The weather treated us kindly on Saturday and we had a good turn out to help trim the willows. Many thanks to Rob Kinghorn, Tom Paterson, Mark Forbes and Lindsey Stout. By 2pm the 3 willow structures had all the new growth since the spring trim weaved into the structure and the top growth turned over to form roofs. All the cuttings were chopped up and laid inside the structures as mulch. They now look very neat and future growth should reinforce the structure. It was remarked how dry this end of the park was, considering how it used to be a bit of a bog when the Trust took over the care of the park. This is a testament to the original design and work by Les Bates and the on-going maintenance by Trust members. It was also noted that the trees and willows provide both a visual and sound break to the play equipment in the park from the surrounding houses, apart from the cottages on the east boundary of course. They also provide a welcome area of greenery in the centre of the village.
You may know that we have been looking for someone to keep an eye on the park, now that the fence repairs have been completed and the willows trimmed. I am delighted that Mark Forbes has agreed to take on this task. He lives next to the park and walks his dog Toby past it each day. He will let the Trust Board know if there are any issues that require attention and a suitable work party can be organised.
I took a break from the willows to look after the Litter Pick at noon that met in the community centre car park. Many thanks to all who helped collet the several bags of litter plus concrete blocks, bricks, lengths of metal, several balls and a 10p piece! This should help keep the village tidy over the winter until our next pick in the spring but don’t let it stop you picking up any litter you pass in the meantime!
Erik Lundberg