Grillo busted

 

Pit Common 20th September

Unavoidable circumstances regrettably (ahem) prevented your usual correspondent’s attendance at a recent special work party on Pit Common. Team Leader and frequent stand-in blogger Julie has provided the following account.

“We had nine hardy volunteers turn out today to clear away the grass, nettles and brambles around the Pit, which had been cut a few days previously. Also necessary was the clearing and digging out of the drainage channels leading from the road into the Pit.

Initially just two of us were setting up, and commenting that the area around the Pit is a lot bigger than you think once it is cut!!

The prime concern today was clearing the wildflower triangle that we are encouraging on Pit Common.

The volunteers were soon setting up to rake and pitchfork the cut material onto drag sheets which were then hand dragged to our dump area to the rear of the site.

The initial cut had been done with Grillo which cut the longer vegetation but it generally just flattened the softer grasses. So we also had to get the Pit mower out today to go over the wildflower area several times to get the grass shorter. It will probably need a few more cuts before it is short enough for us to scatter our additional Yellow Rattle seeds. The area is a work in progress. We have mainly got rid of the dock etc but we still need to fight the amount of grass in the area.

The sheets were dragged to the rear of the site which now serves as our dump area. We decided it was easier for a team to drag it to the area and tip it out and then for one person (me!) to pitch fork it up into a big heap.

 It was a very warm morning and we were all relieved when refreshment time was called!

As well as removing the grass we had Andrew doing a work-out clearing and digging out the drainage channels from the road …. It saved him a trip to the gym anyway!

When we had finished, I was quite proud of my enormous heap of cut material - it is much taller than me - ok that’s not saying much, but it was well over 6 foot!! It also appears that I was trying to replicate Mt Rushmore… oh come on this is definitely a face…!!

This is how the area looks now…”

Sunday 29th September

The latest work party of the Southrepps Commons Volunteers was graced by 16 of those good people. After a pretty chilly night, the weather was kind – unlike a couple of days previously, when it rained and rained and rained. Not as badly as many other parts of the country thankfully, but enough to make our little patch even soggier than it had been two weeks ago. We had left one fully loaded sheet last time, and as usual there had been a ‘pre-cut’ earlier in the week. All that had been cut had therefore absorbed a great deal of water, and thus became very heavy. Thank goodness for our winch!

The pre-cut had fortunately been extensive, so there was plenty lying around for us to work on.

It was fortunate, as during that pre-cut session Grillo had developed a serious oil leak, and is now awaiting the ministrations of a mechanic.

At every session, the first task is to sign in.

Then the drag sheets need to be laid out in suitable spots. See what I mean about the soggy conditions?

After that, it’s time to look cool with a pitchfork.

And then away we go!

Once a sheet is well loaded, it has to be accompanied on its winched journey to the dump site. Here we see two team leaders demonstrating the correct technique. The rest of us watched and learned.

Once tipped out, the loads combine to make heaps, and heaps can become a source of great pride. I tried to claim this as all my own work, but was predictably accused of inaccuracy. Such is life.

We’re all valuable of course, but we’re especially grateful to those who make the all-important winch keep on winching. These two were equally pleased to see your correspondent. Good to see Noel back in his Top Gun outfit.

Down at the winch end of the rope we do always have a good laugh, but the hysterical shriek let out by Noel when I claimed that we could move a particularly awkward load because “we’re a bunch of rootin’ tootin’ roughty toughty guys” was extreme. Down there under the trees the stray remark “don’t let it get stuck on the thing” also raised a chuckle.

Singing at the winch site has been well documented before. Offerings this time included The Undertones hit ‘My cousin Kevin’ (in tribute to Team Leader Kevin, obviously); and ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’. You can’t say we’re not eclectic in our repertoire. You can say a lot of other things, and people do, but not that.

There were many frogs of varying sizes hopping about the soggy spot, looking aggrieved at the change in their living conditions. One particularly aggrieved one had clearly had an argument with Grillo and sad to say one of its legs was hanging off. A tasteless remark from your correspondent was that it appeared to be footloose and fancy free. It also put me in mind of my favourite sketch (no longer completely politically correct) by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore: the Tarzan audition, with Dud as a one-legged – indeed a uni-dexter – applicant for the role. It’s on YouTube in all its grainy glory at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbnkY1tBvMU#:~:text=Peter%20Cook%20&%20Dudley%20Moore%20-%20One%20Leg

The usual break arrived on time at 11.00 and the weary workers gathered at the bench. Perhaps we had neglected to tell Top Gun, but he had a long lonely walk to the party.

Catering having omitted to purchase any biscuits, and fearing insurrection, Team Leader Margaret kindly baked some cookies. She claimed they were a first attempt, so if that’s the case that was a very creditable effort. She did mention the ingredients, but I instantly forgot what they were. They tasted lovely, even if they were perhaps a little fragile.

We were joined at the bench by a young lizard; welcome evidence that they are continuing to breed here. Indeed, they are frequently recorded on the sightings whiteboard – 16 times so far this year.

Last time this area proved treacherous for your correspondent, and to general hilarity my welly and the socks therein absorbed a significant portion of the water lurking in a deep place. Just in case lightning would strike twice in the same spot, it seemed wise to film a sheet being winched through the mire. Happily (ahem) it passed off incident free.

We’ll have to hope Grillo is quickly repaired, so that the fun can continue in a fortnight’s time…

Here is Team Leader Margaret’s message of thanks:

Thank you to the 16 volunteers who came today. As usual you all exceeded expectations and cleared everything we needed to. Only Duncan was disappointed as no one fortunately fell in the wet conditions. There were far more frogs than I have seen in one session so we must be doing something right. Thank you too to John, Kevin and Michelle for the pre-cut so the material was light to move.

We will keep you posted on the wellbeing of Grillo. It has sprung a significant oil leak.  Hopefully George will be able to find us a replacement before the next session.

Thank you as well, for the kind comments about my first and probably last attempt to make cookies.

Thanks again and we look forward to working with you all in two weeks time.

Margaret for the team leaders