This last weekend was test weekend…back at Chatton for a practice day on Saturday and the level 1 DSWA test on Sunday.
The weather forecasts for the weekend were doom and gloom but I woke Saturday to blue skies and sunshine and that was to be the pattern for the rest of the day. We set about rebuilding the gap in the wall left from our last visit and incorporating a squeeze stile that would lead to the stone circle we built last time. It was a good day with just the right amount of practice before the main event.
Sunday morning – an early start…at Chatton just before 0800 for an 0830 start to the test. We all pitched up in various states of nervousness and after getting our gear together, it was time for the off. The examiners marked out the stints that we’d be working on – 6 of us in total, with four lucky people getting an end stint each (I say lucky as at the end, you cut in at 45ยบ from the existing wall meaning considerably less to take down, build and less foundation to mess with, whereas a middle stint means the full 2.08 meters of wall to strip and rebuild). I drew a middle stint, but on the bright side it was slap bang in the middle of Ben and Jonathan and being used to working with both of them I knew they’d see me right in terms of building in their stints and not (as Ben puts it) “seeing me off”.
The stripping out went well and in relatively quick time I was at the foundations, then my first fright occurred – one of the foundations was cracked right down the middle! However, this proved to be a short lived problem – one of the curiosities of walling is that, in theory, you should be able to roll out the foundations and then roll them back in the exact same position. I have yet to see this happen, but what it did mean was that the cracked foundation was negated by leaving a gap just big enough to put in a really nice stone and everything actually worked out OK.
Building the first lift actually went pretty well and Donald had told us that we wanted our throughstones in by midday at the latest. It was around 1130 when I hit this so felt I was doing OK. There was a small problem of being left with too little space between throughstones to place the two that were originally in my stint, but the examiner told me to just to put them both in anyway…no harm in doing this, but with hindsight, my stint would have looked far better with just the one and the measurements between the stones would have been so marginal so as not to have mattered to the final finish anyway. Instead, with two throughs crammed into a small space I was struggling to fit stones between them and also to level off to them.
This took me a whole lot of my time in the early part of the afternoon, so much so that our 1530 deadline (lunch was taken on the hop) started to loom closer and closer. By about 1400 I was having real trouble. Another curiosity with walling is that you can take down a wall and practice on it over and over again, every time bringing in more hearting and good stone, but every time, run out of both…I don’t get it! Anyway, I spent a lot of time just trying to find some decent stone to get into the second lift and by abut 1440 I was starting to pretty much slap any old stone on just to get finished.
I’d promised myself that I would focus on my piece of wall all day, but with Jonathan building a stunning piece of wall next to me, Ben doing well and others tidying up having finished I was in a mini-panic. I pretty much threw my cope stones on and did some rudimentary pinning and the guys helped me tidy up (thanks everyone!).
Test over. I looked back at my stint and just felt so despondent. I felt pretty sure I’d passed as I’d done everything technically right, but the overall finish was appalling – I’ve done far, far better on several occasions. I don’t even think it was nerves getting the better of me…I just didn’t have great stone for the second lift or the time to go and find some. Then it dawned on me – this was my exact same horrible stint from my last visit – remember that from my last post? Luck (or lack of) the draw….[sigh].
Never mind – the examiners gave out the mark sheets announcing the passes. I’m certain that mine was the lowest mark and deservedly so. The marks reflected how I felt about what I’d done – not borderline, but by no means great. Still, it was enough on the day and that’s all that counts in any test. I have my Initial Dry Stone Walling certificate and I know I can do far, far better wall than that. Donald appeared rightly proud that all had passed and some, exceptionally well.
The examiners on the day were nice guys. One of them, Steve Allen is generally regarded to be the best waller in Britain and both examiners went about their work discreetly, but also offered advice, guidance and help when needed. I was please and grateful for this as it demonstrated that the level 1 test, whilst a test, is still at the entry and very much learning level of a walling. It also assured me that the aims of the DSWA are noble – in that the examiners want people to pass the tests as ultimately, it makes Dry Stone Walling and the DSWA stronger. With some such associations the order of the day can be about exclusivity and keeping others out, but having seen how the examiners conducted themselves I am reassured that this is not the case with the DSWA.
Would I change anything about my general approach to the test? Not really. I think, as always, coming back from the wall more often (maybe set a timer to go off every 15 mins?) is always a good idea. Also, despite stopping to grab a bite to eat I think having some snacks and sweets nearby is a good idea as by the end of the test I was actually pretty low on energy – little and often is the order of the day and my Camelbak was a really useful thing to have.
I genuinely believe that the problems I had evolved from the stone that was in my stint. I know seasoned wallers would say that you just have to work with the stone, but I’m not a seasoned waller and having good shaped, big stone really does make a difference. The finish in others’ stints was testament to that with nice big square looking chunks all over…so at the end of the day, some of it was just luck of the draw. Oh and for sunny days, I’m going to buy one of those “legionnaire” style hats. I didn’t stop to put sun block on and as a result sat with a wet towel on the back of my neck for the rest of the evening! Stoopid! I now have the most ridiculous tan which stops at the top of my skull where my baseball cap was (I even have a nice “half moon” tan at the back of my head where the hole is…I look like a pint of bitter!
Anyway, job done and first step over. I’m not sure how much walling I’ll get in during the rest of this year with money and annual leave running low. At the moment, I’m thinking about starting up on level two at the start of next year, but if opportunity comes sooner I’ll certainly take it up. For now, I think I’ll get on with reading a few books just to keep the mind ticking over. Congratulations and thanks to everyone else on the test – I hope we can get together again for the next step, and thanks, as always, to Donald for his time, confidence and guidance.
See you soon.
Al
Wednesday 15 July 2009
Sunday 5 July 2009
A week of two halves...
Last week, I got back from a week of walling, once again with Donald, in Chatton, Northumberland. The week (Sun to Sat) was a chance to get in plenty of hours of practice prior to a Level 1 DSWA test on the second weekend of July.
It was good to meet up again with Ben (and his Border Collie “Ruff” who confirmed my thoughts about Paddy, that being a Waller’s mate is an ideal occupation for a Border Collie) and Jonathan from the taster weekend and there were also five others in attendance – most aiming to do the test in July also and one taster.
On our first day (Sunday) we went over some of the basics again (mainly for the benefit of those that were new to walling) and then set about stripping and re-building a section of wall that we had practiced on in April. Working alongside Ben and Jonathan, we had a good craic and had the wall up in quick time and it looked pretty good.
On Monday, we went up the hill and rebuilt a section up there. By a nice coincidence, Jonathan and I were at a point in the wall where Donald decided that we’d build a “Sqeeze Stile” – basically a tapered gap in the wall allowing people to pas through but narrow enough to keep livestock in. This was a good opportunity as not only did we get to build a feature such as this (a higher level feature) but also to see how a “Cheek end” (the end of a wall) is constructed. This was a pretty hard day as the stones required for a cheek end are pretty hefty, but after a reasonable time, the wall and stile were built.
Fortunately, we were also not far from the Iron age hill fort nearby and the Kettley Stone and Kettley Crag Rock Art, which I mentioned back in April. We took a short trek across the beautiful Northumbrian countryside to see these sites and I have to say, I was really pleased to have done this. The view from the hill fort was stunning, with Hawk Aircraft (probably form RAF Leeming), Tornadoes (probably form Leuchars), and Tucanos (probably from Linton-on-Ouse) flying past at almost eye level. Then it was downhill into a small valley at the bottom of which is
the Kettley stone – a Neolithic font carved into the bedrock. The area is predominantly sandstone and the soil is very sand indicating that the area was once sea bed and the features of the land indicate a watery past. It’s thought that the font would have been used in ancient water worship ceremonies, although others have speculated that it was used in early Christian worship. Another short trek back uphill and we came across Kettley Crag – an overhanging rock with awesome Neolithic carvings in the base stone. This stone was covered by turf for millennia and largely remains well preserved due to the overhang and also the fact that unless you know where it is, 
it’s actually pretty hard to find. There are many of these “cup and ring” stones across Northumberland and theories abound about what they mean from ancient maps to simple doodles. All I know is that all of this is a call from an ancient past when nature was worshipped and unspoiled. This alone makes such monuments simply awesome. There are a few good resources around if this sort of stuff interests you: Firstly there’s the Beckensall Archive, then there’s the Megalithic Portal and lastly The Modern Antiquarian.
After this, it was back to the site and up with the coping stones, then down into Chatton Village for a couple of well-earned pints…lovely.
Tuesday morning…I knew I was in trouble, as by 0800 it was already a warm day. The task for the day was to dig out the foundations of the section of wall we’ll be tested on in July, re-build and to ensure that the stone in the wall was good quality. This was slow work in the heat and finding decent foundation stones is harder than you might imagine. Just after lunch I had to call it a day as I had to drive back to Kent that same afternoon and evening as it was my Grandad’s Funeral on Wednesday morning.
My Grandad was 94 when he died and it was ultimately simple old age that caught up with him. He was a kind and gentle man and everything a classic Grandfather should be. I credit much of my enthusiasm for gardening to him and the days I spent helping him in his garden, eating fresh vegetables at Sunday lunch. Nothing bought in any shop has ever come close to that taste. He lived a pretty simple life – much of it outdoors, in the Kent countryside – he never wanted for much, just enjoyed working outside, eating well and enjoying a few pints of Guinesss before lunch on a Sunday. On reflection, there’s a lot we could all learn from the way he lived his life and his influence, stories and even his looks live on though his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. In aspiring to a walling lifestyle, I hope to recapture something of the simpler life that he has shown us all.
After another drive back North on Wednesday afternoon, I arrived back at Chatton on Thursday morning. Apparently Wednesday had been another hard, hot day, with the stone in the wall difficult to work with so progress was not what I thought it might be so after some finishing of of rebuilding, we moved on to making a circular seat just behind the wall. Donald explained the finer points of
circular construction and with all hands on deck, the wall went up pretty quickly and looked pretty good by the end of the day. Work remained to be done on constructing the actual seat and also building the seat into the existing wall with a squeeze stile for access at the front, but it was a project I was pleased to have been involved in.
Friday brought in the rain and another day of stripping down wall and rebuilding, but this time under mock test conditions. We were given random stints of about 1.5m of wall to strip and rebuild and I was off to a bad start when I discovered that the foundation stones I had were pretty poor so after much swearing I finally got the all important foundations settled. It was ultimately to set the tone of the day for me with seemingly poor stones to work with all day. Granted, you have to work with the stone that’s available, but if you have nice square stone to hand the work becomes so much easier. There was some respite after the delivery of some better stone from further up the hill and I eventually finished but I was far from happy with what I’d done. Once the batter frames were down, it did look OK and Donald said that it was of a good enough standard to pass, which was a relief, but the major faults were not getting big enough stones in at the bottom of the wall and using sloping stones lower down which created misery further up. It’s just the way it goes sometime – a day or so before it all went so smoothly…just a bad day at the office and Donald’s feedback was delivered in a very constructive fashion so I now know exactly the areas I need to look out for in my work.
Saturday brought more rain and heavy mist and with little to do on the site, we simply tidied the area up (inadvertently disturbing a bee’s nest in the process!). I think by this point, everyone was pretty tired and muscles were sore, so we only worked until about 1400, said our goodbyes and were off until our test in a couple of weeks’ time.
The week was great – great to get in so much practice, to see some new features and also to get to grips with good foundations. Working for a week was tough but sustainable and the weather was also interesting. I’ve come back with a really healthy outdoors “glow”, but by Tuesday, the heat really did have an impact on the ability to work at a reasonable pace. One of the best investments I made prior to the week aside from my own tools and kneepads (such a good idea!) was a Camelbak – just makes keeping hydrated so much easier than stopping to get a drink. On the flipside, when the rain came, the only difficulty I had was gripping some of the larger rocks when wet, but as for comfort, no problem whatsoever – god bless GoreTex. It is useful to have something warm and dry to change into for the drive home though.
So now it’s only a week until the level 1 test, which I’m excited and nervous about in equal measure. It will be great to get that under my belt. Onwards and upwards!
It was good to meet up again with Ben (and his Border Collie “Ruff” who confirmed my thoughts about Paddy, that being a Waller’s mate is an ideal occupation for a Border Collie) and Jonathan from the taster weekend and there were also five others in attendance – most aiming to do the test in July also and one taster.
On our first day (Sunday) we went over some of the basics again (mainly for the benefit of those that were new to walling) and then set about stripping and re-building a section of wall that we had practiced on in April. Working alongside Ben and Jonathan, we had a good craic and had the wall up in quick time and it looked pretty good.
On Monday, we went up the hill and rebuilt a section up there. By a nice coincidence, Jonathan and I were at a point in the wall where Donald decided that we’d build a “Sqeeze Stile” – basically a tapered gap in the wall allowing people to pas through but narrow enough to keep livestock in. This was a good opportunity as not only did we get to build a feature such as this (a higher level feature) but also to see how a “Cheek end” (the end of a wall) is constructed. This was a pretty hard day as the stones required for a cheek end are pretty hefty, but after a reasonable time, the wall and stile were built.Fortunately, we were also not far from the Iron age hill fort nearby and the Kettley Stone and Kettley Crag Rock Art, which I mentioned back in April. We took a short trek across the beautiful Northumbrian countryside to see these sites and I have to say, I was really pleased to have done this. The view from the hill fort was stunning, with Hawk Aircraft (probably form RAF Leeming), Tornadoes (probably form Leuchars), and Tucanos (probably from Linton-on-Ouse) flying past at almost eye level. Then it was downhill into a small valley at the bottom of which is
the Kettley stone – a Neolithic font carved into the bedrock. The area is predominantly sandstone and the soil is very sand indicating that the area was once sea bed and the features of the land indicate a watery past. It’s thought that the font would have been used in ancient water worship ceremonies, although others have speculated that it was used in early Christian worship. Another short trek back uphill and we came across Kettley Crag – an overhanging rock with awesome Neolithic carvings in the base stone. This stone was covered by turf for millennia and largely remains well preserved due to the overhang and also the fact that unless you know where it is, 
it’s actually pretty hard to find. There are many of these “cup and ring” stones across Northumberland and theories abound about what they mean from ancient maps to simple doodles. All I know is that all of this is a call from an ancient past when nature was worshipped and unspoiled. This alone makes such monuments simply awesome. There are a few good resources around if this sort of stuff interests you: Firstly there’s the Beckensall Archive, then there’s the Megalithic Portal and lastly The Modern Antiquarian.After this, it was back to the site and up with the coping stones, then down into Chatton Village for a couple of well-earned pints…lovely.
Tuesday morning…I knew I was in trouble, as by 0800 it was already a warm day. The task for the day was to dig out the foundations of the section of wall we’ll be tested on in July, re-build and to ensure that the stone in the wall was good quality. This was slow work in the heat and finding decent foundation stones is harder than you might imagine. Just after lunch I had to call it a day as I had to drive back to Kent that same afternoon and evening as it was my Grandad’s Funeral on Wednesday morning.
My Grandad was 94 when he died and it was ultimately simple old age that caught up with him. He was a kind and gentle man and everything a classic Grandfather should be. I credit much of my enthusiasm for gardening to him and the days I spent helping him in his garden, eating fresh vegetables at Sunday lunch. Nothing bought in any shop has ever come close to that taste. He lived a pretty simple life – much of it outdoors, in the Kent countryside – he never wanted for much, just enjoyed working outside, eating well and enjoying a few pints of Guinesss before lunch on a Sunday. On reflection, there’s a lot we could all learn from the way he lived his life and his influence, stories and even his looks live on though his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. In aspiring to a walling lifestyle, I hope to recapture something of the simpler life that he has shown us all.
After another drive back North on Wednesday afternoon, I arrived back at Chatton on Thursday morning. Apparently Wednesday had been another hard, hot day, with the stone in the wall difficult to work with so progress was not what I thought it might be so after some finishing of of rebuilding, we moved on to making a circular seat just behind the wall. Donald explained the finer points of
circular construction and with all hands on deck, the wall went up pretty quickly and looked pretty good by the end of the day. Work remained to be done on constructing the actual seat and also building the seat into the existing wall with a squeeze stile for access at the front, but it was a project I was pleased to have been involved in.Friday brought in the rain and another day of stripping down wall and rebuilding, but this time under mock test conditions. We were given random stints of about 1.5m of wall to strip and rebuild and I was off to a bad start when I discovered that the foundation stones I had were pretty poor so after much swearing I finally got the all important foundations settled. It was ultimately to set the tone of the day for me with seemingly poor stones to work with all day. Granted, you have to work with the stone that’s available, but if you have nice square stone to hand the work becomes so much easier. There was some respite after the delivery of some better stone from further up the hill and I eventually finished but I was far from happy with what I’d done. Once the batter frames were down, it did look OK and Donald said that it was of a good enough standard to pass, which was a relief, but the major faults were not getting big enough stones in at the bottom of the wall and using sloping stones lower down which created misery further up. It’s just the way it goes sometime – a day or so before it all went so smoothly…just a bad day at the office and Donald’s feedback was delivered in a very constructive fashion so I now know exactly the areas I need to look out for in my work.
Saturday brought more rain and heavy mist and with little to do on the site, we simply tidied the area up (inadvertently disturbing a bee’s nest in the process!). I think by this point, everyone was pretty tired and muscles were sore, so we only worked until about 1400, said our goodbyes and were off until our test in a couple of weeks’ time.
The week was great – great to get in so much practice, to see some new features and also to get to grips with good foundations. Working for a week was tough but sustainable and the weather was also interesting. I’ve come back with a really healthy outdoors “glow”, but by Tuesday, the heat really did have an impact on the ability to work at a reasonable pace. One of the best investments I made prior to the week aside from my own tools and kneepads (such a good idea!) was a Camelbak – just makes keeping hydrated so much easier than stopping to get a drink. On the flipside, when the rain came, the only difficulty I had was gripping some of the larger rocks when wet, but as for comfort, no problem whatsoever – god bless GoreTex. It is useful to have something warm and dry to change into for the drive home though.
So now it’s only a week until the level 1 test, which I’m excited and nervous about in equal measure. It will be great to get that under my belt. Onwards and upwards!
Dedicated to the memory of Alan Norris - 1914-2009
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