This week, TCV Edinburgh were back at Clovenstone Primary School, continuing the work we started on their garden courtyard thing. The first job was to remove the rest of the bush that was left behind from the last time we were here. Or at least I think that was the first job. Certainly, said bush was there the last time I was there, and gone when I came back. 
Meanwhile, Alan and Victoria started work on the building the raised beds, the first of which turned out to be trapezoid shaped. Apparently, this was deliberate, and not just the result of some dodgy measurements 😉 Actually no. It was all part of a grand master plan, of which more shall be revealed later…
Meanwhile, Kirsty and Amy were dismantling the old, somewhat rotten, planter, employing the time old and traditional technique of hitting it with a hammer. 
The remainder of the group, who weren’t busy bashing or sawing started preparing the ground for the planters to go on, under the direction of so-new-we-haven’t even-unwrapped-all-the-cellophane-from-him VO Ewan. This involved levelling the ground off using shovels and mattocks, and laying down lining so that weeds can’t grow through (although, as Kirsty says, there’s really no such thing as a weed, only a plant growing in the wrong place). Around this time, lunch was had, where talk turned to such weighty matters as VDO Dave’s homemade rhubarb crumble. Which, if he eats too much of, will make him very weighty indeed.
After lunch (and tea, obviously), we made a start on laying some of the raised beds that had been built. It was then that we discovered just how cunning the grand master plan involving the trapezoid bed really was. 
At some point in a previous age, some fake masts had been constructed, and when positioned correctly in front of them, the bed helped to create the shape of a ship Once the bed had been positioned, the edges and underneath were covered in more liner, making a fully lined out liner (as in ship, as in ocean liner. No? Anyone?). The same was done to the other more conventional square shaped planters, with only a minor hitch when an attempt was made to seal Derek inside one of them. The final job of the day was to shift some of the soil that had come out of the old planter into the new ones. Unfortunately, there was not enough of this, making it necessary to barrow soil through the school into the courtyard where the garden was located to fill the remaining planters up. As a result of all our hard work, the garden is looking so much better than it did before, hopefully becoming a place that all the mini-people at the school can enjoy. Thanks everyone!
To see a selection of photos from past and present projects, click here
