A belated salute to the brave

Whoops!  Forgot to blog Wednesday 22nd February.

Most of you deduced from the Met Office gloom that it was not going to be much of a day, and you were right. Nevertheless, five (fool)hardy souls turned out and it's a 'big up' to the Richard twins, Phillip and Roger for having braved the elements.

Actually the first part of the morning was merely damp and it was only towards lunchtime that life turned properly soggy. Meantime, we pressed on with the final stint, intending always to build into the good-looking stretch of existing wall by the gatepost. 

Yes, well, the best laid plans and all that.  Seeking to consolidate a slightly dodgy end section, we removed a few teetering stones and the rest followed suit with the gentlest of rumbles.  Cue expletives and executive decision to forestall further tumbles in the section of wall not yet surveyed by FOMH by building a wall end to finish off with.  Looking good so far though stone selection is a little .... challenging.

No action as yet on copes - maybe this week?

The end is in sight ...

With advance apologies for the absence of photos (will publish later  when I can persuade PC and camera to talk to one another) a quick update on walling today.

One of those rather pretty English late-winter days with low sunshine and a sharpish breeze to remind us that spring is still some way round the corner, though rather closer than it appeared to the hardy souls who showed up last week.

The end really is now in sight - photos taken today include the target gatepost without the use of wide-angle lenses.  Yet another good turnout of wallers and thanks to Roger, Phillip, Catriona and a brace each of Richards and Grahams for making us 8 in all.  It was hi and goodbye to Emma II who has injured her hand and sensibly opted to go walkies instead.

The last bit of stripping out and the last foundations were completed and the wall continued its gentle uphill march with the penultimate stint just a couple of courses below coping stone level.  No action on copes as yet but maybe next week.  By my reckoning (fallible to the last) we should be done in another three sessions.

I will talk to Madame Secretary (and the Lord High Treasurer if he ever stops galivanting) about our next project but I will be voting for the pinfold project at Winksley which needs only three or four visits.  We can then select our next big one from a growing list.

Thanks again everybody.

PS who was last week's mystery guest?

Tales from the frozen north!

Brrrrr...

Well, it's unsurprising that we had a low turnout this week, what with the mercury dropping to a teeth chattering -1 degrees c this morning.

Three intrepid (there is another word for us but this isn't the place) wallers headed out into the hostile elements. They stepped out, they may be some time...

Thank you, thank you, Roger and Catriona for flying the flag, it was freezing and miserable with no sunshine to warm us!

Undeterred by the inhospitable weather and the fact that a lot of the stones were frozen to the ground we pushed on and managed to throw up a couple of courses. We stuck it out until lunch when the cold finally overcame the weakest member of the team (ie me!) and we called it a day or morning to be more accurate!

We were visited by an old friend who hasn't been seen in a while, he came for coffee and didn't wall, we'll let him off this time!

I see from the forecast that we are in for more fun weather tomorrow, but it's not a walling day so I'll watch it from the window and enjoy.

See you in a couple of weeks, Em

The evidence that we did actually turn up is below!

Well, you know, what with Christmas and all ..

... we may not have been walling much but somehow, almost by magic, the Markenfield Wall continues to grow.

Today Emma I, Catriona, Graham, Phillip, Barry, both Richards and your humble chairman all turned out in rather pleasant conditions for the time of year to knock another foot or so off the 2.5 kilometres of park pale.  Actually it turned out to be several yards rather than a foot or so and rather good looking it's turning out to be even though we says it ourselves as shouldn't.

We're still coping without coping stones but Ian Curteis and the Markenfield farmer have offered a partial solution.  If we select copes from the cobble mountain behind the barn, they will arrange delivery to site.  Can't say fairer than that.  Please bring ropes, crampons and sherpas next week.

Here's some photographic evidence from previous weeks (look out for Indiana Groves and the Doodle of Doom!) and we hope that those of you who haven't visited Markenfield recently (or at all) will be able/inspired to join us there next week.

That's how you wall round a tree!

Smile, damn you, smile!

Em, here...  I did have my camera with me this week, so here are the pictures for public consumption!

P.S.  Is it the Doodle of Doom or is Barry simply the Raider of the Lost Bark xx

Walling at Markenfield - 18th Jan

We spent the first half hour of this weeks session taking stock and planning what direction to take for the remaining section of wall. After some measurement and debate we got cracking and started building up the existing stints and shifting and sorting some of the stone laying around the site. The wall is really progressing now and looking much improved from its existing condition. We were joined by a brace of Graham's, a clutch of Ems, Chris, Barry, Richard, Paul and Catriona.

See you next week

Em

What's not to smile about?

Wednesday 7th December was a perfect day for not walling so Richard, Paul and I decided to have a picnic instead!

Eighteen out of ten to Emma II (photo credit) and Graham B as well as the aforementioned Paul and Richard for even turning up this week.  Only eleven out of ten to Boogie who hid in his mistress' fleece and looked miz.  The weather promised to be foul - a promise kept in spades as an icy wind drove sleet and rain right along the wall so that neither side offered any real shelter.

We soldiered on through the first onslaught, warmed ourselves with rapidly diluting coffee, and quit at lunchtime as conditions were just too unpleasant.  One short course doesn't move us on very far, but it was hard-fought and got us back on line after last week's minor aberration.

Very nice to see Ian Curtis, who came along to wish us all a very Merry Christmas (he's way next week).  No wussy ways for him - he still turned up clad in immaculate tweeds, scarf and flat 'at even though the rest of us were huddling.  Brrrrr!

Markenfield Hall - 30th November

So ends another fine and sunny Wednesday's walling.  Once again we enjoyed a good turn out and got lots done, so thanks as usual to all those who turned out.

Em (II), Catriona, Graham D, Graham B, Anita, Roger and Phillip.

We set about our tasks, special mentions must go to Graham B and Phillip who filled the hole in the ground with something that looks suspiciously like a wall and also to Graham D who slogged tirelessly getting the copes onto the completed sections of wall.

All in all a very productive day although next week might need some reworking as someone who'll remain nameless (probably me - definitely me!) beautifully horizontally coursed her sections of wall only to look back at the end of the day and discover she'd not noticed the previous contouring done on the other sections.  Ho hum, I enjoyed myself anyway!

See you next week

Em

(photos to follow)