Tired and exhausted, but here goes a summary of the weekend's events.

I got there at about 09:00 and Steve O,Steve G, Neil, Rosie and Keith were already there. Oops! I only live 8 minutes away and I was hoping to greet them as they arrived. No problems, because a few handshakes and introductions later and we were off and running.

Steve G and Neil were, I think, setting Steve's saw bench up in readiness to do al the measuring and cutting of the noggins for range 1's back wall so that the insulation board could be fitted, whilst Steve O and I got on with ripping out the centre section of the back wall so that we could replace it with new.
Once we'd donned our dust masks, Neil had joined us to help out. Between the 3 of us we'd ripped it out in no time and had temporarily shawed the roof up whilst the supporting exterior wall had been removed. Graham was very busy helping both teams with their jobs, whilst juggling jobs of his own.

By this time Rich, Keiran and Kev had joined us and were focusing on the measuring, cutting and fixing of the insulation board on the first of 3 rear walls to do. This took no time at all with Kev on the cutting and Rich on the measuring and fitting. These boys were a team to watch!

Our centre wall was coming on brilliantly, with the wall frame up and the uprights being fitted quicker than I'd had imagined.
Such is the way with these Stoke Mandeville work parties that a good circulation of team members mean that everyone helps out with each other so that those jobs which need more help, get it. It's testament to the lads involved with this project that it moves on in leaps and bounds each time we're there.

The lunch time 'gong' had sounded and we all hurried indoors as the weather turned for the worse and had started to rain quite hard. After lunch we just pressed on regardless and got it done; we'd be in the warm and dry soon enough. So with the centre section of wall frame now constructed, we sheeted it out and boarded it up. Cold, wet but sorted.

We had to say goodbye to Neil as he had a Help For Heroes Lunch to attend, which was a shame because he's a decent guy who looked to be enjoying himself. We'll see you again next time, mate.

The rain made it impossible to apply the Cuprinol to the new exterior ply, so we decided to call it a day on the outside. From that point on we were all working in the dry.
It has to be said that just when we were tired, wet and hungry, Rosie's call for a Chinese dinner was a welcome sound.

By the end of Saturday's work we'd managed to:
Remove and replace the centre section of wall.
Fix noggins to the internal walls for both rear walls.
Partially insulate both rear wall.

The entertainment in the dorms that night was simply brilliant! Sony Ericsson, in association with MTV had hand selected some 120 Europeans, between the ages of 18 and 28 to do a sponsored London to Liverpool walk.
Lithuanians were there as well as Dutch, German, Italian, Maltese, Swiss - you name them, they were there.
As soon as they saw that we had boxes of lager they were all over us like a rash. Steve O did his best to fend them off, whilst I sold all 14 of my cans for a quid each, making me ten quid profit.

I was in bed by 02:00 whereas the others turned in some time after this.
Richard had his own room so that he didn't upset us with his snoring.

Sunday started with a cooked breakfast in the stadium. Once scoffed, we ambled over to the ranges for about 09:00 to have a decent cup of tea. Work started on the jobs left over from Saturday.

By the close of play on Sunday we'd managed to do the following:
Cuprinol all the back walls with 3 extra coats.
Fix noggins to all interior rear walls.
Insulate all the rear walls with the Celotex boarding.
Dig out and lay a tonne of shingle along the bottom of all the rear walls.
Board out the internal wall sections with ply to keep in the Celotex.

I'd like to extend my huge gratitude to all those who have helped out with the Stoke Mandeville project, no matter how much time they've put in there. You're all fantastic and should all be so, so proud of yourselves.

It was especially good to meet two new friends this weekend: Neil and Kev. Our gratitude to you both cannot be measured.

It was yet another fantastic weekend there, and we look forward to seeing each other again soon......


....only after my muscles have stopped aching, OK.

ATB,

Pete.