The End of the Line…
The End of the Line – Ham Mill
by: David M.
The End of the Line – so far
Tuesday 22nd was a bit special – clear skies overnight meant the temperature was below zero first thing. Some of the canal surface had iced over, and the sun was low and bright to the east. It was quite hard at first to spot the two volunteers bringing our floating work platform back downstream. It had been used to support preparation of the ground to build the winding hole opposite Brewery, and was now needed for the residential landing stage offside above Ham Mill lock.
The canal is much narrower and weedy up there, it was easier hauling the raft with three of us. It became the working platform to push in 11 more OBB piles. In the chilly weather the piling hammer tends to ice up and slow down, and the sunshine which stayed with us all day was a blessing except for the crane drivers having to look into the sun.
We are working a four-day roster now (each does two days) with some mixing around to aid continuity. Today’s (Wednesday’s) team fitted armco to the OBBs, quite challenging working between a moving platform and a steeply sloping muddy bank. Thursday’s jobs are to push in the remaining 7 piles and fit them with armco. Landowner Bob will follow up in due course with landscaping and surfacing, and some further dredging will be needed up to the edge.
