ALAN, THE FENCEMAN AND HIS WILLING APPRENTICE

The day dawned bright and sunny, for which we were very grateful, especially after all the rain in the last few days.  As you will know, if you follow my Blips, Storm Bert wasn’t kind to us and part of our fence was blown over and the one next to it was looking rather precarious but our garden is on a very windy corner, so we weren’t really surprised.  However, Alan, the Fenceman, came up trumps and arrived complete with wood, screws, his trusty drill and saw and soon got to work - but not before having his first cuppa.  

The story of the day goes from top left in my collage, and clockwise.  The middle shot shows Alan and Mr. HCB getting some of the wood out of Alan’s truck.  I think Alan was quite happy to have Mr. HCB as his apprentice today and of course, he didn’t have to clear away any of the detritus because that had already been done, so they could both just crack on.

Alan did say that he would be grateful for Mr. HCB’s help because he didn’t think he could lift the fence on his own, but thankfully, just the two of them managed, so I wasn’t asked to help - not that I could have done much, but I did cheer them on!  Alan probably thought that that would be the end of Mr. HCB’s work with him, but that wasn’t the case.

Of course, once they had got the fence back in position, they then had to walk back round because there was no way into the garden, and there is no gate, so you can see them both as they came through our side entrance.  

Alan soon got to work and I could see that Mr. HCB was really enjoying doing some manual labour - actually he does really well for his age and I’m really proud of him.  I’m not sure what wages he will be paid at the end of the day, but I don’t think he will mind just a “Thank you” from Alan if the job is done well and we are secure and not feeling vulnerable again.

The fence at the other end proved a bit more problematic as there appeared to be footings underneath, rather than just a single concrete block.  Both men thought that probably when the house was built in the early 1970s, the plan was to build a wall all round, but that idea was probably “nipped in the bud”, as it is a very long stretch - probably about 25 metres in total.

I noticed there was a lot of discussion at various times, and I could hear both men laughing and obviously enjoying what they were doing.  Apparently, at one point, when Mr. HCB was digging one of the holes for the new posts to go into, there was a lot of water in the bottom of the hole, which spurted up all over his jacket - but it’s only an old one, so it doesn’t really matter.

I needed to pop out to see my sister as it’s her 66th birthday today, but didn’t stay long, as I said I had to get back to make more drinks for the workers!  The last shot is Alan bringing in the last post - and once that is in place, all the posts will be concreted in.  In fact, even as I type, both Alan and Mr. HCB have just walked past with a bag of “Post Mix” on one shoulder.  It’s obviously quick-setting concrete and apparently “goes off” in about 20 minutes.  After that, Alan and his willing apprentice will go outside the fence to put some struts against the fence, which we hope will stop it being blown over again when the next storm arrives.

We are so pleased that the weather has been good and you can see how sunny it was - but it is rather cold and I must admit, once I had taken my photographs, I didn’t stay out there for too long.  

I know that many of you will agree that to find a good workman is a real bonus and we are so pleased that Alan could come round and help us out so quickly.  

SO THANK YOU, ALAN - we appreciate all you have done and if ever you need an extra pair of hands, do please get in touch - I’m sure Mr. HCB will be glad to be of assistance provided he isn’t at cricket, of course!