The tour normally kicks off at Plumpton College Open Day early in May and finishes at the Weald Wood Fair in September which is held at Bentley. Then hedge laying is kicking off around this time, however in 2016 we have added an additional date to the tour. In October, the Society is planning to attend the Autumn Countryside weekend at the Weald & Downland Museum in Singleton.
Saturday May 28th saw the Society at the Heathfield Show held at Little Tottingworth Farm. Frank & Chris brought the material for the demo hedge some of which had been cut in the sun on the previous afternoon. However, on the journey down it received a good soaking due to the storms in the area.
The dark clouds and recent storms made it an easy decision to pull out the awning on the caravan, and with good hedge laying weather (rain) later in the morning, it was the right one.
Once everything was set up, it wasn’t long before visitors were making enquiries about having hedges laid, the training days and asking questions about the traditional craft of hedge laying.
With the demo hedge “planted”, Frank & Chris set about doing some hedge laying. To ensure it was an authentic demonstration, it started to rain hard, only the mud was missing. Despite the rain, the photos show they did lay the hedge during the day.
The Society had a very busy day with many enquiries, lots of visitors and some positive feedback.
The sun did shine in the afternoon, so the SEHLS volunteers all managed to dry out.
Many thanks to Frank, Chris, Bob, Des, Mike & Pat for their work representing the society at Heathfield.
The next stop on the tour is the 3 day South of England Show at Ardingly on June 9th, 10th & 11th.
Chris Burchellcollins