Silkstone Common Course 19th and 20th May 2007

After an initial 'classroom' session at the Station Inn we were soon hard at it. We continued the wall started by the last course.

Apart from struggling to find large stones suitable for foundation stones the wall was soon under construction.








Like other courses it wasn't long before the lads on the course were laughing and joking.










Richard looks for inspiration from the 'great coat in the sky'



















Distinguished visitors Barry and Chris Heeley from High Hoyland Dry Stone walls dropped in to see how Ben was getting on. And what a co-incidence that we might be going to the Chilli Lodge for a curry after we'd finshed for the day!!

It was a lovely meal and a good laugh.







Day two starts with Hugo joining us to complete his initial training.

















































The lads admire their handicraft as the course nears its end. A nice piece of walling.

Thank you to Richard, Hugo, Ben and David for their company, wit and repartee over the weekend.

Beginners Course at Colden near Hebden Bridge May 2007

I'd been looking forward to holding this course for some time in the beautiful Colden Valley who's scenery is simply stunning.

We had two late cancellations which left us with a very good pupil to teacher ratio of 2:1!

Saturday started cloudy as Steve and Shaun arrived at Riverdene House for the introduction and theoretical session which we always start our courses with.


Before too long we were out on the hill side stripping down a wall belonging to Phil and Helen Speak, two lovely people. As we started to strip out the wall, which was semi demolished, I began to realise that this wasn't just any run of the mill wall, and a faint sensation of panic started to creep in! Not only was the stone in the wall very big, but when we reached the bottom of the wall I began to realise that the foundations were 3 feet (nearly 1 metre) wide and the wall 4 foot from foundations to wall height or 5 feet to the top of the copestones.





I just had enough length on the A frame pole to make it to wall height. Next time I'll have to bring ranging rods or something similar to make sure that there's plenty of height available on the A frames.










As with most courses it wasn't long at all until Stave and Shaun were working well together and enjoying some good conversation and banter. But who couldn't in surroundings such as these?












Foundation stones in, Shaun looks for his next piece of stone.









The New Delight Inn is centre background in this photo, with Riverdene House roof just visible above the wall. Two great places! I enjoyed 5 different real ales over the weekend and some great food at the pub.












Treasure trove! Shaun found this kestrels skull when stripping the wall down. It's amazing what you can find in a wall!









Day one ended on a high with both students saying how much they had enjoyed their day. We left the wall and headed on down the hill to the New Delight for a couple of well earned pints before going our separate ways.

My separate way took me to Theo's Cypriot/Greek restaurant in Hebden Bridge. I've been there before so I was eagerly awaiting this gastronomic delight, and I wasn't to be disappointed! I had dolmades followed by lamb kleftico which I couldn't finish. It was absolutely delicious! So thank you to Theo's chefs and their staff for a wonderful experience.




Sunday started out sunny and very warm despite the weather forecast for heavy and persistant rain. We were all amazed at how red we were from the sun and wind on Saturday.


























The lads were now starting to get their eye in and the wall was making good progress, all things considered.








Just as we were finishing off the rain started - spits and spots to start with but by the time we had cleared up the site and were heading for the pub it was lashing down. Perfect timing!







Thank you Shaun and Steve for your company over the weekend. You did a great job on your first wall!

Thank you to John and Ann at Riverdene house for their hospitality and great breakfasts, to Phil and Helen for their help and co-operation and to the management and staff at the New Delight Inn for a welcoming atmosphere and some great beer!

See you all when we hold the the next course at Colden on 23rd and 24th June.

Steve and Shaun. Great lads!

Comments from the students:

"The course was everything I expected. A very enjoyable weekend. An excellent course. Thank you!"


"The small group size was good and a great venue for holding the course"

The Gathering Swarm!

After two days the swarm was still in the hedge although about 1/6th of it's original numbers. They must have got fed up of being manhandled and gone off to some quieter spot! Head gardner Jessica was by this time having trouble defending our corner with the rest of the community who were rightly worried that someone could get stung. Thankfully their trust in us to find a solution held and early on Wednesday morning I put 'plan P' into action, which had sprung to mind during a sleepless night.


I had decided to put a very sexy box which the kettle for our walling courses came in over the swarm and then pray that the little lovelies would crawl up into it. Later that evening after meeting Alice and Felix we went to see what had happened. All was quiet - no buzzing! They had moved into the kettle box. What was wrong with alternate choice of the a spacious brood box place in front of the swarm is beyond me! Anyway, all's well that ends well.




Alice was very brave throughout this 'crisis'. While Felix watched the snooker championship in Sheffield, Alice had 6,000 angry bees buzzing about her person! She has been a big help to me. Thanks also to Ivor, master bee keeper, for listening and throwing ideas my way; to Jessica for her arbitratory skills; Felix for watching the snooker; Alice for her invaluable help and the good folk of the Pennine Community for keeping faith.

My superstar bee keepers - Alice from New York, USA and Felix from Heidelberg, Germany

Calling all Bee Keepers - HELP!!!!

I have a swarm of bees which have settled on the ground under a 2 meter wide holly hedge. They're showing no sign of moving and despite several attempts (and several stings!) to coax and cajole them into a brood box. Has anyone got any ideas on how to capture them as they're on the premises of a school for young folks with learning difficulties and I'm frightened that one or more of them may get stung? As I said they're actually on the ground so it's really difficult to gather or scoop them into the box.

It's ironic that the swarm hasn't come from my hive! I suspect it's a wild colony which was living in a tree trunk about 200m from where the swarm is sitting right now.

Your help is much appreciated!

les@hadriansdrystonewalls.co.uk