Wednesday 28 January 2015

Social: curry night at The Griffin on Weds 28th January 2015

Riddle: when is a curry night not a curry night?
Answer: when they've run out of curry! (............but fortunately it can still be a great social occasion)

The story goes............... having booked a table at the 'recently re-furbished' Griffin Hotel at 7.30pm for 11 people, Sue rang to find out which curries were on offer that evening, and was told that there was a choice between Chicken Tikka and Beef Madras.

Most of us met at the bar by 7.30pm and, after a short while standing chatting, we were shown to our table and continued chatting for a bit longer as two of our group were arriving a little late. Once we were all there we, individually or in pairs, started to go up to the counter to order our food (most of us wanted the chicken tikka). However, we quickly found out that they only had one portion left and the first person to order from our group, got it!

Then we had the dilemma, did we choose something from the standard menu or did we go for the beef madras (which we knew was a hotter dish)? In the end, because we had intended having a curry on the curry night, most of us had the beef madras.....but it was much hotter than a tikka and certainly brought Andy out in a bit of a sweat!

Although it was great to get a good turnout and the opportunity for a social chat, instead of just meeting on a worksite on a Sunday, it wasn't quite the curry night that we expected!
 

Sunday 25 January 2015

Tidying up on the Styal estate on Sun 25th Jan 2015

We had a great turnout of 17 volunteers to help NT Ranger Tim clear the grounds around a couple of the thatched cottages on the estate.

There were lots of smallish tasks that needed doing so, after Tim had shown us what they all were, we broke off into smaller groups and started work.

The first task was to get the fire burning so it could be fed with branches, ivy and dry undergrowth all day.
 The weather was great - dry and crisp :-)

We spread out and started the tasks that needed doing: thinning undergrowth at the side of the car park; reducing the height of the laurel hedge at the side of the car park; clearing ivy from the walls, windows and doors of one of the cottages; helping clear an area where Tim the Ranger was chain-sawing some tree's that had grown too high; thinning and tidying up a hedge that was being used to show the youth Rangers how to lay a hedge later in the afternoon; clearing the garden area at the front of the larger cottage; clearing the path at the front of the cottage of mud and moss.

We had a break for coffee and, for the first time!, Sue took a home baked cake with her to share round - a banana loaf!!

We continued with the tasks after break and worked for another hour and a half before stopping for lunch, after which Tim the Ranger felled a large tree in the back garden of the cottages, creating extra work. We had to remove the smaller branches and ivy from the tree and put them on the fire. The tree was going to be cut up for logs later.  

The larger of the cottages.
We ran out of jobs around 2.30pm so finished earlier than usual, after most of us posed for a group photo.
 It was great to have 4 'newbies' out with us and we hope they enjoyed the day and will be back again with us soon:-)

Wednesday 21 January 2015

Hedgelaying at Alderley Edge on 18 January 2015

Quite a large turn out this week with 14 volunteers braving the snow and ice to carry out hedgelaying at Alderley Edge.  We met in the main car park at 9.30 and walked the muddy mile to the worksite.  We split into four groups: three groups of two to carry out the hedgelaying, one group of three who dug a post hole through solid sandstone (quite a feat with nothing but hand tools) and one group of four to trim the hedge and have a bit of a chat.  Unfortunately the fire never got going so the four girls decided to decamp to the local pub for hot chocolate (one stalwart managed to find her way back to the worksite!).  At the end of the day we had laid about 12 meters of hedge and concreted in the fence post and erected a short section of fence. The ranger Tim Ryan seemed very happy with our work and it was with a feeling of a job well done that we left the site and adjourned to pub for a quick one.  Tim O'Donnell


Monday 12 January 2015

Rhodybash at Lyme Park on 11 January 2015

The battle against rhododendron ponticum continued on the West Drive at Lyme.  Fourteen MNTV volunteers ensured that more progress was made, despite the slope and the mud.  It was a cold, but clear day and a good amount of rhodi was cut and burnt.  Later, the rangers will chainsaw the stumps and treat them.  Grubbing them up is not an option, as their roots are holding the steep bank together.

A good start to the MNTV working year.

Mick


Sunday 4 January 2015

New Year walk, Alderley Edge, Sun 4th Jan

As is our custom, we eased ourselves into the new year with a countryside stroll rather than a workday. 15 of us had clearly been overdoing it enough at Christmas to feel the need to get out.

The mud very quickly saw three people decide that lunch in the pub was a preferable option, but the rest of us enjoyed beautiful winter sunshine and hazy views over the Cheshire plain.

As we approached the woods around the Edge, we detoured from my planned route, as Tim promised us a lovely waterfall. As usual, Tim was right, although suggestions that the men should take a quick plunge underneath the cascade went unheeded.

Back at the car park, the planned nip into the Wizard was scuppered by the fact that it was standing room only, and there was a delay on getting served, so a few headed off for coffee at Philippa's while the rest of us went home to warm up.