Whelford Pools - the Last Visit and the last BBQ
The very last Whelford Pools visit!
The weather was not brilliant but the rain held off - more or less. Two of us arrived at the usual time, to be greeted with the sight of a gaping hole where only last month stood the first hide. Alas, the structure had deteriorated too far to repair so it had been demolished, and our job was to dismantle the timbers and burn what could not be salvaged for reuse elsewhere. A somewhat poignant task as we recalled the number of times we’d painted it with preservative over the years. The good news is that Tarmac have paid for the cost of a replacement hide which it is hoped will be delivered for assembly in July.
After a couple of hours of bashing out nails with hammers and much manhandling of timber, we were more than ready for the BBQ which George Griffiths, the warden, kindly organised. We were joined by Tony Ferris and Alan Willis. Alan had brought along a wonderful album of photos taken over the past 20 years. A member of the Wildlife Trust thanked Rotary for all their hard work and dedication to the project - once a month for 20 years - quite a few man hours - and said how much our contribution and support had been appreciated. We came home as usual smelling of bonfires, slightly sad, but glad to have been part of Rotary’s conservation team for part of the time at any rate.
Susan Bishop, President 2019/20
