For instance, two who have worked regularly for a year while taking a course in countryside management at Plumpton College have defaulted through no fault of their own. The college changed its timetable, hence our person-power was decimated!

Some volunteers prefer winter work with the trees; others are self-employed on contract and appear after their contracts run out. One retiree shares his time here with similar work on the Downs. Others have regular shifts when they can come in the week, while the Sunday "club" are nine-to-fivers. Some, happily, last for two or three years, whereas many drift away after a couple of mornings. I recently counted 51 names, but many more never had a name!

My reverie was shattered when Trevor started the mower to finish off the last section of the ride. Since we have used the mower there is more grass about, with a consequent small decline in encroachments of brambles and bracken. Unfortunately, brambles being of the Wealden variety, stray over the ride in lengths of up to 15 ft (nearly 5 meters) so we must cut the lengths before they root with -- according to volunteers' taste -- secateurs or a "swap-hook" -- the local name for a sickle. But what we really need is a cutterbar which will cut not only horizontally, but vertically at the same time. In our dreams!

This open autumn weather has really helped us with the rides in that we can soon move on to coppicing the alders in the streamside compartment when only rain can hold us up. Cold, winds, frost, even some snow, allows us to work with the trees.

But rain? You can easily catch a cold that way!

John Hall © 2005