26-28 September 2003

A report by Sal Nutt
Photos by Alan Lines

Last weekend saw my turn to brandish the leadership whip come round as we visited the H&G. As usual the pre weekend van, key and people manoeuvres were as confusing as possible, trying to collect GCW and get me, Ed and Martin in the correct places with the correct vans and keys at the right times.

Due to an ever-growing number of volunteers we had a 16 of us travelling in the vans, (is that a record??) plus kit, tools, catering kit and food. I think those in the back were well packed in! Collection time at Waterloo and Ed and I arrived in GCW on time to discover that Martin was still collecting tools at Dorothy’s and would be at least another 45 mins (Martin that IS impressive even for you!). We crammed as many people as possible into GCW, leaving Andi, Nerina, Jean and Jon to wait for the trailing Martin.

Off we set and due to having to collect two Tirfors from Dauntsey, we set off on our magical mystery tour across the country – otherwise know as how many canals, sites and accommodations can we visit before getting to the one we want! Ed and I had agreed to split the driving but somehow I was still driving when we reached Dauntsey. Tirfors loaded and everyone else packed in we headed off for the accommodation in Dymock with Ed at the wheel. We finally arrived at the pub next to the accommodation (less than staggering distance!) at 10 to 11, but not before pre-ordering our round! Luckily for us closing time proved to be slightly later than usual! Back in the hall after the usual unpack of kit, more beers and toast it was time for bed.

Sat morning came round, as usual too early for most people. Due to the number of people a full van of people and kit headed off for site, whilst the remaining volunteers (those running late or not coping with morning!) stayed behind to make lunch. Also it was finally time to open the HUGE tin of corned beef as we had enough volunteers to eat it all!

Once on site first job of the day was the ever-predictable job of having to move concrete block from one pile to another as they were in the wrong place. An hour or so, about 300 blocks and an uncountable number of spiders later we had finished and it was time for tea break – well timed with the arrival of the other van and the brew kit!

Post tea break it was time to tackle the main jobs for the weekend, Ed, Dave and Jenny disappeared with Blue to re-profile the canal near the lock. Allan and co. decided fire was the way forward and set to working their way through a Bob sized pile of branches. The rest of us started on the main task of the day, which was uncovering an aqueduct to enable investigation later in the day by some Structural Engineers. Martin decided the bung in the pipe from the in water section of canal, just wasn’t up to scratch. Removing it proved easy but replacing it was a much more entertaining (at least for the rest of us) challenge. Martin received the only shower of the weekend– but I am not entirely convinced about the cleanliness of the water!

About this point the Tirfor crew of Marcus, Andy R, Grace and Nat (Fab) decamped to Newent to tackle the stumps left from our last visit.

Lunch time came and went and the afternoon continued in a similar vain with more of the aqueduct appearing and new Jon G creating steps in the steep bank to provide easier access. The day finished with the arrival of 6 student engineers plus tutor to measure the aqueduct so they could design its repair as a project. I am not sure about any one else but they definitely kept me entertained by having to keep retaking measurements as they had made mistakes the first time. Am not quite sure what they made of us though!

Fencing up and back at the accommodation it was time to celebrate Marcus’ birthday (here’s hoping I got that apostrophe in the right place!) before the usual decamp next door to the pub for a beer or two.

Back on site on Sunday after the usual fab fry up the Tirfor team carried on at Newent, Ed followed by Nigel carried on with the profiling whilst the rest of us got to trash an old mobile home. I wish I could have captured the look of glee on several people’s faces! The inside was stripped followed by the destruction of the shell, the burning of as much as possible on a SMALL and CONTROLLED fire, yes Tim and Russ that applies to you too! The aluminium was then trimmed in to tidy squares for recycling before Dave and Ed set to carving the base frame into pieces. A definite case of kit formed caravan!

Back on the Newent site stump and tree removal continued and a fencing crew joined them to finish the fencing job started last time and to help burn the stumps and tidy the site

We finally reached the end of two very successful days and wended our merry way hope, drivers powered as usual by a supply of Jelly Babies. Thanks to everyone who came I hope you all had as good a weekend as me. Also thanks to the locals, we definitely approve of the hall at Dymock. See you all next time.