Wed 16th Sept 2020 - Merstone Station. GG # 829.

 Terry's Photographs.

The setting for today's venue.

Mark giving us a brief...lots of Covid rules to follow..!

Away we go..back to REAL work 😊

Making hay while the sun shines..?

Of course we can squeeze in another bag....

A well earned (socially distant) tea break.

How to do a 4 man lift whilst remaining 2 metres apart.

The finished job...doesn't the orchard look good now..!

Not bad for a morning's work.

Nature Corner.

Now...that really is luxurious high rise living for insects.

A little vole that wanted to hide under a sack.

He soon scampered safely away.

Back out "in the field" this week....YAY..! This time of the year we usually visit Merstone Station to carry out what Mark terms "The Great British Rake Off" and in spite of ever changing Covid-19 regs, we have managed to get back there once again.  The rangers pre cut the summer grass and it is our job to collect it all up and give the place a full makeover before the winter months set in. The photographs above show exactly what is involved and the space made it is easy to conform to a maximum of 6 in each working party with all individuals staying socially distant. The weather was kind, warm and sunny and we had a good turnout of GGmers.

Due to the present "unusual" circumstances, it isn't possible to have our program publish in advanced. Mark did hint about a few possible future venues so keep an eye on your e-mails for further updates.

Stay safe everyone.

Many thanks to Terry for the photographs this week.

Wed 9th Sept 2020 - The Riverside Centre, Newport. GG # 828.

 Terry's Photographs.

What "meeting up" looks like under social distancing rules.

Straight into the tasks...

Please note the 2 metre 

separation..!

The car park area looking MUCH tidier.

The flower bed we put in some time ago got a "weed-over".

Nature Spot.

Square-spot Rustic Moth.

Although the arrangements for today's session weren't announced until the day before, around a dozen of us found our way along to the Riverside Centre for a REAL GG session..! The team talk at the beginning reminded us of the importance of observing the two metre rule at all times and judging by the photos above, everyone worked hard at conforming...well done all. Our main effort was to try and give the upper and lower car parking areas an end of season trim back and also tidy up some of the bordering flower beds. I think that the photographs above show we did a good job, the whole area was looking better cared for come the end of the session.

In light of the government's change of policy (again..!) about group meetings, announced yesterday and coming into force next Monday, we are not sure if we will be able to have any more "real" GG sessions for the foreseeable future 😟. It was discussed at tea break and Mark was of the opinion that we will see how the new rules are generally interpreted before making a decision about next Wednesday. As per usual...keep an eye on your e-mails for an update.

Many thanks to Terry for the photographs.

Wed 2nd Sept 2020 - GG Virtual Session # 20.

 This week's Zoomers....

After the excitement of being outdoors for our Wednesday morning last week, going back to Zoom again was a little disappointing 😞. There is hope on the horizon that our outdoor sessions will be resuming soon so please keep an eye on your e-mails for updates. Mark has been liaising with Nick about possible future dates at Merstone, Pan Meadows and One Horse Field - all of which will involve end of season raking (The BIG British Rake Off 😁) hopefully good venues for social distancing. The churchyard job at Freshwater is still a possibility so we might be getting back to some sort of normality soon 👏.

 If you have seen on various media streams about the Shide fire, it was the building that Nick has as offices and where GG keeps the equipment (on the same site). Although the entrance area had considerable fire damage and some of the rooms have been exposed to smoke / heat, it appears that the fire brigade arrive just in time. We wish them well at clearing up and getting things sorted.

General discussion this week started with the usual topic of Island Roads, went on to the floating bridge fiasco and then lockdown activities we had tried to keep fit and sane! I mentioned several projects that are still underway, one of which involved the purchase of a "hoverboard" which I am still trying to master. Have a look at the following link to see the progress that Gizmo and I have made so far 😀... https://youtu.be/AKqRg_s50tk

Take care everyone and STAY SAFE.
 

Wed 26th Aug 2020 - GG Walk from the Causeway, Freshwater.

Terry's Photographs.

A quick Team GG briefing before we start.

Gizmo is ready for the off.

Bob's Photographs.

I am sure that most of you are very aware of what the Causeway looks like but I have included the photos above just to show how much bird life is there right now..! Many more swans than I have ever seen in previous years and whole flocks of Canadian geese.

I expect you are wondering why Team GG is wandering around West Wight on a Wednesday morning rather than getting on with our usual work..? In spite of Mark's best efforts, the two "possibles" he had lined up for us this week fell through at the last minute so will be moved to the right on the schedule. Rather than just having another virtual GG session on Zoom, he decided that we should all get some fresh air by taking a stroll along the old railway line / cycle track between Freshwater and Yarmouth. The gale force winds and torrential rain from yesterday had abated somewhat and left us with a pleasant day for taking some long overdue exercise. About ten of us set off from the Causeway bridge heading north towards Yarmouth whilst taking time to admire the wonderful views across the Yar estuary. Because of prior commitments, I had to leave the group as they were heading up into Mill Copse but hopefully someone will take over the narrative from that point. It is amazing just how many people use this bridleway, walkers, joggers, dog walkers, cyclists, runners and even someone riding a horse, you hardly get more than ten paces before there is the "ting" of a cycle bell from behind as someone wants to overtake😏 ( but nice to see the great outdoors being used). A very pleasant way to spend a morning and great to catch up with a few GGmers who haven't been making it along to our Zoom sessions.

Many thanks to Terry for sending in his photographs.