Sustead – A Winter Getting-The-House-In-Order

This cold and misty morning saw a healthy turn-out of 13 hardy survivors of the merry-and-flu-ness season, coming cheerily hither to brighten a grey January day. The primary tasks were identified by Trevor and then we all set to with vigour and vitality, trying not to think that coffee and doughnuts was still an hour and a half away.

Those with appropriate footwear were allotted to the Road Culvert and Drains Division. A silted-up culvert pipe draining water from the neighbouring fields into the nearby watercourse needed unblocking: this requiring wellington boots, shovels, lengthy sapling-rodding pipes sourced in the woodlands, and much heaving, cursing, head scratching and general-mucking-about for the next hour or so by Trevor, Brian, Susan and John. Concurrently Bev, also conveniently (or unfortunately) clad in wellingtons, was diving into a patch of waterlogged brambles to keep clear a route through for the various road-drainage channels connecting to the stream feeding into Gur Beck and looking ahead to the planned enlargement of the scrape.

Over in Spurrell’s Wood, the Woodland Task Force was busy lifting and clearing the fallen and carved up remains of Chainsaw Ed’s previous work on a large Ash which had been blown down across the Beck. The larger logs were used to create a wonderful multi-level wood pile with great views of the Beck for any future inhabitants. The brush, brambles and longer branches were carried over to enhance the existing dead-hedging to the nearby pathway. The team also did some work along the stream edges. Once this was done the team foraged for further fallen and dead wood to define and shore up the woodland path edges.

Returning to the outdoor classroom area for coffee break we had to gently prise Fran and Elizabeth away from their blissful idyll of tree/ whip care – clearing tall undergrowth around previously planted whips, and freeing them from dead grasses etc. which clog up the tree guards. In their own words, their most favourite and satisfying of all Felbeck tasks.

Time then for coffee break and chat, enjoyed and earned as much as ever, before returning to complete all tasks.

Andrew Stokes

16th January 2025