The team took the day off last Sunday, Alan, Rita, Astrid and Dave came back refreshed this week (27 August 2023).
First job was to plant a reasonable sized Rosemary plant a metre away from the north end fence, this is the first of a group of plants planned for this area. We have more Rosemary, some lavender and hebes which will be planted when established. These plants are intended to cover up the fences of the houses in Provident Place and a metal fence belonging to the cemetery which is past its best!
We had planned a walk around first, but had visitors who had come to look around the cemetery, Rita spoke with them and showed them the grave in memory of Cyril Ricks who died on the Titanic, that they were interested in. In the meantime Astrid cut ivy on the north end fence and trimmed the small Ash tree so it was level in height with the fence.
The girls then moved over to the front of the cemetery and started to clean the weeds and grass from the insides of the graves which had become overgrown – a never ending job that is hard to upkeep. About five were completed altogether, lots more to do.
They also had a chat with neighbours on the Wembdon Road who were cutting back the hedge between their back garden and the cemetery. They are doing a great job, thank you.
Dave and Alan started on the Kitch grave 14-10 a memorial with a headstone, kerbs and two posts. Over time the kerbs and posts had come apart and the top concrete slab had cracked and sunk in the middle. Fortunately the standing headstone was sound, the long kerbs and end kerb were worked on, removing the old cement joints, and finally the two posts. This took a lot longer than expected, both long kerbs were cemented back into position and butted with a dowel up against the headstone giving it support and stability. The boys were pleased with their efforts but still more work to try and level up the centre slab and cement the short kerb and posts back together.
