But where's the b......y air fence?

Remember that the colour version is available through this link.

The weather forecast was surprisingly good for a Thursday - temperatures of 9 degrees and a guaranteed clear sky and plenty of sunshine.

Right! Think again. More like 6 degrees and overcast with a constant threat of rain. Still, the three of us met up expecting to be able to receive the air fence back after its winter hibernation.

Wrong! No air fence! It's not due back now until next Monday.

Plan B. Let's fill in the dips in the track with some absorbent gray shale. This is the material that was taken from last year's Cardiff GP track. It doesn't bind well so we don't use it as a top dressing but it does help to form a hard base.

Punch, who secretly loves his JCB, leaps at the chance of collecting bucket loads of the gray shale and bringing it out on the track for Gerald and me to distribute as evenly as possible on the inside of the entrance to turn 3, in the dip in the main straight and in the problem area at the apex of turns 1 and 2.

The JCB would be perfect but the power steering doesn't work and the application of brakes makes it veer violently to the right. With these facts in mind Gerald and I keep a wary eye on Punch as he manoeuvres through the pits gate with a bucket load of heavy shale.
The gray shale fills the dips well and I brush any excess water from the puddles to clear standing water. Gerald grades and then tyres packs the surface while Punch circulates behind him with the wire mesh to draw out excess moisture.

We decide to pack the track down well. It's still too wet for heavy packing but the lorry tyre packer works a treat.

As Punch and Gerald amuse themselves on the track I start to tidy up the pits area in readiness for some serious painting on Saturday. Mick Richards from Swindon Pressure Cleaning appears and while he jet washes down the pits I follow behind with a brush, sweeping the sand and mud. The whole process takes over 2 hours but the place looks almost presentable by the time that we finish.

Lunch is taken later than usual in the superb surrounding of our plush staff room. Mick and Punch both seem very pleased with their contributions to the 2007 Blunsdon Blog Calendar (available as a free download on this site) but Gerald is less certain. He thinks I've lost the plot! He may be right.

Our peace and quite is shattered when the large skip is collected. New scalpings have been delivered so that we can try to improve the surface quality of the area at the back of the pits. We would have spread them sooner but the skip was in the way.

With the skip gone and the pits looking clean, if not tidy, we could have run a meeting - no problems.

Saturday will be a painting day. If the weather holds fair then there's a chance we might be able to get the blade out for a final cut before the start of the season. We'll also have a chance to make preparations for the return of our beloved air fence on Monday, although I'll believe that it's really coming back when I see the b....y thing!

Past 4 o'clock and it's time to head home and begin the blog. It's been a funny sort of day - very much plan B but still satisfying.