Longside Farm: 23-01-2018

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Today heralded yet another round in the prolonged fight against Longside Farm hedge. 

In the red corner were 14 NCVs armed with axes, billhooks and bow saws. In the blue corner was a long line of tall hawthorn trees, bristling with thorns, ready to fight back in this, the first meet of the 2018 season.

In the end there was no real contest; the 15m of hedge that had entered the ring so valiantly just didn't stand a chance - it simply keeled over and lay down quietly. Photographic evidence of the massacre can be seen below.....

Firstly a good supply of posts and rails had to be 
carried across the field to the boxing ring.

Then safety gear was applied.
The only goggles that would fit over Ros E's glasses
 had to be removed when they steamed up. 

 Then the red team was treated to its first ever on site breakfast.

This set them up for the bout ahead.
Thanks go to Hilary for providing sausages, pulled pork and onions in buns!!

Anita and Ros K. got stuck into the grub and came out smiling.

The hedge looked on flexing its muscles, 
waiting for the first blow to fall.

One section had weighed in and been given a flyweight rating.
Its chances didn't look good.

Another section was definitely a heavy weight stretch.
This was not going to go down without a fight.

Then the bell rang and Andy waded in 
with a right hook - sorry - bow saw.

Anita and Angela went in with axes, raining blows on the stems. 

James deployed his chainsaw.
There was a sharp intake of breath from the crowd but the ref didn't 
seem to notice this flagrant flouting of the Queensberry rules.

Things were not looking good for the blue team.

Lunchtime cake, provided by Birthday Boy James, 
gave the NCVs a new lease of life after lunch.
Round 2, seconds out

As the hawthorns started to fall so 
the NCVs inserted posts and rails.

Eventually the referee had to stop the fight. 

The hedge was on the floor and didn't stir on the count of 10. 
The crowd went wild. The NCVs went home - to apply hoses to their muddy gear.

Fishpond Wood: 16-01-2018

This week the NCVs returned to Fishpond Wood for their first visit of 2018. According to James's email they were to be 'working with owner Peter Brambleby to help out with some further landscape maintenance work in sympathy with the wood’s multi-layered history'. They weren't quite sure what that would involve until on site.

According to Osian....

"On a very brisk chilly day approximately 15 NCVs braved some early light blizzards to gather at The Barn in Bewerley. During the briefing for the day's activity at Fish Pond Wood, James broke the news of his departure to a new job starting in February. Good luck James!

The group split into three parties; pond left bank, pond right bank and warm-ish barn shelf-fitters. The Fishpond group toiled to remove rhodie, elder and other unwanted tree roots. This will enable the ongoing broadleaf tree species planting at the pond's edge and further afield in Fishpond Wood. Six young trees were also planted."

The students worked under the stern eye of Osian on the 

dry footpath on one side of the pond... 

 ...while the rest of us slogged our way 

through a deepening swamp opposite. 

An Amelanchier (wild plum tree) planted by Tony and Tom.

Conor gives it everything to dig
 an unwanted root ball out.

One pesky elder root  removed.

A triumphant Andy with an enormous rhododendron 

root he (and others) had dug out.

Roots gone, the clay can be dug out 
to allow new trees to be planted.

And in goes a cherry.

And a maple.

Meanwhile there was the inevitable bonfire, to get rid of the roots

 and some brash that was lying around from a previous visit.
It was always going to struggle with the drenched food we were feeding it,
 but it went reasonably well, coaxed by our experienced pyromaniacs. 

Conditions were muddy and everyone got filthy.

Three fly pasts by a kingfisher over lunch was exciting, 

as well as trying to guess James's age. He wasn't giving anything away.
Perhaps he’ll tell us his true age before he departs? 
Not that it matters - we’ll still miss him and his humour, knowledge, and organisational skills.

By 2pm the Fish Pond group had completed their tasks and were able to inspect what had been going on inside the barn.

Jan, Phil and a new volunteer, Andy, were happy to stay 
in the barn beside the stove, building new shelves. 
Phil claimed they were envious of our outdoor role but nobody believed him.

Work in progress.

Prayers were said to the god of shelving to assist in the process.

Thanks to Osian, Tony, Dave and Tom for all the photos and bits of text - real team work!!

First Aid training and work at the barn: 09-01-2018

Today 12 NCVs were first aid trained to ensure their certificates were up to date. The trainer was Steve Smith of 'First Aider Training' and the course was based at Broadbelt Hall in Glasshouses. Successful completion of the programme by everyone involved now means that the NCVs can venture outside, bearing all sorts of dangerous tools, without worrying about their well being. Thanks go to Steve for an excellent training day  - let's just hope we never have to put our training into practice!!

The photos below show the highlights ....

Mark ably demonstrates how to put a casualty 
into the recovery position if they are to be left unattended.

 

These two casualties fell onto their fronts
so don't need to be moved (unless they're not breathing!).

This fella has been trapped in a car. 
He can be left in place until the ambulance arrives.
Unless the car is about to fall off the edge of a cliff.

These two Siamese twins are less fortunate.
Apart from having no legs, they are not breathing and therefore require CPR.

Fancy there being two pairs of legless Siamese twins in one room.
What are the chances of that? And needing CPR too.

If you can get hold of a defibrillator - all to the good.
Make sure that you put the two patches in the right places and STAND CLEAR!

 As luck would have it there was a real defibrillator on the wall of the hall, 
so Steve took us all outside to have a look at it.
It was good to see that the real one functioned exactly like the training one.

Mind you - if you are on your own with a casualty and a defib. machine is more than a minute away then it has to stay there. CPR takes priority.
You only have 3 mins before the brain starts to die once a person stops breathing.
Keep that blood moving around the body!!

Eleven who were not involved in the training day reported to the NCVs' barn, where they were kept busy cleaning and sharpening or re-setting tools, sawing up and stacking firewood for the wood burning stove, doing a little bit of tidying up and even collecting litter from the roadside into Glasshouses and up at Two Stoops and Toft Gate car parks (not an inviting task on such a misty and dank day). Here's how they got on....

Dave practised the fox trot with a rather skinny looking NCV.

"Oh my. What big eyes you have."
"All the better to re-set saws by, my dear."

Colin and Graham try to keep the saw horse under control 
whilst cutting up wood for the stove.

And the rubbish kept piling up - 
thanks to litter pickers Will and Andy.

Conor and James A & B tidied the boots and tools shelves.
I wonder how long they will remain looking like that?

Wood store replenished, old tools sharpened and new tools marked 
with the crucial green splodge signifying NCV ownership.

Lunch gathered around the log burner - although not everyone could fit.

First come first served!

Hackfall Woods: 02-01-2018

IT'S 2018 - 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

As the New Year started so those NCVs who were not feeling the worse for wear after the over-indulgences of the Christmas festivities set out for a day's work at Hackfall Woods. 

NCV Tony reported......

For me, the star attraction of the morning happened in the car park before the rest turned up - two willow tits near the car. I hardly ever see them. The temp was about 3 degrees, though it got slightly warmer but rained steadily. Looking down from the top of the wood to the fountain pond we could see the snow still lying in some places.

After the initial New Year greetings James told us that this was primarily a reconnaissance event to identify what work would need to be done with a bigger gang on the next few visits. We set off downhill carrying spades, loppers and bow saws to do some initial work - cutting  back invasive holly, clearing gullies and digging mud off the steps. 

 David got busy with a shovel....

...and did a superb job of clearing some steps.

Vista? What vista?

 Well - this lot will have to go for a start.

 James - a bit soggy but happy in his work.

Phil put his bow saw to good use.

We followed well known paths stopping for coffee near the Alum pond, then for lunch at Fisher Hall, but in the early afternoon visited an area of the wood that was new to some of us, including a visit to a dropping well. 

The water features were full and running well,

 thanks to work that we'd done previously.

Coffee time on a wet bench.

The seldom seen dropping well.

There is a lot of clearing work to do to free up the vistas and some of that will need abseiling skills with ropes.Some of the paths are turning to swamps after all the rain and will need new gullies. 

By early afternoon we had all had enough and struggled back uphill to the car park, wet, covered in mud and tired - but feeling all the better for the fresh air and exercise!.