The guys found an interesting "big" hedge, which was big in a new way - super wide , and backing onto another hedge, which was to be left in place.
Time allowed was 5hrs, and we only had 8yards to lay (Des would say an easy day)
Everyone spent ages hacking into the hedge just to make a start, but once in most stems were actually quite small (there were a few monsters), sadly they all seemed to be aiming in the wrong direction, which meant a tricky set of pleachers.
Because the "hedge" was so wide we were pulling in stems from quite a way off the hedge line, and were struggling to find enough material to fill the hedges.
Fortified with tea and Shauna's home made cake the day progressed with the usual moans and groans from the competitors (although weirdly I actually quite enjoyed it)
Everyone finished on time and most sections looked really good, so the pressure was on Peter Tunks our Judge for the day.
One section ended up in an amusing banana shape, which did not impress the judges or stewards, I don't think he will do it again though.
Congratulations to the winners
3rd Paul Matthews
2nd Tony Gallow
1st Gary Moore
All the scores on the right, click on image for a bigger version
Pictures as always
https://www.flickr.com/gp/23011838@N00/0gDh00