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(Photos are available on the main WRG website) |
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Many
of us arrived in NJF and GCW as we had travelled together (ish) from
Waterloo. Post the scramble
to claim some floor space there was the usual opportunity to catch up with
many people I haven’t seen in months, or at least 3 weeks! Saturday
morning and the call for breakfast came far too soon.
But we were soon all up and on the buses (or in my case rushing
round getting people onto buses). Cuckoo
Wharf provided the signing on point for the weekend, allowing us all to
claim the fabulous waterproof gloves (shame they don’t make all in one
suits in the same stuff as my hands ended up being the only clean part of
me!), and select your tool of choice (Keb or Grappling Hook).
Many thanks to BW for providing many of these. The site had been divided into two areas left in the capable
hands of Ed Walker and Matt Taylor. A
short minibus hop and walk along the tow path later it was time to get
started. The hauls were as
plentiful as the sunshine with copious amounts of scaffolding being pulled
out not to mention the usual selection of traffic cones, signs, and bikes.
There was even a suggestion to start the fencing for the National
Waterways Festival early as we pulled out several fence panels and fencing
blocks!! There was hope of an
extremely big haul as about 25 of us with several grappling hooks were all
heaving hard to drag out the same item.
Eventually it gave way for us to discover that it was only a large
loop of metal tubing! Lunch
time, washed hands and sitting in the glorious sunshine came and went all
too fast for most of us and it was back to work.
Rather unsurprisingly there was a slight lack of enthusiasm to work
under a huge flyover purely due to fact it was dark and cold. As
the afternoon progressed the two teams worked towards each other meeting
at the junction and then clearing the arm down towards lunch.
More scaffolding etc etc was pulled out not to mention a new
typewriter for our illustrious editor!
Moose, Maria, Brian, Richard Cool and I made the mistake of
volunteering to pull the barge round the corner so it could be filled up
with the rubbish. This one corner turned in to going up and down the arm twice.
As expected many jokes about horses and these new fangled things
called engines never catching on were proffered.
However the pain was soon replaced by laughter whilst watching
Moose float the barge across to the far side and attempt to attach it to
the railings. Unlike in all
the Bond style movies apparently grappling hooks don’t attach themselves
to railings as easily as portrayed!! Back
at the accommodation and several gallons of shower gel later the
relatively clean and shiny navies tucked into the barrels of beer and the
curry a thon for the appeal. Entertainment
for the evening was provided by a quiz, with questions ranging from the
serious to the silly. Thanks
to the question providers not to mention all the chefs for the fab food. Sunday
morning unfortunately had to be an early start as we had to clear the hall
by about 9am. Several people
were threatened by a raw egg in the sleeping bag for failing to move.
But in usual practised style despite some sore heads everything was
cleared in time. After
ensuring everyone else had left for site, the remaining 5 of us set of in
RFB and had to resort to the consensus method of navigation due to the
lack of map, following a minor miracle we arrived without incident and
were soon back on the towpath. A
group of us tackled an area which we decided has the best type of
scaffolding (it had extra loops welded on the outside, perfect for
catching the grappling hook in, no longer does it roll off!!!)
Some impressive hauls were had with several of us pulling out
multiple individual scaffolding poles in one pull, and also a plank which
we think came from the bottom of a narrow boat as it seemed to be more
than long enough. Lunch
was well received yet again, however a well timed photographer’s arrival
meant it was slightly shorter for a few of us.
The last few hours on site saw one last big haul under a bridge
with bikes, signs, a car door and a mini trolley being extracted.
Sadly it was then time to finish up.
As the weary WRGies were taken back to the accommodation several of
us helped to pack up site and return all of the borrowed kit to BW.
Many thanks go to them for the constant supply of boats to take
away the ever growing piles of rubbish we were accumulating on the
towpaths. That brings us to the end of the weekend, many of us were extremely grateful to be allowed showers before travelling home especially those on public transport! (or should that be the people next to them on public transport!). Thank you to all for a brilliant weekend, to all those I have mentioned above, anyone I have forgotten and to all for the laughter which all ways makes the weekends. Until next time….. Here are some other highlights: ·
Me getting lost trying
to leave Reading after collecting GCW on Thursday evening.
Can I point out that when you are on the correct road they have
failed to put up any signs to confirm this. ·
The quickest we have
ever managed to fill the buses (note two!) at Waterloo, possibly due to
fact that Rick A wasn’t with us! ·
Having to have NJF and
GCW, as even with some very creative packing we would never have got 12 of
us plus kit in GCW! ·
Listening to the same
GCW tape for the entire journey to and from Birmingham only for me to
discover on the drive to return the van, there were 2 more in the dash
board! Well it was either
that or SAGA FM. ·
Managing to sleep with
7 of us in a gap more sensibly designed for 5. Not to mention the site jacket wall. ·
Mass consumption of
Jelly Babies, (for those interested the next meeting of Jelly Babies
Anonymous is ………) ·
Moose hanging on to
the railings on the opposite bank whilst trying to attach the barge.
Sorry Moose but it was extremely entertaining! ·
The photographer who
turned up just as we started lunch, Matt, Bob and myself did the honours,
but couldn’t decide if my muscles or the smile would give way first as I
was asked to hold the same pose for far too long, my bet was def the leg
muscles! Likewise with Matt
having to hold an action shot with a huge wooden crate which had taken two
people to pull out. ·
Bob’s fantastic
supply of chocolates. ·
Many people almost
throwing themselves in after their grappling hooks. ·
Brick, Bricks and more
Bricks. (Well it wouldn’t be a London WRG dig without at least a few!) ·
The black gunge which
really doesn’t wash off unless you remove half the skin off your arms as
well. ·
Some people managing
to stay relatively clean whilst some of us, well lets just say the muck
seems to be more attracted to certain members of WRG. ·
Congratulations to the
person who got their grappling hook caught round a lamp on the opposite
bank and had to get the caretaker to detach them! ·
Not to mention the
many more incidents which I can’t remember or frankly don’t want to! Sal Nutt |