First Saturday

It was a really good day yesterday, despite poor weather for some of it. Having said that, it wasn’t impossible, just the kind of thing you expect at the end of a hot summer, with torrential downpours from time to time, but never lasting more than half an hour or so.

What was good was that Sheila and I settled into a routine which hopefully will see us through the Festival. The very first bit was a one off when we went to the Health and Safety briefing with most of the other volunteers. These have been refined over the years, such that we know most of it very well, but there's no really silly stuff, just the standard reminders about personal responsibility for safety, the need to draw attention to perceived hazards and the like.

The only oddity from our point of view is that volunteers working near the water must wear lifejackets, and we had some amused suggestions that whilst working on the Newsletter in the boat we should be suitably attired.

There may be a photo of this in a later edition...

After the briefing, we came back to the boat and worked on the Newsletter and blog until we’d done as much as we could for the day. That was all done by eleven, and we went across to the WRG compound to see what we could do there.

I spent the rest of the day fencing, very enjoyably, as it’s the straightforward stuff first. Mitch Gozna, the WRG leader, had persuaded around 30 folk to turn out for the weekend, so by the end of today, most of the heavy lifting fencingwise will be done with any luck.

This involves firstly fencing in the WRG and Tardis compound and the adjacent volunteers campsite, then setting out to surround the main site with fence. We’re using the standard “Heras” fence, about two metres high by four long, stood in heavy blocks and clipped together with a support prop every five panels.

Most of the people working on it had done it many times before, so there was very little need for instruction or discussion; it was just a group of people doing something they know how to do well, always very satisfying to be a part of.

Another team removed a post and wire fence that ran across the site, which normally comprises two fields:

The one hiding her face is Jenny, who is notoriously shy.

With a break for lunch, we were all pretty tired by half four, and knocked off for a brew. The weather then deteriorated, but relented just in time for a barbecue in the evening. The Sanity Again crew, not forgetting the dog, were all well exercised, so we retreated to bed not long after eating.

Plumbers in the rain; they don't like it wet, you know.

WRG compound behind its fence,

and the Tardis end.