A Hot Day
By: Buffs
Another day of rasping heat prepared to build on the
previous week’s soaking with solar drenching. hard metallic surrounds of
the depot formed from steel containers focussed the rays of the sun onto the
bowl of the yard turning the mud of the wet spring into a white dust. Dust
Devils formed with every step or turn of the rubber wheels of the vans.
The air of quiet and calm belied the small number of names
on the signing sheet, our cohort of volunteers reduced by the prospect of a thermally
challenging day.
The plate wacker brought in for repair two weeks ago had
been assessed on arrival. After some simple remedial work on the fuel system
and the refilling of the oil reservoir it had spluttered into life. To
accompany the roar of the engine a plume of white smoke discharged from the
exhaust filling half the yard in a cloying fog. One wag asked if he had missed
the election of a new Pope. It was clear that the engine was burning oil – lots
of it. Further repairs were evidently required. At WD we mostly complete engine
work outside to avoid fume build up in the containers used as workshops. The
wacker motor was stripped on Monday under the broad canopy of the ‘barn’ to
keep Colin and the metal engine out of the sun.
The dry weather is also causing some ground heave and
bankside trees are moving and in extreme cases falling causing obstruction to
the cut and paths. The chainsaw team were despatched to deal with one such
tree. As the Stroudwater is aligned east-west the full brutal glare of the
climbing sun fell on the operators. Clad in their armoured boots and trousers
they toiled with rivulets of sweat flowing onto their encased feet. At least
they tell me it was sweat. More work needs to be done and a workboat is needed
to provide a stable platform to safely manage the next phase.
Lunch was taken as the sun’s heat speared into the bowl of
the yard, reflecting off every hard surface and filling the air. Some left for
gentler climes but there were jobs to be completed and a refugee gazebo from
the weekend’s BBQ was erected over a work bench providing some respite from the
solar assault.
