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[whitty1969]

Disappointing to see what looks like permanent segregation being installed on the HSE.

What is disappointing is that over a dozen people today gave up their time free of charge to help out at our local club then people with very
Little knowledge of what's going on come on here having a dig

Stop talking out of your starfish Patrick and come down and give us a hand

[patrickstarfish]

Yeah very inviting...

[GTBLUE]

Great turn-out this morning, most we've had down there for over two years!...and that's with two regulars being abroad at the moment, on working and one more MIA, that could've easily been twenty of us down there today.

Elaine, IRVJ and Steph Casson took down all the shelving, filled the holes & put a full coat of paint on the walls & ceiling in the managers office. That's after Steph and Austin have spent most of the week emptying it ready for today. Still FAR from finished, but hopefully both managers will see a huge improvement in there - well I know they will.

Homeless Billy (who only turns up for the free buns) Yorkshire Chris and Austin shifted that complete mound of rubble from under the stand, that virtually filled one skip!!

Whitty 1969 and his Daughter Emma repaired one strip light in the managers office, then fixed the one above the players tunnel. When he removed the actual light cover and about four gallon of dirty, rusty, stinking water cascaded down onto him we sort of guessed that might have been the reason for it not working He then moved around to the light on the knocking gate (not sure if he managed to finish that one though) and also fixed the lights in the referees changing room and power to some parts of the building that had some previous problems.....that's quite a morning for one bloke and his Daughter!

Gareth & William were cutting the grass, filling in various holes around the pitch and doing other stuff that groundsmen do

Margaret Straker was also very busy running around with bits of paper & phones, things that none of us see but are obviously a very important part of the behind the scenes goings on at the club.

Myself, Mrssenario, Stevie and big Al took down all the segregation fencing, asked Gareth to load his trailer up with the replacement fencing to save us dragging the heavy sections around there, and placed them in position. That's another job that's far from finished but at least they're in place and we've proved that they'll do the job.....and look 90% better than what was there previously.

As usual Mrssenario added to his "near miss" folder with a lump of fencing that nearly took my head off and then he managed to roll a full length of staging pole with a fixing on the end onto big Al's foot - Al then showed Tommy his (previously) blackened toe....Tommy being about as switched on as that players tunnel light actually believed that he'd done that even though it rolled onto Al's other foot...and until he reads this he'll still be believing that

Tommy also took down the handrail on the pop side ready for the new one going up in the near future. I think h managed that without killing anyone.

Emma & Steph also kept everyone fed and watered all morning with tea & breakfast buns.

Trouble with completing some jobs is that opens up other things to do, each door you open hides another mini nightmare. We'll probably have another visit next Sunday if anyone fancies joining in with a bit ground TLC. Anything from weeding the terraces to painting to helping with the segregation fence.
Very, very enjoyable five hours down there

Did you not have time to take the floodlights down as well Ian I applaud everyones hard work and commitment to the cause.

[spirit of 1990]

Did you not have time to take the floodlights down as well Ian

We had two of them down Graham when someone from the council came around and said we hadn't closed the road off....so we put them back up for now!

[Holkerbird]

Did you not have time to take the floodlights down as well Ian

We had two of them down Graham when someone from the council came around and said we hadn't closed the road off....so we put them back up for now!

Thank you both for a some clever banter and humour on the forum after what has been an horrendous vitriolic few days nationally.
It was a great days work and I have now talked myself into wallpapering the manager's office due to the one wall being unsuitable for just emulsioning.
So pleased to see all the lads drinking from proper beakers!!! and thank you Ian for my china one inscribed Queen Holkerbird. I will expect to be curtsied to in future.

[GTBLUE]

Did you not have time to take the floodlights down as well Ian

We had two of them down Graham when someone from the council came around and said we hadn't closed the road off....so we put them back up for now!

I can just imagine that

[spirit of 1990]

There'll be another Sunday morning visit this coming weekend for those interested. Plenty to do as always, from weeding the terraces to painting (either indoor or outdoor) helping with the new segregation fence (which the police seem happy with after their visit today) a bit of welding, decorating, fixing some guttering, helping Whitty with some electrical work, shelving for the cellar and very importantly, a general tidy up of the whole ground.

Steph will be taking the orders for breakfast buns once again (I like it when she's here ) and Emma will be picking them up.

Several new volunteers already this week, great to see these numbers rising once again.....there's probably not many other clubs in non league football that can call on so many people to help out with the maintenance and general upkeep of their grounds.

If you were thinking of coming down it'd be nice to have an idea of numbers so we can pre-organise what jobs people can go on.

9:00am onwards, turnstile C.

Also noticed today that IRVJ has been busy on the new steps for the West terrace porta-loo and Mrssenoritta has sorted out the workshop after the recent upheaval in there. Elaine was also there with Steph decorating the managers office, lots going on just to get the place looking right for the new season.

[Renfrew Refugee]

Have you asked the council if you can close Wilkie Road off to take the 2 flood lights down on Sunday?

[Holkerbird]

Have you asked the council if you can close Wilkie Road off to take the 2 flood lights down on Sunday?

Ah it all comes clear to me now. Ian asked if I knew anything about lollipops and I assumed he meant the confectionery type. He was holding a high viz jacket at the time so I guess I am on "holding the traffic up" for the duration of the removal.

I will be there on Sunday.

[mrsenario]

If you fancy a bit of graft and a bit of banter turnstile c from 9.0 am don't be late

[BahamasBluebird]

Great to see all the hard work going on in preparation for the new season

I'll be back once the season gets underway to help out.

I'm sure all the hard work will be done by then which is a complete coincidence

[spirit of 1990]

I'll be back once the season gets underway to help out. I'm sure all the hard work will be done by then

No it won't, we're saving a special job for you Ryan

I'll try and include everything that went on today, along with who were there, but apologies for anything I miss as there were so many in the ground and so much going on.

IRVJ finished the new steps for the west terrace porta-loos and then went onto the glory job of.....putting the shelves up and hanging the clock in the newly redecorated managers office.

Exile painted all yellow step edges on the pop side main steps and then happily skipped onto the porta-loo steps to whack some undercoat on them.
I swear on it, I've never seen a grown man look as happy as Exile when he has a paint brush in his hands.

Myself and Mrssenoritta carried on with the (PORTABLE - for those who can't tell the difference) segregation fence on the HSE. It was far slower progress than we thought it would be, mainly because the crush barriers seem to be made of Kryptonite and have smashed 10 drill bits so far. We'll get there though.

Elaine was doing something, not sure what but it'll have been the most important job in the ground. (sorry Elaine, I really didn't notice what was going on at that end of the ground)

Our newest recruit, Craig was paired up with Stevie A and between them they put up the opposite handrail to the one me & Mrsenoritta did a couple of weeks ago on the pop side steps. They then moved onto fastening the drainpipe at the side of the X Bar that was in serious danger of falling off.

Big Al cleared half the ground of all the greenery that always shoots up over the close season on the terraces. A really big job out of the way there because it really makes the ground look very untidy.

Homeless Billy put some undercoat on the cellar doors at the side of the X Bar building, he'll be putting the final coat of blue on next week. This is an area we want to make more pleasing on the eye as it's one of the main entrances into the ground.

Whitty 1969 fit and connected the new lights in the press box and then moved onto the lights in the pop side turnstiles that haven't been working for quite a while. All now fully functional.

Gareth and William were busy doing the opposite to big Al and trying to make the green stuff grow, this time on the pitch. There seemed to be quite a few bare (small) patches around the edge of the pitch that needed a bit of re-seeding.

Benny from Ormsgill sorted out he Perspex cover for the "next game" board. It really gets a bit of hammer off the wind, the main reason why some games weren't advertised last winter.

Steph Casson was busy in the managers office, what a difference from two weeks ago - I hope Mrssenoritta has some "before & after" pictures that we can show. Credit in the main to Steph, Elaine and IRVJ for that transformation.

Margaret was busy popping up here & there doing the stuff that none of us see but is so important to the day-to-day running of the club.

Paul was getting over his jet lag but then helped us carry and tidy at the end.....along with doing his best waiter impression by serving the teas & coffees.

Les was there and probably washing & drying yesterdays kits.

Emma's two girls took the breakfast bun orders and Emma picked them up....much to the delight of homeless Billy.

Austin was getting his own back for getting last Sundays shit wheelbarrow job....by finding us more work.

Its really good to see how this has taken off again, all these jobs ticked off allow a little more money to be put into the squad building that we can see going on.
There'll probably be another visit next Sunday, we'll post on here later in the week if we can confirm.

Mrssenorita never killed or injured anyone this week.

[spirit of 1990]

For any interested, there'll be a visit to the ground this coming Sunday morning. Jobs include -

Painting the cellar doors at the side of the X Bar, fixing a couple of new haps & locks and fitting some new grills.
Hopefully getting a step closer to finishing the segregation fence.
Two small gates to measure up and make.
Whitewashing a few walls.
Weeding terracing.
General tidy up.
Possibly making a start on the new gate at the side of reception leading to the side entrance/nodding gate.


9:00am onwards - Turnstile C probably wont be open due to the scaffolding going up in the main stand, so access will more than likely be reception car park gates.

[GTBLUE]

Just wondering Ian. Seeing as there is scaffolding erected in the stand, has there been any thought of putting in perspex windbreaks on the ends.

[Cubbins Paratrooper]

Good question that, Graham. Not that I sat in it, as a rule, but the 'wind-breaks' in the original stand will have made a massive difference to the experience of those sitting in there, especially during damp and breezy days.