Wed 25th Nov 2015 - All Saints' Church, Freshwater. GG # 612.

Oh dear, not much of a vista through this lot...

The team at work in the lower field.

Tidying up some of the unattended graves.

So much material to be dragged up to the fire!

GG being artistic….nice one Bob..!

That looks a bit clearer.

Mark's Photographs.

What a view…!

For this week's session Team GG were back out West Wight and working in a churchyard (perhaps we should call these sessions "Tombstoning"…???) Although the tasks were numerous, it was basically to continue the scrub clearance we had worked on during our numerous previous visits. To get the bonfire started we collected a considerable amount of the fallen branches caused by recent storm damage. Then it was on to the more taxing job of cutting down the overgrowth in the area between the churchyard and the Western Yar river bank. Although the sawing down and lopping is quite strenuous, the hardest job is hauling it all back to the fire area….! Come tea break, we were treated to wonderful home made cakes and served the tea and coffee, many thanks to the church wardens who made it all possible. By the time the session closed, we had once again opened up the western boundary to allow those wonderful views across the estuary. The weather was a little cloudy with the occasional burst of sunshine and the forecasted rain held off until the afternoon.

PLEASE NOTE… Next week, we are NOT at One Horse Field, Totland but will be at the West Wight Health Clinic / Swimming Pool, Freshwater. We do not get parking concessions for the car park so either park in the surrounding streets or pay and display.

This week we had TWO photographers - many thanks to both Sue and Terry. (and Mark!)

Wed 18th Nov 2015 - Merstone Station. GG # 611.

GG receives another award..!

A rather overgrown platform.

Better get started then…lots to do!

"I seem to have been waiting for ever for the train to arrive."

A long haul to the composting area.

WOW….What a difference - well done everyone.

With the remnants of Storm Barney still blowing itself out, it was a rather breezy session for Team GG this week. The task seemed simple enough, tidy up the old platform area…. but it took whole session to complete! Fortunately we had an exception number of GGmers in attendance so the majority of the work was completed by the end of play. To try and hand cut the whole platform (a large area of wet, long grass) and to remove much of the ivy that grows up the sides - before transporting all the cuttings some distance to the composting area was no mean feat.
After our tea break we were presented with a certificate and cheque from the CPRE (click this link for further info CPRE link) for the weekly efforts we undertake to collect and dispose of all the rubbish and litter at the sites where we work.
Although the clouds looked very threatening throughout the morning, we managed to stay dry this week…. thank goodness!

Many thanks to Terry for taking the excellent photographs.

Wed 11th Nov 2015 - Christ Church, Totland. GG # 610.

A bit of GG advertising...

The hedge planting team.

Clearing up old trimmings.

Trim and tidy up amongst the grave stones.

Anyone need a bonnet for a Morris 1000…?

Busy, busy….busy….

Newly planted hedge….nice!

Burning up the old hedge….

NEVER overload the barrow.

Getting light into those dark corners.

Looking much tidier.

That will be 5 pence for each of the carrier bags.

Unless someone asks GG to whitewash the Needles, it is doubtful that we will ever get a more westerly venue than this one! It is always exciting to work at a new site and the visit to Christ Church certainly didn't disappoint. We were briefed on the wide variety of tasks that needed to be undertaken (excuse the pun!) everything from planting trees, cutting down shrubs, burning dried material plus the usual litter and tidy duties. Everyone was soon busy at their chosen jobs and one whole side of the churchyard was transformed by the end of the session. Hopefully, the photographs will reflect the amount of work achieved. As it was Armistice Day, at 11:00 we observed the two minutes silence before having our tea break in the church hall. The weather was overcast but very mild for mid November and there was just a light shower towards the end of the session.

This week's great photographs were from Sue…… thank you!