Frank had managed to find us a challenging hedge which gave us all a good work out, especially for those entering the National Championships at Pewsey on 26 October.
An informal draw took place around 8.30am and the hooter sounded bang on 9.00am
As with a lot of hedges we undertake this had been allowed to grow wild but patchy in places, but most cutters were gainfully employed for a good 5 hrs. As ever while everyone struggled , Gary and the Dunkmeister appeared to be casually undertaking a Saturday morning job for a valued customer. Phil gave himself the handicap of starting 1.5 hrs after everyone , after acting as Sherpa for tools and equipment as the hedge was a fair way from the car park.
I shared a cant with Tim and just as well when we discovered brambles and rose growing upto 20ft- we made good use of a pole saw and set of ladders. It took us 3 hours to clear the cant of the entangled mass. My first pleacher with my new chainsaw was a decent sized ash, which had hidden ash dieback and snapped off- good start.
The experienced group of cutters transformed the unruly mass to something that resembled a hedge and all had a really good work out for the Nationals; I could hardly walk on Sunday.
While this was going on Chris acted as chief steward and fielded a number of enquiries from visitors to the site.
As ever thanks must go to a number of people who enabled this event to happen:-
· Frank and Chris for finding the hedge
· Dave T and Dave D for providing the stakes and binders
· Bob Hunt and Des Whittington for transport the binders
· Phil H- for organising the draw and on the day transport manager
· Chris – for being steward
· All the cutters for giving up their Saturday and tackling a demanding hedge
The Society is well represented in a number of classes at Pewsey and would appreciate support- try to go along – it is a great event.
Pictures
photos.app.goo.gl/jHBK8CSQqvRCbGAQ9
Matthew Beard