Abrahams Wood, Boars Hill, 24th October 2015

By Andrew -
This session saw us at Abraham's Wood, Boars Hill again. Despite the grey, drizzly weather, there was a good number of us, 15 in all.

 Our tasks were to cut back the laurel and to dig up the bamboo, of which there is a large patch at the upper end of the wood. The strategy of digging a trench around the bamboo had been proposed, to stop the roots spreading any further, and a small team set to work doing this.

 The rest of us went to tackle the laurel, of which there is a huge amount throughout the wood. Cut laurel has a nasty habit of taking root again, so it was important to pile it up in just a few areas close to the outer fence. By the time we had our tea break it had started to rain, but we were fairly sheltered in the wood. The ground was thick with autumn leaves, the holly already had bright berries and there was quite a variety of fungus around.

 Towards the end of the session it was time to clear up the remainder of the laurel we had cut and the bamboo battlers had dug quite an impressive trench, though they and the tools were somewhat muddy. We set off up the hill, damp and weary but quite satisfied with our morning's work.

 Friends of Radley Lakes Quiz
The day's activities were not over. Green Gymmers and friends fielded two teams at the Friends of Radley Lakes Quiz at Radley Village Hall.

Despite the question mistress being a Green Gym committee member, the teams, no doubt exhausted by their morning's work, only managed eighth place equal and tenth place out of eleven teams. However they enjoyed excellent food and even won a couple of raffle prizes.
-Eleanor

Tackling the laurel
Stacking up the laurel
Digging a trench around the bamboo
The trench
Tea break
Some interesting fungus

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