Mince Pies and Mulled Wine

A small team met this Thursday, the last session before Christmas, and enjoyed home-made mince pies and mulled wine during the lunch break.

Martyn, John, Dave, Max and Richard came prepared for the cold and set about working out how high the channel for the PTO shaft needed to be. This in turn defined the height for the tailrace wall.

Once we had worked this out John put the finishing touches to the tailrace wall which now looks very smart.

Dave and Martyn cleaned up the sound brickwork of the PTO channel and then set about building back up. Dave’s technique for getting the correct level for the concrete footings was a revelation! Max and Richard kept the workers supplied with bricks and mortar.

We had a visit from the local police constable who has known the area since he was a boy but didn’t know that there was a watermill hidden in the undergrowth! He seemed to enjoy the conducted tour and gave us some crime prevention advice as well.

It was too cold for much standing still, but we did have a brief discussion about how to cover the PTO channel when it is finished. It was generally accepted that the workings should be visible from above, so some kind of grill is needed. A suggestion that we build a recess in the brickwork to accommodate the grill was greeted with horror by the builders who countered with a suggestion that the grill fits into an angle iron frame bolted to the brickwork. Much easier to make and will retain the gravel when the grills are removed for maintenance.

That is all for this year because it will be 2007 before we get together again so Happy Christmas from Shelsley Water Mill Society.

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