A momentous day
This week's task fell on the 2nd September, which is a special day for a number of reasons.
First up - it was the first task to be carried out on the first Tuesday of autumn. The heady days of summer are over, and so too is the pulling up of balsam. Hurray!
Secondly - in case you didn't already know - the 2nd of September is Calendar Adjustment Day - the day which marks Britain's shift in 1751 to the use of the Gregorian calendar to bring them in line with the rest of Europe. Very confusing for everyone at the time!!!!
Thirdly - again for the international day ignoramuses - the 2nd September is World Coconut Day - a time to dwell on the versatility and benefits of coconuts. (Far too many to list here....)
More importantly 2nd September 2025 marked the start of the annual Glasshouses Verge Scything Event. Two task days had been allocated to this job, but would they both be needed? A contractor was going to cut all the flat bits and the NCVs just had to do the rest and rake up the aftermath.
Let's take a look and see if a second visit will be needed....
Job number one:
Assemble your scythe.
Only then can you start to swing it
to good effect.
Phil swung like a pro - then
announced it was his swan song.
Phil - we shall miss you.
Please come and join us from time
to time if you can.
Those who were not scything
got busy with their rakes.
Luckily the contractors had turned up...
...and had already started doing
a grand job on the flat sections.
The NCVs too, were doing an
excellent job on the roadside bank.
At coffee time Julia came around
with a box of ...
...what she called her
'Past their best banana cake'.
The bananas may well have been past
their best, but the cake was excellent!
The contractor's grass cutting machine
kept losing its front wheel, so had to
be taken off to be welded.
Whilst he was waiting, his assistant
started collecting up the grass piles.
Liz had also brought 2 new toys
to try out. An electric strimmer
and an electric high level
hedge trimmer.
These came in handy throughout the day.
The ensuing brash got taken off
by Anita and Brenda...
...and was used to bolster
up the dead hedge.
Another non-scything job involved
this poor self-seeded cherry tree
which was growing around the fence.
Paul and Dave got to work on removing the
offending bits of fence bars.
Osian, too, did a bit of sawing....
...and soon freed the tree trunk
and made the fence ends secure.
They could hear the tree breathing
a sigh of relief!
Despite the contractor's cutting machine breakdown losing him nearly two hours,
the job was pretty well completed
by close of play. Just some piles of grass
along the edge to be collected.
No need to return next week!
Stop Press:
Honorary NCV Harry has finally left primary school and has just had his first day at Upper Nidderdale High School.
Congratulations Harry!
smart you look!!
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