I forgot to mention in my last general post about the logs I was given. A bloke stopped by. During the conversation, he mentioned that he works at the gypsum quarry near Battle. Apparently, as woodland is cut down, replacement trees are planted. As a result of the numerous felled trees, a lot of firewood is created. As an employee, he is free to collect as much as he wants for his own heating. He asked whether I required any. I thanked him, saying that it was really the larger logs that I have difficulty foraging due to my health. Later that day, he returned with several bags of chopped logs of all sizes.
One day, apparently April Fool’s Day, a car pulled up in front of my caravan. Three lads got out. At least one of them then banged heavily on the caravan. It sounded like they were trying to destroy it! As they approached the door, I opened the door and was greeted with aggressive shouting. I had a bifter that was knocked out of my hand. What was being shouted didn’t make any sense. All were shouting at the same time. The whole experience was very intimidating. I was then pressured into agreeing to accept a sum of money, taken to a bank, deposit the cash into my bank account, then make a card payment to, I believe, a tool hire company. For this service, I was given a monetary thank you.
A few days later, a sum was then deposited into my account. I was then taken back to the bank to draw most of the amount deposited. The balance that remained was a thank you. At first, I thought that it was some sort of laundering, but it became clear that it was a case of them getting paid for building work done and having an issue with their own bank account. Even so, I was not comfortable with the arrangement, particularly after a second amount was deposited. I made that feeling clear. The lads apologised for putting the willies up me (a supposed April Fool gag) and explained that they thought that I would appreciate the money, as like them, I’m a traveller. I explained that I live almost like a hermit and prefer not to have so much contact with people, especially when those people have so much loud energy, and that given my health issues, I lead a quiet life. Thus far, it has not happened again.
There was another blustery day recently. As is usually the case, I propped the door open with some wood while I was busy coming in and out cutting and stacking my wood pile. All of a sudden, a particularly heavy gust sent the prop flying. The lower door then slammed heavily, resulting in a hinge literally breaking. The wrought iron hinge snapped. The upper section followed, knocking the sill off. Given the nasty weather, I thought it prudent to shut myself in and chill out for the day!
The next day, I repaired the damage.
Before Michael left to work up country, we were going off in his van to cut up fallen trees and transporting them back. Daniel comes over when he can to help. Last week, I roped him into carrying what I couldn’t. We wandered over to the woods. It took no time to gather a big pile of firewood. After a few runs, Daniel had carried over enough wood to keep me going for a good while, especially considering the improving weather!
As it is Spring, it’s also detox time. I noticed that the meadow is abundant in Dandelion this year, probably due to the damage caused by the council.* I picked a tray full.
*see entry A little herbal forage