Dig report Wilts & Berks Canal...
Reporting from the joint London WRG and KESCRG Christmas Party dig on the Wilts & Berks Canal below Seven Locks
KESCRG / LWRG Christmas Party cated from the tree that had claimed it.
Bobby had promised good weather and he had clearly spoken to the right people – dry and sunny and warm made for good working conditions so the clearance progressed well. Compare this with last year – for those who can’t remember last year’s do – it was cancelled as we were all under a load of snow – we had a thing called winter, something that seems to have passed us by this year (so far!) Saturday evening involved festivities! The accommodation was in a school in Chippenham with showers and stuff and the opportunity for a modicum of exercise as although there was loads of space it was well spread out. A spectacular meal prepared by Eddie and Bungle (and friends) involved Pinky (or was it Perky), late of Ian and Liz’s garden, turkey, late of Tom’s and beef late of Eddie’s butcher, together with all the usual trimmings. Washing up involved a proper industrial scale thing that emitted boiling
David Miller
Well, a scrub-bashing weekend on the Wilts and Berks, need I say more – we could just fill in the rest with photos and go off to find something new and original in this splendid issue of Navvies. However, that wouldn’t really be fair on Martin as I did promise to write something! I can’t comment on Friday evening as I wasn’t there. Experience suggests that people arrived, chatted and had a beer or two but I’m only guessing. We arrived and went straight to site on Saturday. Site was the stretch of canal below Seven Locks – what I believe is the Lyneham side of Bowds Lane. We parked in the gloriously named Sodom Lane (which I assume is the back way in) and it was obvious that we had arrived at the right place – a row of familiar vehicles and the sound of chainsaws. Forestry were doing their bit and the rest of the crew were dealing with the scrub, with the usual lopping, slashing sawing and burning going on. We also got to clear up after the Forestry crew who demolished all the big stuff and then left us to tidy up. Di performed her marvellous hedge-laying trick and Nigel demonstrated a mix of skills by parallel parking his chain-saw – and yes, although I can parallel park (after a fashion), I can also guarantee that I would get a chainsaw stuck. Luckily help was at hand and “Why bother his saw was extri-
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cutting it down first?” wondered Ed...