10th February Fair is Foul and Foul is Fair, Hover through the fog and Blunsdon air!
When the alarm went off at 7am on Saturday morning I found it hard to motivate myself out of bed and off to the track.
The drive through North Wiltshire was wet and distinctly foggy and did not bode well for a day's work on the track.
The remnants of the snow still lay on the track.
At 8am the normal crew were joined by young Adam Law, who spent many days of his college holiday last year helping out on race days at Blunsdon. Adam wont thank me for a rather unflattering photo - I'll get a better one next week.
Gerald's revised plan was to tidy the pits and the area behind the pits.
With so much snow, and quite a lot of salt washed from the greyhound track, on the circuit I was intrigued to see how our new drain was faring.
A river of water was flowing down the main straight along the white line, making its way to the first and second turns.
As can be seen, the new drain was already filled but a closer inspection showed a healthy flow of water through the extra piping that Ernie and I put in last week. The result was that 90% of the water that would have clogged up the first corner drains was now flowing away from the track before it even reached turn 1.
We still need to look carefully at the water tap that we unearthed when we were excavating because it seems to be leaking but the overall result is a success. In the past the puddle on turn 1 would have reached out 5 or 6 feet - now it's more like 5 or 6 inches.
Back behind the pits and more volunteers have arrived to tidy up the area. It is very wet and very boggy but we set too and, as soon as an area has been cleared of the clutter, Punch moves in with the JCB to remove the rubbish before Gerald drives the blade in and flattens out the surface. It is amazing how much clutter builds up behind the pits during the season.
As can be seen (left) it is not exactly a glamorous exercise, picking up debris as you sink up to your ankles in cloying wet sand and brackish water ... but it has to be done.
When Sky arrive, as they will this coming season, they bring a vast array of vehicles and it is essential that our area is clear and ready.
Rosco arrives to assist the workers.
By the time that we have finished the pits are pretty well clear and the back yard is clutter free.
The air fence is expected back this coming Thursday and we hope to be able to get a pressure washer
to blast out the sand and muck from around the pits.
With a little luck, and a good run of dry weather, we hope that we will be able to put the fence in place on Thursday and then get some of the kick boards painted.
We also need to add a new drain in
front of the Juniors' Pits so that it doesn't fill up with water every time it rains.
A final inspection of the track, now without the snow, shows that the surface has held up reasonably well. It is hard and not too much water has penetrated the surface.
Despite the conditions it's been a good morning's work, made more so by the number of people willing to come out on a wet and cold Saturday morning in February to help prepare for the start of the season. With fans like these our beloved sport stands in good shape.
