Victoria Baths Sun 19th Jan 2014

Four of us went to Victoria Baths to continue helping with the improvements at the Baths.


 

This time we were stripping paint from under the balconies in the Second Class Males pool area.

As you can see we wore protective gear - safety glasses, dust masks and white paper
suits! - very fetching!!

We first tried removing the paint using long wooden broom handles with scrapers attached but this didn't really work so we stood on platforms so we could reach.

We were really lucky as Neil, one of the volunteers at Victoria Baths, gave us a tour of the building and explained all the improvements that had taken place since they won the BBC Restoration program 11 years ago.

12 Jan Alderly Edge Hedge laying

Thanks to Sarah for leading on the day and for providing the words in italics a little further down....

The pictures are mine and to cover the main stages of laying the hedge more than the volunteers!

“Another great turn out today at Alderley Edge. Thirteen volunteers braved the cold to continue the hedge laying that the group started at the end of November. We had a mix of hedge laying talent amongst us - from complete novices to experienced old hands. Tim O’D took the novices for a introductory class, working to complete the section that the group had started last year; whilst a more experience group continued laying the section that the Congleton volunteers had previously worked on.

A pile of hedge cuttings soon amassed, much to the dismay of the third group who were trying to light a fire in the strong wind. It took over an hour, a lot of perseverance and some clever tactics (building a cardboard wind break around the base of the fire) before we could get the flames to catch properly. By coffee time (with special Waitrose cakes this week), the hedge layers were making good progress but we were starting to doubt that we would be able to burn even half of the brash that they were generating.

After the break, we turned all spare pairs of loppers to the task of cutting the brash up into really small pieces and loading the fire twig by twig. Eventually this paid off and by the end of the day we had not only completed one hedge row and laid over ten meters of another, but we had successful dragged, chopped and burned all the cuttings leaving the site neat and tidy for the next set of volunteers!"

5 Jan 2014 New year walk

As usual, we started the year not with a workday, but with a gentle stroll at a local NT property. Four of us (Tim O’D, Tim L, Phillipa & I) congregated at Styal for an occasionally muddy amble through the Southern Woods. There was plenty of water pouring over the weir upstream of the mill, testament to the recent heavy rain.

We passed the stretch of river where we did some spiling in the summer, where a few dogs (one appropriately named Flo) were swimming around, and coming perilously close to undoing our good work while scrambling in and out of the water.

At the back of Jim Evison playing fields, we searched in vain for the chestnut trees planted by Phil’s Mum a couple of decades ago, before making a short detour to meet the lady herself! Mrs Greaves was not expecting her daughter to be accompanied by three men, and appeared at the doorway in her dressing gown, proving that Phil doesn’t have a monopoly on the minor social scandal in her family.

We arrived back at the mill after just over an hour and a half, but not a moment too soon, as the forecast rain arrived bang on time. We had a brief chat to Simon in the yard, then headed indoors to enjoy a bite and a warming drink in the cafe, just in the nick of time to beat the lunchtime rush.

Dunahm Massey 15 December 2013

thanks to "Mick" for leading the day and the following words...

The last MNTV workday of 2013 was at Dunham Massey and a crisp, clear day welcomed nine volunteers to the park. We were actually working outside the park - across the road from the end of Charcoal Drive.This former car park, now intended to be woodland, is getting overgrown. After stripping ivy off the paling fence we were clearing the scrub and thinning out the smaller trees. 

The ranger was around for a some of the day, but had various members of the public and a deer with a plastic bag caught on it's antlers to attend to as well.

The Green Room- The Importance of being Earnest Tues 10th Dec 2013

A few of us met at The Green Room in Wilmslow to see their performance of Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance of being Earnest'.

It was a fresh interpretation of this famous play with a minimal set and minimal furniture but still involving some extremely clever and witty dialogue around a handbag, a railway station and the true love of someone called Earnest:-)

The Green Room is a lovely, small theatre in Wilmslow and, wherever you sit, you are so close to the stage that you feel almost part of the production.

A thoroughly enjoyable evening!! 

Riverbank clearance at Styal on 8 December 2013

Ten of us worked today with ranger John Waller and Sunday volunteers Adam and Andrew clearing dogwood from a 30-meter stretch of the Bollin riverbank next to the millpond.  The dogwood branches on our bank (and the one opposite) were dipping into the river and a large patch of bottles/aerosols/polysytrene food cartons/footballs had accumulated behind.  The hope was that removing the dogwood would free the litter - if not today then in the next downpour.  (Towards the end of the day the 'litter slick' was breaking up in places but the litter was soon snagged on the riverbank further downstream.)

cleared riverbank with 'litter slick' behind

We lopped and sawed until 2:30pm, burning the cuttings on bonfires at either end of the footpath.  These were turned in at 3pm and then extinguised so that the public could walk safely along the footpath when we reopened it on departure.

dogwood burns well!

We had a fabulous sight at the end of the day when a kingfisher darted along the river in front of us.  Its vivid turquoise plumage was unmistakable.

During breaks and at the end of the day we went to the Victorian Fair in the mill yard.  Staff in period costumes were selling olde worlde sweets, Christmas wreaths/plants and serving hog roasts.

Christmas in the Lake District - 29 November-1 December 2013

It is a tradition of ours to go away for the first weekend in December to celebrate Christmas.  We do a day's work on the Saturday, have a traditional Christmas supper and secret Santa and then on Sunday go for a walk.  We used to always go to Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire but ever since their basecamp closed have gone to High Wray in the Lake District.

Happy Christmas!

We spent Saturday rhodybashing on steep wooded ground at Harrow Slack and gave the ranger Jamie a Christmas present by clearing most of the rhody there.  A roaring bonfire keep everybody warm.  Charlie had stayed at basecamp to start the chopping of the vegetables and Hazel returned to basecamp early to help prepare a delicious supper of turkey plus all the trimmings accompanied by the wine that we won at the pub quiz last month.  Later in the evening secret Santa visited and we played the names-in-a-hat game (if you don't know how to play join us next year!).

On Sunday we went for a short walk from the basecamp to Latterbarrow and enjoyed views of Hawkeshead, Windermere and the Fairfield Horseshoe.

(thanks to Ally for the above details and photo)