by: Ian Moody
Well, we promised a veritable smorgasbord of tasks and I think that is exactly what we delivered. Of course, I failed to photograph almost all of them. The day stared at Wallbridge with a team pic, because the sun was shining, because the canal was looking great but mostly because I sensed the opportunity to attempt a new hands-in-the air record.
A roving team took the tipper from Wallbridge to Lodgemore to drop off some trench plates then went on to Ryeford Double Lock to erect some safety fencing. After that it was back to Ebley to make some repairs to the tow path where it meets the overflow weir and finally over to Dudbridge Wharf to try some experimental repairs to the very uneven tow path in front of the crane. We have a longer term plan to rework that section but in the meantime we hope our repairs will make for a happier tow path experience for everyone.
Meanwhile the Wallbridge team got stuck into dismantling a failed retaining wall, spreading top soil, removing fencing and, most importantly of all, making good our promise to be out of our rented "garage" by the end of the month (yes, it was the last day of the month!) We also found time to fish out some components of our edge protection fencing that had thoughtfully been thrown into the cut by persons unknown.
So another happy, busy, sunny, smiley, successful day. If only I knew how to do a thumbs-up emoji.