The weather couldn’t quite make up its mind today with brief flashes of sunshine, but mostly an overcast, cooler sort of Wednesday. As if that wasn’t enough, major traffic disruption at the junction added a good half‑hour to any journey, whichever route you tried. Not the most encouraging start.
Even so, the core Wednesday team made it in, and we pushed on with the ever‑growing to‑do list. The morning began with a full clean of the PW Yard. It’s remarkable how vast the space looks once the surface grime is gone. With that done, work started on erecting the Heras fencing around the perimeter a requirement from the Mills.
Two of the large old ex-Thames Water tanks were then manoeuvred into position to serve as gate pillars at the entrance. After lunch, attention turned to cleaning down those tanks ready for painting, while work continued on the Dough wagon. Now that the wagon is lifted again, it’s become clear that the timber headstock at the north end is completely rotten and will need replacing. The holding bolts have rusted solid, so the only practical solution was to break the timber away and plan to cut the bolts through on Saturday. Thankfully, the end chassis member itself is sound, so only the timberwork needs renewal.
Elsewhere on site, timber infill work progressed on the end of shed 83D, while preparatory jobs continued on Tinkabell our Ruston LBU ready for a new alternator belt. In the workshop, a new door handle was fabricated for Gilbert after the old one was accidentally broken at the weekend.
After a frustrating start, the day settled into steady, productive progress. Proof that even the most awkward Wednesdays can be turned around with enough persistence.
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