It's a lovely spring day, we're raring to go, aren't we guys? Guys? Oh, here's Jim and Malcy refusing to unload any more of the van until they know what we're doing. NB, Jim appears to be wearing his special "tree" hat....

Roy soon sorts them out: we're finishing off the post and rails fencing along the back of the Canal Cottages to the west of the Silver Lane bridge (must try to get a map for you ....) and starting work on the revetment. Oooh, exciting! However, first things first, one of the larch-lap panels - you can just see them disappearing off into the distance - was installed upside down at the last work party, so Vic and I are sent off to remove it and re-install it the right way up.

I support the panel while Vic saws through the nails with a hacksaw, crying gently as he does so, as we won't be able to re-use the nails. (Note: any companies out there who would like to make a nice gesture, do please feel free to e-mail me if you have any unwanted nails - please! please! Or for that matter, wire staples, posts, rails, barbed wire, high-vis jackets, tools, petrol-powered shredders: well, you never know!)

And look, here's Alistair getting ready to use the bowsaw (and we always need bowsaw blades too.....), very good, teeths down!

Malcy and Jim are hard at work lining up the slanting rail:

then Vic comes along to inspect it. "Ur, think I'll just put another nail in here, just to make sure..."

"Teeths down, Alistair?" "Wot?! Wot?! I'm doing it right!" Mind your leg, then.

Aargh! Jim has bent a nail! Now he has to get it out and straighten it so we can re-use it. And you think I'm joking....

Heading east back towards the road, Doug and Bob start laying out the next section.

Alistair is tasked with removing some awkward branches, so we can make use of a tree and save using a post. By gum he's got those teeths down, hasn't he?

"Roight!" Says Roy, "You lot get those posts in place and we'll stop for lunch."

While they're sorting themselves out, I take advantage of a sunny day to take photos from the Silver Lane bridge: here I am looking west over the section on which we are working today:

And here I am looking east, towards Wantage, over the stretch that we dredged last year, and which has "greened up" beautifully.It's even got a bit of water in it! This will be a wonderful rural stretch of canal once it's opened, I'm sure it's going to be a very popular cruising area!

Right, lunch is over, let's see how they're getting on with that last section: oh, not much progress. Where is everyone?

Ah, they're all back at the bridge watching Bob and Roy digging out an old post with it's accompanying lump of concrete.

Having chivvied them all back to work, Alistair and Malcy inspect the final stretch. "What do you think?" they ask. "Needs the tops of the posts trimmed" I reply, too kind to mention that that last top rail looks a bit crooked.

Jim starts bowsawing the tops off the posts.

And Alistair, having proved that he knows how to use a bowsaw ("teeths down, teeths down") gets to work as well. Pulling a face at me. Nothing new there, then!

Back at the road, and having finished getting that lump of concrete out, Roy marks where he wants a post hole to go.

So Doug and John get bonking...

Malcy and Vic have been told to put another post for the gate: it's a square post and can't be bonked, so they start digging a bigger 'ole by clearing away the ivy and other roots.

Vic gets to work with the bodging bar:

Then Malcy steps in to scoop out the loose stuff.

A short while later, there's an 'ole, just right for a gatepost.

And to make sure no-one falls down it, Vic marks it with a branch....

Next job: the revetment. First task - clear away the undergrowth so we can see what we're doing. Malcy and Bob get a line stretched out to mark where the posts will have to go.

Alistair has finally been persuaded to put down the bowsaw, and starts work with a slasher to clear the greenery around the line, without chopping it, of course.

Jim gets his scythe (sickle?) out, taking care not to chop the line, of course.

"Alistair!"

Some while later, having mended the line...... the revetment posts are positioned, and the hard work of bonking them into place begins.

Of course, there are always some who prefer to watch the hard work... (he he)

And up at the road again, we do a neat job of chamfering off the ends of the rails round the corner.

Finally, in case you were wondering what happened to that lump of concrete that Bob and Roy dug up earlier: here it is, safely stored behind the post and rails. Who knows, we may yet find a use for it!