Wed 9th April 2008 - Fort Victoria.

Our friendly Rangers decided that the Extreme Path Building (see earlier blog dated Wed 12th March 2008) that we did previously was just too tame...! This time they tasked us to take things to a new level (please excuse the pun) and try Extreme Path Excavating. Part of one of the main footpaths had been destroyed by the recent storms so it needed to be re-routed through the surrounding woods. The area was surveyed - to decide the best possible route and to ensure there were no nesting birds around. Then it was just down to brute force - hacking away at the undergrowth, removing trees/shrubs/brambles etc, cut into the sloping clay and level a 1.5 metre walkway. This involved moving huge boulders, using stakes & boards to make steps and path edging then using the excavated soil (mostly clay) to backfill as we went along. Not shown in the above pictures was the "spiral staircase" built at the far end where the new path dropped down to join the original one. All the GGmers that attended are now fully qualified to work as Navvies or be part of a chain gang....! The weather was warm and sunny and we had a excellent turnout.

Many thanks to Carrie and Eddy for the pictures.

Isle of Wight - April - SNOW.....!!!

Can you believe the weather we are having.....especially here on the Island! Last Wednesday the GG was held in warm sunshine and yet on Sunday we were making snowballs and sledging.... It started around 8:30 am and was melting by lunchtime - but was enough for the "snow starved" Islanders to get out there and have fun. So many snowmen built in so little time!

Let's keep our fingers crossed that the plants and wildlife doesn't suffer too badly in this cold snap and that things have warmed up by our next GG on Wednesday. I have tried to find out how often the Island gets snow this late in the year but drawn a blank - I am sure that one of you will be able to fill me in on the facts. See Post Script below.

The following was found on the UK Met Office web site....

Snow in April is not uncommon, according to the Met Office, although heavy falls are unusual: "The last time we saw a decent snowfall in the UK in April was in 1989 [on the fifth day of the month], when heavy snow fell across parts of the south Midlands and central southern England." In parts of the south 8-10cm (3-4in) of snow was reported but it thawed during the day and overnight.
In 1981 there was a blizzard towards the end of April. "Low pressure to the west of the UK moving east generated a severe blizzard in an area from Dartmoor north across east Wales and the Cotswolds, Midlands and Lincolnshire wolds." The Met Office says snow on April 25-26 that year was persistent, with lightning and a gale. Gloucestershire had up to 66cm of snow, the southern Pennines 50-60cm. "It was the worst blizzard since April 1908.

For further information about UK winters, use the following link

http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=other;type=winthist;sess=

Finally, if you have any better snow shots - please send them to me and I will try to post them here on the blog.

Post Script.

The following was published in the County Press this week - under their "Looking Back" column.

April 12, 1958. The IW experienced the worst Easter weather of the century, with freezing temperatures, biting winds and even snowstorms leaving beaches and promenades deserted. Competitors in the Island's annual Easter cycle rally responded by singing Christmas carols in the snow.

GG Quiz Team

The following message has just arrived from June - well done to all those involved.

It doesn't happen often that our Green Gym Quiz Team does this, so we thought we'd tell you, we came FIRST in the quiz last night at Riverside, in the hope you think it work a mention on the blog.

It was held in aid of the Red Squirrel Project and Simon Craddock was Quiz Master.

Our team was Mark, Colin, Phil, Carole and June. We all were given a welcome bottle of wine for winning.

Wed 2nd April 2008 - NatureZones, Blackwater.

This week there was a new venue for the GG Team - NatureZones at Blackwater. This is a non-profit making charity, sited to the south of Blackwater, just off the old railway line / present day cycle track.

(See the following link to the NZ site - http://www.naturezones.org.uk/index.htm for details). The team was met by Angela who gave us a talk about their aims and ambitions then took us for a guided tour to point out the tasks we had been assigned. Thank goodness that we had an excellent turnout as there was plenty of tasks to tackle - everything from post fencing to ditch digging...! The site is split between general meadow and woodland with a stream running between the two. The woodland area was given a quick makover by cutting back branches that overhung the pathways, collecting fallen wood to create nature piles and trying to pull up some of the plentful supply of sycamore shoots that are everywhere...! Another group tackled the overgrown areas of the stream - cutting back fallen trees and dredging out the mud and leaves. Others were involved in piling fence posts, digging up turfs and numerous other tasks........wow, what a busy day...! Come coffee time we were suprised by being given cake and those who stayed after 1pm were treated to soup and bread...... many thanks to Angela and her helper for the hospitality shown to us.

The top two pictures above were taken by Eddy and the ones below them by Hilary - thanks to you both.

The two pictures below were sent in by Carrie....many thanks to you as well.