Infill Deirdre on getting back in trim

infill Deirdre’s back!

Dear Deirdre Have you a tip for staying warm on site in winter weather? - Derek, Basildon Deidre writes I have, Derek – but you’re not going to like it. In this frosty weather I cannot recommend enough that you experience the joy of tights for men.

They’re anti-chafing, insulating, and the good ones offer knee and calf support too. So cast aside your reservations. We’re all a lot more relaxed about those tedious gender norms now – and Russian men have been wearing them for years. If you’re still uncertain, search online for ‘compression leggings’ and pretend it’s not exactly the same thing as tights. Dear Deirdre After a year spent huddled indoors through the pandemic I feel totally out of practice (not to mention out of shape). Can you suggest any exercises to get me back in trim ready for when I can go on camps again? - John, Leicester Deidre writes If you’ve been doing lockdown properly, then you shouldn’t need to do any further preparation to return to site. In lockdown 1 you’ll no doubt have started breadmaking. All that kneading will have maintained the arm strength you need for bricklaying. And if you’ve managed to keep that horrible mucky puddle of sourdough culture alive for any period of time, you’ll have no trouble keeping a bonfire going.

In lockdown 2 you will of course been doing PE exercises with Body Coach Jo Wicks, and those squats and shoulder work should have got you ready for barrowing and moving materials. And in lockdown 3 you’ll have learnt to endure the certainty that things will never ever change or end but that we must all endure forever, which is great preparation for working on any canal project ever.

The only skill you’re likely to have forgotten is how to talk to another human being in a normal way about normal things. Luckily in WRG that’s never really been a requirement so you’ll fit right back into the team. London WRG Awards:

Only holding one dig in almost a year didn’t stop London WRG from presenting its annual awards, chosen by online vote at a virtual ceremony in February. Recipients this time included Dave ‘Moose’ Hearndon who won the Lame Excuse Award (the London WRG Crutch) for literally having a ‘lame’ excuse - he apparently couldn’t come on a dig because he’d inadvertently steam-cleaned one of his feet, and Paul Ireson who won the Driving Award (the trophy would have been a hub-cap from a long-deceased WRG van, but we can’t find it any more) for his splendid effort in kindly dropping Dave off at a handy bus-stop on his way back from a Chelmer dig - having not realised he would be driving right past Dave’s house...

To find out the rest, you’ll have to wait for the next London WRG News, which will be published when editor Fran’s got some dig reports... which might be a while... speaking of which... You know it’s been too long since you went on a canal dig when... (continued)

...you smile fondly when you remember the combined effect of six snorers in the same room. ...all your digging trousers have mysteriously shrunk in the cupboard. ...your novelty brick trowel bottle-opener has seen more use in the last year than your actual trowel. ...you’re on the standard van driving course for your work, the day involves a long wheelbase Transit van, and you smile to yourself when you hear the side door closing reminding you of all the journeys to site with eight other people. ...you toast some bread, and it makes you sad that you don’t hear at least four other people yelling to you to ‘put some in’ for them. Thank you to the various contributors on the WRG Facebook Group for this latest batch. I really hope we can soon end this series and start doing “Things I’d forgotten I liked about digging until I went on my first working party for a year” or something like that instead ...Ed page 39