Old Spring Wood: 16-08-2016

"BOB A JOB"

NCV job scouting team:

"Eh there missus. Want any jobs doing? Very good rates - just a bob a  job - and a group of 9 highly skills NCVs to do them."

Rosemary Helme (owner of Old Spring Wood):

"Now let me think. Oh yes - I've got a few odd jobs you can do in Old Spring Wood this week. I'll give James a list and I'll see you on Tuesday."

And see us she did. We did a lot of jobs but decided to waive the fee. See the photo blog below....

Ros E.

Up in the top plantation:

 Trees planted long ago had to be 

freed from their tree tubes.

 All were thriving and had grown quite tall.

 Some of the tubes were awkward to reach 

but this didn't deter Yvonne and Mich.

 Colin sliced the tubes with surgical precision...

As he peeled back the plastic the trees 

breathed a sigh of relief.

The slugs and worms that were then revealed were less happy. 

One was heard to say, as it wiggled and slid away, that he was going 

to put in a complaint to the local council. There had been no prior 

warning of this de-tubing activity.

 Many tubes were well overdue for removal.

Trips down to the wall with armfuls of unwanted tubing

 allowed the bob-a-jobbers to see the lovely view.

Meanwhile, down in the main wood:

 First up was the creation of 6 notice boards 

using the materials provided.

These then had to be inserted at the 6 different entrances 

into the wood in order to pass on an important 

message to the public, namely:

A spike was used to provide the hole for the stake...

...and a heavy mallet then had to be wielded to knock them in.

Ta Da! That must be worth a bob of anyone's money.

After a short coffee break ...

...on to job number 2. This entailed the team walking the 

various pathways with bow saws and loppers, finding a number of 

fallen tree branches that had blocked pathways...

...and removing them.

Now that's definitely worth a bob.

Bird box monitors can now reach box number 3 in safety.

Brash piles were constructed with the resulting vegetation.

Last 2 jobs of the day involved the lower woodland

 team pruning off unwanted sycamore growth and de-tubing 

trees that were big enough to stand on their own two roots.

Lunch was a leisurely affair in the sunshine - 

very enjoyable indeed.

 Jan lent back against his rear wheel as a 

deterrent against  anyone pinching it.

Summer walk: 09-08-2016

No task for us today.

Hurray, hurray, hurray.

Instead we went to play,

On a lovely summer's day.

                           (Anon)

Today was the day of our summer walk with lunch courtesy of the AONB (thanks very much for that - it was much appreciated!) The 5 mile circular walk started and finished at Bivouac, near Ilton, which was very fortunate for us as it meant we could have our lunch in their wonderful cafe. 

Many thanks to Anita and Ros K., both for organising a great walk and some good weather too. However - it must be noted with much regret that Anita was unable to join us, as she was unwell. Boooo! Poor Anita. We were sorry she could not join us and missed her ready smile. 

Ros E.

The photos show how we got on.....

Osian turned up sporting one of the stylish British Olympic team's chin warmers.

These are made from a sustainable source of human hair and can be purchased at a reasonable rate from all UK wig makers during the Olympic period.

The group gather and wait for leader Ros K.

 to blow the starting whistle.

And they're off. Terry strides out, determined to take an 
early lead in this mixed team race.

Lovely views along the way kept spirits high in 'Team NCV '.

.

Every so often some got left behind.  
The team waited for them to catch up, 
worried that they would be late for their Bivouac lunch 
and miss the chance of a medal.

It was usually these two 'laggy lasts' that held up the field.

Coffee time at the bridge - Ros E. broke out a box of her 
high energy flapjack to sustain the team until 1pm.

Graham took the opportunity to give a motivational team building talk, 
filling us in with the details of recent AONB meetings he had attended as our representative. These mainly consisted of him having a number of free meals 
so now we all want to volunteer for that role!!

Terry ignored this talk and sat in a huff because he hadn't 
been able to maintain his early lead.

Our team took the footbridge instead of going straight 
through the water jump. This probably cost us a few precious 
seconds but at least it kept our feet dry.

Prepared for all eventualities, team leader Ros K. 
drew out her secateurs to remove the 
overhanging vegetation obscuring a gate.
(Probably left there by the Russian team as a 
cunning ploy to send us in the wrong direction.)

Tony goes for gold in a second attempt 

at the 'let's keep them all waiting' event.

En route we passed this wall - 
the latest effort by the NAONB's walling group perhaps?
If so then they could do with some refresher training.

Lunch at the cafe - the reward for completing the course.

Pea soup, sausage baps and chips. Yummy! 
Who needs a medal?

And finally - anyone for the Brymor ice cream eating event? 
Well of course - you should never pass up a Brymor opportunity!!


Determined to take first place, a real killer instinct 
took over and Osian attacked his cone with gusto. 

 Ros E. soon had the chocolate filling licked clean away.

Ros K. played the waiting game, hoping that the others 
would run out of steam before being able to complete the course.

 Graham considered the possibility of swallowing 
the whole thing in one go.

Alistair found it all just too cold on his teeth, 
deciding to pass the baton on to the next 
runner at an early stage.

Choice of tasks: 02-08-2016

This week was one of those times when the NCVs were spoilt for choice. We could either take Option A:

Gate re-positioning at Timble due to erosion along Timble Gill & Dick’s Beck which involved moving the gate and posts, patching the fence, and realigning a footpath.  

or Option B:

Tool time at the Barn which involved cleaning, sharpening, tidying, updating the tool inventory and marking up new tools. 

In the event, 6 NCVs opted for both A and B. All were rewarded with both flapjack from Audrey and cake from James - thanks for this folks!!

A few photos of the 'Choose your own adventure' day.....

Team A

This is the stream that has caused the problem. 

It looks very innocent at the moment.

That there gate is gonna have t'go.

So it did!

And so did the nettles.


Ros and Anita made a start on taking down the fence.

NCVs are good at digging holes. Fortunately there 
was no Toft Gate like bedrock to blast through!

Tom and Nick put the freshly dug 
holes to good use.

Eventually - after a lot of hard work - the job was complete.

 The team could stand back and admire their work....

....before setting off up the hill for home .

Team B

Yes - the barn certainly needed a tidy....

 Over there...

 ...over there...

...and over here.

No worries - we'd soon sort it out!

Jan got busy doing what he likes to do best 

and fixed tools to his heart's content.

Angela slapped green paint  on tool handles

(which shows the tools belong to us) 
and Terry made inroads into the heaps that needed shifting.

Ruth took on the tool inventory and 
was soon wishing she hadn't.

Alistair was scratching his head over this contraption. 
A prize for anyone who can explain what it does.
I think it's a tool for winding up the sun.

And then - all of a sudden - the job was done.

What a difference a day makes!

A place for everything and everything in its place.

 That all looks a good deal tidier...

... and there's plenty of space to have a dance!!

Woe betide anyone who doesn't put their tools back in the right place from now on!!

Ros E.