| Imagine our surprise: this weekend, Roy said "Meet at West Challow Village Hall!" instead of meeting at the Wharf. Well, they say a change is as good as a rest, and it's nice to have a change of scenery now and again.
So here we are at West Challow, I'm standing on the small bridge where the bridle-way leads up on my left to Childrey, and on my right, back to West Challow. Today we're planning to trim up the towpath growth to allow clear access for what I call the Big Digger, our Hymac, (everyone else seems to call it "start, you b**ch!") to do some dredging. Shouldn't be too arduous, you can see that it's not particularly overgrown. We just want to ensure that Bob can see where he's going - we don't want any splashy type accidents! - and that brambles don't get wrapped around the tracks. 
Here's Vic, nice and early, with his long pole for trimming trees, and a bag of food in case he gets hungry whilst working: 
And specially for his relatives in Canada, here is Vic, actually working!!!! He's sawing off some of the low branches on the towpath-side trees, which might otherwise be damaged by the Hymac. 
Meanwhile the rest of us are slashing away, as normal, despite the constant light rain. It actually looks a lot lighter in the photo than it did on the day! 
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Right! Let's get started! Here's Roy climbing on the Big Digger to check that all is well before we start.
And here's Bob, all ready in the cab, checking that his sweeties are still in his pocket. 
Approaching the cut: ooer, steady Bob, it looks a bit slippery - and a bit steep! Jim is ready round the back, Roy is walking across in front, and the rest of us have made ourselves scarce! 
Huh, why was I worried? Perfectly easy! Down the slope goes the Big Digger. 
There then followed a non-photoworthy interval where Bob scooped up large amounts of incredibly smelly mud and stuff, and the rest of us stood around admiring his skill, and occasionally calling out unhelpful comments such as "mind that branch" and "don't spill any". A complete waste of time, as Bob can't hear us over the noise of the engine. But that won't stop us! After a short while, Bob noticed that he was losing power in the lifting arm, and decided that as it was probably a leak of hydraulic fluid, it would be best to get the beast back up on level ground before it started drooping. Roy sprang into action:
"Quick march!" and we all leapt to attention.
It's thanks to Jim for the next four photos, I was too busy checking that no-one was in the way, and that no passers-by would be startled. Please note the unconcerned horse in the background, grazing blithely. 
Thanks to our well-orchestrated teamwork, a clear route was made available and Bob managed to persuade the beast up the slippery slope and back onto the field - and only just in time, as the bucket was showing signs of extreme tiredness. 
Phew, back on solid ground again. Goodness, there's a first: I'm actually in the photo! Well, that's never happened before! 
Roy (behind Keith) Bob (in orange) and Phil survey the mud. One thing you have to say for tracked vehicles, they can get out of just about anywhere - with a good driver, that is - but they don't half make a mess of soft ground. 
Bob was right, there was indeed a leak in the hydraulics, and we had to send runners off to collect some more hydraulic fluid. If anyone reading this would like to make a generous donation in order to buy us some slightly newer equipment, do please contact us! |
Right, that's enough excitement for one day, let's see how many of us it takes to plant a simple fence post:
Well, that'll be the obligatory "four blokes" then! "Hmmm" says Roy "not sure that's completely upright." "See this shovel?" says Jim, meaningfully..... 
And now time for the famous old joke: all together now "when I nod my head, you hit it!" 
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| Well, here endeth a short day at West Challow: perhaps we'll have better luck with the equipment next time. |