Post Christmas Workout

On 29th December eleven of us braved cold, wind and a mainly cloudy day to work off some Christmas excess. Work had been done on several rows of the ‘old bloc’ of trees and piles of wands and prunings lay around to be dragged into piles for burning.

The idea of bonfires was energising and there were new members of the group including some Christmas family visitors who agreed that a day out in the fresh air was what they needed.

Soon a nice fire was burning and, with so much stuff to get rid off a second bonfire was started.

Phew!  It's hot work - how about a break?

At mid-day we took a pause for some really excellent soup provided by two of the group and heated up on a small stove in the shelter of the shed.

 Then it was back to work again.

Apart from a couple of showers, the weather 

remained calm all day.

 Among the nut trees there are some interesting fungi,
 including this ‘fairy ring’ with fungi the size of plates!
 Does it bring good luck to stand inside the circle?

Work stopped at around 3pm and most of the group met again in The Plough.

By 3.30 all that was left of the two bonfires were small piles of glowing ash and embers.

First Volunteer Day

The first volunteer day was planned for Tuesday December 13^th but on Monday the weather was dire.  Gales, already hitting Scotland were forecast to batter the South East overnight and heavy rain was predicted.  Some 10 people were due to meet at 10 am but the outlook wasn’t good.  Fortunately the violent winds and rain passed over during the night and in the morning, although it was still blustery, the skies were clear and washed clean and the sun shone.  

The project had been publicised in the local Seal Advertiser, in two parish magazines, Ightham and St Lawrence, and by the Kentish Cobnuts Association so our number consisted of both local volunteers and some from further afield.

The task was to gather up and burn the prunings and wands which the ‘professionals’ had left lying between the rows.



With the winds still quite strong and the material soaked through from the rain in the night, it was a challenge to get the fire going.  

  

But they persevered....

And were rewarded with  success.
  

Meanwhile others trimmed branches to a suitable size to feed the fire 

Once the fire was going well the piles of wands, dragged from between the rows of the young bloc of trees, were piled on top and a second fire was started at the lower end of the bloc where there was plenty of material to burn.

Work continued with only a short pause for lunch. A visit from Adam Ford, Ightham Mote’s Head Gardener, and his dog and from Bernadette Gillow, the Mote’s Administrator provided encouragement. Everyone seemed enthusiastic about the project and the day produced a number of suggestions and new ideas.  Several people said they would like to fit in another day after Christmas – possibly to work off some of the turkey and mince pies before indulging again at New Year!