Under Pressure

And England have won a One Day International against Australia. Euphoria! Can there be anything better in the whole universe? Well, of course, Swindon winning the 2007 Elite League title would be one!

At last, here is the Blog for 1st February 2007, replicated, with pictures on the all singing all dancing Blog website (link here).

The season is racing towards us at an unnerving speed and it is clear that we will have to work each Thursday and Saturday if we are to be ready for the first of a set of behind closed doors practice sessions for the Magnificent Seven prior to Press and Practice Day and the official start of the season.

Last Saturday Keith, Ernie and I removed all the kickboards from the main straight and re-aligned them. Last year the kickboards followed the contours of the safety fence. The principle was OK if the top of the safety fence had been level - but it wasn't. And since the level of the shale is linked to the bottom of the kickboards we did have problems levelling out the straights. Two hours later and the kickboards were sorted.

This Thursday Punch and I turned our attention to the pits car park, left in a state of desolation after the archaeological excavations just after Christmas. Deep ruts and some perilously wet areas meant that, unless urgent remedial work was carried out, we would have vans and lorries bogged in as soon as the first rain fell.

While Punch gathered up the last of our shingle in the JCB I played with the sit on roller and smoothed it all down.

The shingle surface is not popular with visiting riders and their mechanics who find it more than difficult to push heavy tool boxes into the pits. At least the surface is a bit harder now and we can turn our attention to the track.

Shirley arrived in time to make the mid morning cup of coffee and Da Vinci (Brian Cox) was lurking in the changing rooms applying more white paint to the walls and red paint to the fittings. He assures us that he is not planning a replica of the Cistene Chapel but it is clear that his artistic tendencies are being stretched by oceans of brilliant white.

While Punch and I have been playing car parks Gerald has been experimenting with the giant tyre packer after he and Punch had smoothed out the major humps and bumps using the small blades (it's still too wet to bring out the motorway blade).

The tyre packer works a treat and it is clear that, if we had had to run a meeting on Thursday, we could have.

Brian has now turned his attention to the detail on the outside of the pits. He admits that the painting work will take him several days to finish so we expect to see him still going on Saturday morning.

After lunch I turn my attention to the new drainage scheme on the approach to the first turn.
The pipe under the track is clearly doing its job - the water runs out easily and actually drains away through bottom of the hole. My task is to dig out a larger hole and then run a thin 9 inch deep trench alongside the white line right through to the main drain on turn 1. The pipe will run through this but we have also devised a cunning plan - we will fill in around the pipe with stones so that any water running down the main straight will drain away through this new soakaway, thus relieving the overworked drains on turns 1 and 2.

It's hard work digging down because there is a thick layer of stones just below the grass surface and then an even thicker layer of clay. Two hours later and Gerald approaches asking if I'll let him know when I hit oil!

Over the past couple of weeks (OK, months) I have complained about the aches and pains that I feel after a day's work at the track - and this has attracted some comment from the physio who works at the track during the season.

The fact is that I am not used to manual work, having spent 25 years teaching at a Wiltshire Comprehensive school, the last few years of which were spent behind a desk as part of its management team. I now spend my time working as a ceramic artist, designing commercial web sites, resourcing and purchasing IT equipment for individuals and teaching basic IT skills to those unfamiliar with computers. None of these are physically demanding and I admit, I have become soft in middle age.

Working with Punch and Gerald is amazing fun and I do try to keep up with them but it does take its toll. I will be making full use of the physio once the season gets underway. In the meantime I'll put my faith in whiskey and a good, hot bath!