A corner of hope and purpose

We all prayed that the weather would not be as bad as forecast … and it came to pass! We avoided the promised rain and strong winds and the temperature remained reasonable until the sun went down on the AGM. A perfect afternoon and early evening!

This was the headline event of the year: our hay-clearing work party, a BBQ and the AGM at WBOA, held on Thursday September 12th. 20 volunteers turned up for the hay clearing and set to with a vengeance in teams of two or three – two to rake and load the tarpaulins and two to drag the tarps to one of the hay piles scattered around the site. There were three main areas where Pete R had mown a week before – two on the east side and one in the north-western corner. While we raked, a Short-tailed Field Vole - a beneficiary of our habitat management work - popped out to see us.

We worked so hard – with occasional breaks for the usual volunteer chat – that we had finished long before the two BBQs were ready to receive their raw products … but Bev and Ian, lurking in the lee of the shed, batting away the smoke driven in by the prevailing wind, had burgers and sausages (vegan and other) ready by 16.30 and we all tucked in, with buns and onions and sauces to keep us happy.

A kind volunteer (thank you Edie!) had donated 18 bottles of wine and people paid to take them away … all to help boost the Trust’s coffers. Ian and Bev were finally able to down tools but they said that masks and snorkels would be helpful next time. And we were so efficient in our work partying and our eating that we were able to begin the AGM earlier than planned. We had erected the gazebo for this, anticipating cold and rain, but it proved surplus to requirements and we held the AGM in the area in front of the shed – with the sun still on most of us and all well wrapped up against the increasing cold.

Trevor and David B rattled through the meeting, Trevor delivering a very good account of the past year’s activity and David succinctly summing up the financial position.

And so we departed and I couldn’t help thinking that, in these fairly rocky times, environmentally and politically, our Felbeck trust get-togethers, whether work parties or meetings, provide a warm and bright corner of hope and purpose. Thank you all for contributing to that atmosphere.

Peter Maingay

September 12th 2024