Welcome to Episode 6 from the 15th August, 2024
Well! Thank you so much for spending some time with the Prowlers this week. This episode is very special as it has been written by Ricky – and NOT the usual old hack! [thank goodness for the spellchecker and the rude-word checker!]
Right – let’s get straight in to it… Over to you Ricky
Death – and the avoidance of it whilst Prowling. The bestest way to stay safe is to…
- Wear safety gear
- Drink tea not scrumpy
- Get well out of the way whilst Jonny is strimming/trimming… oh! and
- STAY AWAY FROM THE A358!!!
This last one is harder than you may think and, if you recall, last month we had a tussle with the overgrown verge from the Waggs Plot turning down to the bus stop – absolutely NOT our remit but done as a favour by brave and kind-hearted [some say stupid and reckless] me and Jonny. Tales of our derring do – whilst our arch nemesis ‘The Truck Driver’ played “prang-a-prowler” with us – can be heard for the price of a pint (or two) on any night of the week. Jonny loves a Guinness.
Footpath 57 and 59 – off the A358 and over towards Waggs Plot
So this week me and Jonny found ourselves prowling on BOTH sides of the A358 – on Footpath 57; the stile on the west side of the road was overgrown with brambles and weedage and after dicing with death/A358 found, a little way up the road, the Footpath 59 counterpart on the east side of the road which was similarly dealt with. We then followed the path to it’s conclusion in Waggs Plot and the stile there was also treated to a ’short back and sides’.
We need to thank the lovely owner at Buffers Model Shop for allowing us to take refuge and park-up the Prowler-mobile whilst we were working.
Back to relative rural safety and the other end of Footpath 57, to follow up on a previous assessment of the stile onto Goldsmiths Lane which had a broken dog-post.
Armed with the metal strapping and replacement timber and equipped with the appropriate toolage, we were able to do a decent job to remove rotten timber, repair and strengthen the post and it’s broken housing. Way markers were added to both ends and mid-way point of the path and a dog-fouling notice or two put up.
Prowler’s Note: Dog-fouling notices were deemed necessary as the evidence on display in several places was both prominent and pungent. We know it’s not most of us who are to blame, yet it only takes one [or maybe two in this case] to create a ‘Prowler’s Peril’.
So Please Pooch-owners, be Prudent for Path-walkers and Prowlers and be Proud of our Parish!
It was only then that they discovered that the large open metal gate off Goldsmiths Lane adjacent to the style does not close at all, so a Laurel and Hardy style tit-for-tat smacking around each other’s heads was performed and another note was made to do a further follow-up visit.
Footpath 41 – Crossing over Churchill Lane
Onwards to Footpath 41. Another trim ‘n strim around stile and gates both sides of Churchill Lane. The gate on the north side was adjusted so that it now closes easily. “Sweet as a nut” as Jonny would say.
Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day!
Until next time (if I’m ever allowed to put prose on the page again) – this is Ricky signing off. Good walking and follow the Countryside Code. And don’t forget – SHUT THAT GATE!