Thursday 20/3/25  I took the mower and trailer and Eddie took some long lengths of salvaged wood and the seed spreader as its time to sow wildflower seeds in the meadow and it was a warm sunny day. We seeded half the slope last Autumn, sowing at different times of year should give more diverse flowers this season.

Eddie painted the legs of Beryl’s bench and the arms of the other bench while Emma weeded around the finds display and the bottom of the trenches, then cleaned the glass panel over the brick floor with a bucket of river water as it was very dusty.

I loaded the mower trailer with sand and wildflower seed, hitched the spreader to the back of the trailer and went to the meadow. The first job was cutting the meadow grass short so the seeds have a better chance of getting into the soil, the rest of the grass at the mill didn't need cutting as it hasn't grown much. We hooked up the spreader and filled it with sand and wildflower seed which was mixed well and I spread it onto the meadow while Eddie strimmed around the insect hotels and Oak saplings.

We got the roller out of the shed and hooked it up to the mower and Eddie rolled the seed in, he also rolled mole hills on the lawn at the other end of the site to flatten them. The shed door was getting very hard to open and we thought it might get stuck, so I lifted the door and refitted the top hinge to make the door open and close properly.

Emma used our binoculars to view wildlife, and while having lunch outside we saw a Pied Wagtail on our railings, a Kestrel in a tree, Hares in the fields, Buzzard and Red Kites flying together overhead, and Long Tailed Tits on the feeders which Eddie had just filled up with premium suet balls that Beryl gave us.

Emma had to leave early but Ryan came down on his tractor in the afternoon, he and I cut up a fallen tree at the bottom of the bank opposite our bridge and we took it back for firewood and tipped it out near the logstore. We had a cup of tea outside before clearing up and coming back in convoy.

Thank you to everyone who filled in our project feedback form, the consultation period is now closed. We had a good response with over 93% support for the idea, but we also had some genuine concerns which need to be addressed, so we’ll consider how to adapt the project to achieve this.

Thursday 27/3/25  Today marks 10 years since the first work party on 26/3/15, so I found some pictures of the early days to print out for our open days on May 10 & 11 when we'll celebrate the 10th anniversary of working at the mill. We'll have pictures of the wheel and walls being worked on and volunteers uncovering the site. 

We have just been awarded a Breckland Council 'Inspiring Communities' grant to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE & VJ days at our open days so we'll have decorations, posters, Forties music and pictures of parties and celebrations from 1945.

I brought the old doors from my house today in my camper van and we loaded them in the trailer and took them to the mill to use as display boards at the open days. We unloaded them and put them under a tarpaulin to keep them dry until needed.

Eddie brought some metal stakes, I used one to get rubbish out of the river on the way down as there was a piece of gold material in the water. Eddie spotted a Kingfisher flying along the river on our journey along the river bank.

I brought a sack of bird seed and box of suet blocks, we emptied the seed into our container and filled up the bird food on the feeding station and around the site, including a suet block and the water tray. A Great Tit started eating peanuts straight away. We also saw a Pied Wagtail and a pair of Grey Wagtails.

Eddie cut up the logs Ryan and I brought back last time and I fitted the metal strip to the green bench, Eddie painted some areas that were missed last time. We put the bench next to the table on the small lawn. Beryl’s bench is also finished now, we took it outside to inspect it and it looks good so we loaded it into the trailer ready to take back.

Purple Anemones are out on the river bank, Daffodils and Primroses are flowering around the Cherry tree which now has buds, Daffodils in the grindstones are flowering well. Eddie brought Montbretia which he pulled up from his garden, he put them in a bucket of water ready to be planted.

I refitted the 12 Volt socket in a different position in the visitor centre and tested it, as it was not easy to plug things in, we used it to charge the chainsaw batteries as Eddie got through them rapidly cutting up all the logs.

We had lunch outside as it was warm and sunny and I saw a Blue Tit going to another nest box across the river, so at least two of them are in use as we saw another one being used recently. We checked our nest cameras but there is no activity yet.

I used sealant to stick down corners of the bridge floor which were peeling up, I put bricks on top to hold them in place. Eddie finished cutting all the logs, then we stacked them on the pallet next to the log store.

Debra walked down with Hector who went into the river as usual, I threw sticks in which he retrieved. We discussed the open days with Debra, she has offered to print some VE day pictures for the photo album which will be part of the displays. Debra also saw the Kingfisher fly past on her way down. We took Beryl’s bench back and put it on her lawn and she is pleased with it.

Graham Bartlett  

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