to the vehicles, one volunteer remained behind to watch the bonfire, until certain that it had reached the point where gusting wind could no longer create mischief:



The rain was sure to dampen it down in due course, but we did not know when that would be.  In fact, the first drops began to fall on my windscreen about half an hour after leaving for home.  The torrents arrived around tea-time, while this – the last WGG blog of the year – was being composed.

Have a good one!  And we’ll see you in 2019.

Tuesday 11 December 2018

Even damper underfoot, but sunny overhead


As soon as we heard which village we would be travelling to for this week’s session, we had a pretty good idea what the task would be.  And therefore what footwear would be appropriate, regardless of the sparklingly clear sunshine:



Wellingtons for the workers, because sure enough, the main task was, as anticipated, in this home to the old watercress beds, water-channel clearance.  That might have been why, when he spotted the opportunity to do something different, one worker instantly leaped into action, to clear the pathway to the gate.  Or maybe he was just keen!



There certainly was an awful lot of surplus watercress (and other vegetation) to remove:




On such a lovely day, though, workers could hardly but smile as they set to:





Meanwhile, on the other side of the bridge, further downstream there was some more willow-coppicing to tackle:



The best plan seemed to be for Green-Gymmers to cut from either side:




Occasionally, it was best for volunteers to work as a pair – one either side of a recalcitrant branch.  Some targets looked quite alluring, only to prove to be the most difficult to take out.  [“Ever fallen in love? (Love???) / In love with someone / You shouldn’t’ve fallen in love with”? – Ed.]

The temptations at tea-break consisted of four different kinds of truly excellent home-made bakes:




After that, volunteers returned to work with even more vigour.  People must have been having a ball, because a pile of willow-rods grew steadily. 

25 per bundle.
– That’s rather a lot, isn’t it.
– Yes, it’s a special offer for this time of year ; 



Upstream of the bridge, there were by the end of the ball some wonderfully clear channels, and some very contented-looking workers: