Thursday 29 May
Alan spent a little time in the cemetery today to finish off a few jobs.
The Commonwealth War Graves sign at the front of the cemetery had fallen off the fence, the plywood holding the plaque in position had totally disintegrated. Alan cut some new plywood at home and treated it with preservative. On site he drilled holes for the bolts that secures the sign to the fence, and fitted the sign in position, it now looks as good as new.
He then filled the Stowell grave with another barrow full of earth bringing it to the height required to later add the concrete to finish the repair job. To protect the earth from being dug up by dogs and the badger he covered the hole with plastic sheets and weighed down with bricks so the sheets won’t blow away.
Sunday 1 June
Another nice day with Chris, Rita, Alan and Astrid. Alan & Rita arrived early as they had some plants they wanted to put in the wild flower area. Alan got his mattock out and prepared the soil while Rita tried to clear the Columbine that was strangling the Bay tree nearby. The plants were dug in and given a good watering.
Next job was to clear ivy and grass between the Stowell 10- 28 and Randle 10-29 graves. Chris then arrived and all moved over to the North end of the cemetery to concentrate on clearing up along the new fence. Chris had popped in during the week and used jubilee clips to strengthen up the old iron fence worked on last week. There was a number of metal stakes that once secured the chain link fence that was brought down by the fallen tree, these will be used to provide additional support to the fence. They were stored for safety as it may be a while before this job can be tackled.
With the help of Astrid, work then started in earnest in clearing back brambles, nettles and weeds in front of the new fences erected by the neighbours, this was not an easy job especially as the weather was so hot. 4 Dumpy bags were filled, two taken over to the dumping area. A few more work sessions required here but next week our chairman will be with us so he will be set to work. The plan is to clear an 18 inch clearway between the neighbours new fence so that they have access.
