| December is with us again, and it's our last work party before Christmas. We're back at Childrey Wharf, situated just outside Childrey village, heading north on New Road.
As it's a cold day, we all wrap up in extra layers of clothes, and start moving a pile of brushwood from the last work party along past the Wharf, for burning. After ten minutes of dragging huge armfuls of wood (sorry, no pics, had my hands full!) we were bright red in the face and puffing well. So much for a cold day! OK, first job, get a bonfire going. Malcy and Vic get it going: 
Hmm, not the most promising beginning of a bonfire that we've ever seen... 
Jim, always on the lookout for possible raw walking sticks, finds a bogley one: 
Ah, that's better, it's starting to burn properly. Just in time, as we're all starting to cool off from the effort of heaving all the wood along the Cut. 
Hmmm, what's this then? A great big willow root, is the answer. Well, let's get rid of it then, says Roy. 
"Right!" says Roy, "Let's roll it along the towpath." Easy to say.... 
OK, and surprisingly, quite easy to do! 
Down the slope..... 
...and up on end. Now, one big heave: 
and over it goes! 
Ten minutes later, that's more like a proper Canal Club bonfire. 
And finally, here's the obligatory picture of five blokes watching one bloke poke the fire!! Roy is on poking duty, with Vic, Doug, Malcy and Jim adopting the classic "hands behind back" pose. 
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Right! Abandoning that side of the road, most of us move over to the other side of the road, to our newly moved compound. Here it is, in all it's glory: working well so far, all equipment safe and undamaged, and no bulls today.
Roy's told us to scrub-bash the next section, past the compound. Yet again, strange feelings of deja vu, as we set to work on the 'orrible 'awthorn and beastly brambles. Chairman Brian comes to join us for an hour, so we set him to work making a start on the overgrown hedgeline. 
Roy comes along to see that we are playing nicely (and of course we are, as always) and says that as the wind has dropped, we can get rid of the scrub by burning it. He very kindly starts the bonfire for us. What, does he think we can't do it ourselves??! (only joking!) 
Here's a perfect illustration of why we all hate this sort of scrub-bashing: hawthorn and bramble make great airy fronds of firmly-locked branches, and it's very hard to get a good "heart" to the fire. It needs constant attention, and much effort in breaking up the long streamers (all of which are, needless to say, thorny) into short lengths in order to get some decent embers going. 
Aha, Malcy has found a decent-sized bit of wood - quick, cut it down and get it on the fire: 
Jim's found some bigger branches as well, things are looking up! 
"Hey Jim," says Malcy, "give us a push on this tree, would you?" 
Oh dear, Jim doesn't know his own strength... 
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Well, that's a bit of an improvement, the hedge is starting to look as it is supposed to, ie back on the fence line instead of creeping across the fields.
Here's Jim having a strop. (ha! ha! Well, I thought it was funny...) 
Meanwhile there's no stopping Vic, he's chopping for England over there. 
Ah, that's what makes it all worth while: nice neat hedge line, good hot end-of-bonfire pile. 
Vic takes a moment to admire the fire. 
And one final bit of effort: removing the scrub has revealed a weak point in the long-buried fence, so we string some barbed wire across to prevent the cattle finding their way down to the water. We cunningly fashion a rustic fence pole from Malcy's chopped-down tree, but we need something with which to bash it into the ground. Hmm, no bonkers available today. OK, let's use one of the spare fence posts then! Another classic Canal Club joke - "When I nod my head, you hit it!" Ahh, the old ones are the best. 
Well, that's all I had time for today, and in case you're wondering, yes we did find time for two tea breaks and a lunch break. |