Saturday 5 February 2011

That Was The Week That Was

All too often, work seems a little humdrum, and I have to remind myself that if it was fun, I'd be paying them. But this week's had variety, achievement and even a little learning. Not bad for February. The Powers That Be agreed to replace the door between the orchard and the walled garden with a wrought iron gate and the Future Jobs Scheme lads have made a lovely job of it. The public enjoy getting a glimpse of the garden and sometimes stop for a chat and a bit of advice, which is nice. It also allows us to see out and so feels less hemmed in.
Tuesday was a lovely day, the lull before the storm, and having seen the forecast I cracked the whip and we spent the day doing all the digging that should have been done in December. So good to have the ground prepared at last. Then I had a day out and about, inspecting the flower beds in the far-flung parts of our empire. Some are small in proportion to the spaces they're in and frankly, look ridiculous, so they're the ones we'll cut next year. We're also going to create wildflower meadows where at present there are boring big stretches of grass. I've wanted to do this for years and now it's an idea whose time has come. The public will, I hope, understand the argument for increased bio-diversity and the managers will see the savings.
Then I had a day doing Health and Safety training. I was dreading it, but we have a new trainer who was such an improvement on the previous death-by-power-point guy that it was enjoyable, informative and motivating. So next week I'm going to take a good hard look around and sort whatever I've let slip over the years.  Did you know, in outdoor work, most fatalities are caused by people falling from heights, and most of those are from heights of less than two metres? So next time you clamber on a wobbly chair, or even up a steady ladder, make sure there's someone else there, then you won't end up like the chap who fell on to spiked railings and bled to death. Be careful out there.