The gallop was vastly improved as a result of the salt, however, first thing we were only able to trot on it. By 11 O'clock we were able to give Billy Biscuit, Trouble Digger, Full Shift and Frankenstrom a satisfactory canter. All my telephone calls looking for a gallop to work on proved fruitless. It appears that everyone is letting nature take its course and waiting for the thaw. I know I have committed a cardinal sin salting my gallop. I worked the snow in another year and paid the price when it froze about 8 inches down. I think this year I may get away with it, rain is forecast on Sunday with a huge rise in temperature. Tomorrow night is my biggest fear with a forecast of -6 degrees. If we get through that we have done well. I deployed another 250 KG of salt onto it again this evening and as I got to the bottom it started to snow, I felt like banging my head against the tractor in a Basil Faulty fashion but thought better of it.
Larkhill are hoping to stage their meeting and I am working on the basis that it will be on. We now know Trouble Digger will handle any ground and the softer the better as far as he is concerned, as for Billy Biscuit, I imagine he will want good ground to show his true ability but he has worked well on the soft all season. If the meeting goes ahead, we will take stock with him once I've walked the course.
If my gallop holds up over night they will both work on it tomorrow, you could certainly have worked on it this evening by the time I had finished working on it.
I had a very interesting conversation with the Highways Agency this morning. West Oxfordshire Council Council directed me to them after requesting that our lane was salted or some salt was dropped at the top and I would salt it myself. In short, they don't give a F***! It is apparently the responsibility of our Parish Council to organise salt supplies. I asked if they could possibly drop some off as we had none and 4 cars were stuck on the lane this morning, 2 of which had bumped each other. It is not their policy to drop off salt in the winter and it should have been organised in the summer!!!!!!! This country is a joke and whoever is in charge of these type of policies wants putting in front of a firing squad with a few others that I can think of. I would have had a large bet, had I the time and driven to the County Council depot in Chipping Norton there would have been numerous vehicles parked up and many men drinking tea in their hut. I know for a fact there is a mountain of salt piled there. No doubt Health and Safety policy doesn't allow gritters out on icy roads.
