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Earthworks at The Rec - Daily Diary

Many people have been scratching their heads, wondering what is happening at "The Rec" (Longhope's recreation ground) today. Some have thought that it is the start of the building of the low-cost housing that the village desperately needs; other funnier comments have been that it is the new "Dig for Victory" campaign in these recession hit times to feed the village, or even that Gerald Wyman has lost 50p!!

The start was made today on the levelling of "The Rec" so that the football club may at last play on a level playing field, instead of the downward slope, for which they are renowned. The earth-movers have made a dramatic effect on the ground in a very short space of time, removing the grass and many tons of soil.

The cost has been met partly by the football club themselves, who raised £6,000, and the rest by the Longhope Business Men's Association, who kindly donated £10,000. They would like to assure residents that no tax-payers money has gone into this project. In a statement issued by Mr Les Meadows, Chairman of The Longhope Recreation Ground Management Committee, he says: "As you can see work has started on the grading of the surface in the Recreation Ground, it is expected to take about 10-14 days after which you will see a much flatter surface with less slope than at present, the security fencing will be removed at this time and we do ask all persons using the recreation ground to keep to the right hand pathway to go to the top of the field so that the grass seed is given a chance to grow. A goal mouth will be put up so that those wishing to play with footballs can do so. We feel sure that the inconvenience will be more than worthwhile when you can see the finished result, once again we apologise for any inconvenience that is being caused."

Questions are being asked, however, about the future of the Fête, and if it even takes place this year, where it will be held? Surely the grass seed would not have matured sufficiently by July, less than two months away?

Below are some photos of the first day. Further photos will be added as the work progresses, so come back and visit again regularly.

Pictures of Day 2

Pictures of Day 3

Pictures of Day 4

Pictures of Day 5

There has not been very much activity today due to the heavy overnight rain making The Rec more suitable for a lake than a playing field, with the heavy layer of clay sub-soil not allowing any drainage. The funniest thing was the arrival of the grass-cutters, who may have been expecting a whole field to cut, and finding they only had a few square metres around the children's area to do (as seen in the first photo)!

Pictures of Day 6

Pictures of Day 7

Day 8

Rain stopped play again today!

Pictures of Day 9

Pictures of Day 10

Today, trenches have been dug and filled with gravel to help with drainage, as well as replacing the top soil in parts. The local lads are also pleased to see that a goal post has been placed in its temporary position at the top of the ground.

Pictures of Day 11

Pictures of Day 12

Pictures of Day 13

Pictures of Day 14

....almost there! The mounds of soil have all but disappeared now.

Pictures of Day 15

Ready for the bird seed and the rain now....?

The Final Day

There are no pictures today, because the rain has set in again, but things don't look any different to yesterday. There will be a few more updates when things start to turn green, hopefully. The weather is set to be very damp for the next few days.

This website would like to thank everyone who has viewed the progress of The Rec from this website (there have been hundreds of you!) It has been one of the most popular events to have been viewed (apart from the Fete of course), presumably by people in the village who have been logging on as soon as they get to work in the morning, as the hour between 8-30am and 9-30am was the busiest time over the last few weeks. (Tut tut, we won't tell your bosses!). So thank you again for your interest in YOUR website.