Machine Guns On My Roof - Wednesday 20/10/10

Awake all night pretty much. Enjoyed chatting to Rob, a newcomer who's volunteering with Andy and Jane. We talked until just gone 23:00 sitting inside his rather spacious yurt. Considering it is him on his own in there, it is by comparison to most, positively palatial. Just as i finally clambered over Emma into bed and settled, the heavens machine gunned the roof of our caravan with hailstones. This continued sporadically over the course of the night, the volleys coming in varying degrees of severity.
At 04:00 Fran awoke from a nightmare and complained of cold. With only a handful of kindling to revive the burner, i dressed, and filled a bucket with kindling and logs. This took me a pleasantly meditative half an hour, after which i made us all a hot chocolate.
Another attempt to sleep was sabotaged by my over active and now awake brain and conscience. I was filled with worry and concern for another volunteer, Alexandra. For what must be a month now, she has battled an ongoing saga of trying to get a woodburner in her otherwise heatless caravan. Actually, that isn't entirely accurate. She has a gas heater. That leaks. So i suppose she has the option to fall asleep cosy and warm, never to awake. Anxious to ensure this is resolved ASAP for the sake of her health and general well being. I text volunteer coordinator, Hoppi, my concerns at 05:54. To my amazement, she text back almost immediately! We ended up having a really productive Dawn meeting ensuring agreements are amended to prevent the situation arising in the future, as well as putting a plan in place to sort this situation as quickly as possible.
Breakfast, then que my next walkabout. Checked in with Katy and Leander, very impressed by both their progress and ingenuity. For vents to insert through their stonewalling; plastic tubing and mesh cannibalised from a sieve. For roof drainage; plastic pipe, pond liner, inserted with marker pen tops shoved down to secure the liner in place. Further more, it is visibly apparent that the roof drainage is effective and fit for purpose. Well done Katy for that burst of inspiration!
From Katy and Leanders i meandered upto Kits plot where i was promptly press ganged into sorting a pile of bricks into grades and stacking them onto pallets. That took me upto lunch time.
14:30 reconvened with Hoppi and joined by Andy. Have offered myself and Emma to be named contacts should other long term volunteers need any help and support. This I hope, along with monthly meetings, serve to nip any issues in the bud, before they have a chance to blossom into full blown problems. Spent the rest of this very very cold day on idle setting. Am rather exhausted to say the least.
M Jones