Day 1, good stuff, bad stuff

As readers of my other blog will know, I don't think of Shobnall Fields as a particularly safe overnight mooring in normal circumstances, but we had hoped that the sheer numbers of us about would mean that we needn't worry too much just now. It transpired that this wasn't altogether the case, as at 2 am yesterday morning, one of the boats tied near the footbridge, Jenny Wren, got a huge lump of concrete on its roof, and another which smashed one of their windows.

The police were on the scene quite quickly, as the gang of yobbos responsible had already been attacking parked cars nearby. Jenny Wren's window frame will have to be replaced, as the bottom edge has been buckled by the force of the blow. Needless to say, she's moved to a location further away from the bridge.

The problem is that the footbridge is the walking route from a couple of shall we say down at heel estates on the park side of the canal to the city centre pubs and clubs.

Apart from this unpleasant start, it was a good day yesterday; the sun shone, the wind wasn't too bad, stuff started arriving in the right order, more or less. For example, this site has a couple of water mains and a gas main running under it, so we need to have tracking laid down over them before heavy vehicles can cross.

To everyone's relief, the tracking arrived before the Tardis.

That last sentence needs a bit of explanation to those not familiar with the IWA Festival. The hardware needed to set up and run the show is stored in a big pantechnicon, and kindly looked after for us by Andy Taylor, who runs a transport firm at Barton Turn. It's called the Tardis because you wouldn't believe the amount of stuff there is inside.

Here comes the Tardis, IWA style

First thing out once it's parked up? The step ladder to get inside.
Second thing? The gazebo that serves as the tea shelter for the workers in the Tardis compound, naturally.

The day's work had started a good bit before this, with the obligatory Health and Safety talk. It's one of the more sensible ones: don't do a job you are not sure about, remember the telehandler driver can't see you if you can't see him, a tidy site is a safe site, these are the first aiders, stuff like that. After the talk, we all signed to say we'd had it and were aware of the risk assessments, and were then issued with our "three week worker" wrist bands, which are in effect an access all areas pass.

We were also told a bit of news hot off the press. Because IWA has won the contract to manage the Olympic moorings next year, representing around six weeks work for the volunteers, there won't be a Festival in 2012. The payment for the Olympic work will replace the revenue from the Festival. There will, however, be an event in 2013. It seems to me (and note the disclaimer at the top of this blog) that this gives IWA a chance to take stock and think about the purpose of the Festival. I'll be returning to this theme as the next three weeks go on.

Dave Jones gives the H&S talk

Then the work could start in earnest:

Strimming  the bank where the workers boats will be moored

Starting fencing the show site

The start of the admin compound, and a typical denizen of it

and still the fence grew and grew...

As forecast, it's turned wet today, which is hard luck on the wrgies who will be coming this weekend to help get the majority of the fence up.