Another week and plodding progress around the smaller lagoon, that back in the day used to be refered to as “the clean side” lagoon- what a joke that one was to prove. Monday afternoon revealed Napoleon to be perched on the spud barge, which appears to be anchored by either he or Bonaparte wacking the hell out of one of the two metal pins to make them drop.
the weed being wound up like green spaghetti on a fork to the barge.
Plenty of splashing around but not really a great quantity yielded by the looks of it. Today it appeared that it had found its way onto the pile in the south side of the beach area.
It also appears that the cad digger has acquired a butch tattoo
Grrrrrrrr
Bonaparte on the otherhand is starting to show the strain of the campaign, now into its fourth month- has it really been that long since the first toxic sod on the South embankment was cut, well I never! 
The Summer is virtually here and soon Tipton will be enjoying its range of community festivals. It must be interesting to the Dutch visitors carrying out the work on the lagoon on behalf of Rhodia/Solvay/ERM the quaintness of the English customs, and those of the local Tipton area. There are the maypole dancing activities, which usually involve the erection of a large metal pole, usually acquired from a local source.
Then there are activities involving animals, collected from various sources, and very often horses living in the kitchens of the local folk. The drinking of mead and the dropping of undergarments with men and fair? maidens dissappearing into bushes. It would perhaps be a disservice to describe Tipton as “The place where God’s underpants were found”, but if Soddom and Gomorrah were still around perhaps it would be twinned with them both.
I must say I have grown accustomed to the faces of The Heyrmans on the site, and now that they appear to outnumber the birds left at Rattlechain, I have started to note their individual behaviours and that they are a jovial bunch of chaps. With a little singing, a little dancing and the merry pitter patter of commands issued in Dutch with accompanying sign language it could be possible courtship rituals- (no female Heyrmans detected on site but it’s a broad minded country).
The Heyrmans take a break
But as Summer nears and each day passes in the Tipton heat, I do fear for their safety. Indeed each day in my diary in the immortal words of Brian Hanrahan issued during the Falklands War “I counted them all out, and I counted them all back.” For there is a dark presence in the area that worship “heathen Gods”. I am not sure that the trusting Heyrmans were told this in their contracts by The Lairds of Trinity Street. In fact the signs are starting to look quite ominous that something is about to happen soon. Today Bonaparte and his handler had obviously been instructed to round up the wood pile of felled trees on the North embankment.
These were then placed systematically onto the spud barge.
Later in the day, it was a ruddy big pile, which started to tower over the surrounding landscape. Tomorrow I expect it to be moved again- once more the Heyrmans being lulled into a false sense of security about what is about to happen to them. Their next task will be to construct it into the shape of a giant man, used in another daft “trial” experiment to scare away birds from the lagoon. And they will still think that they are still carrying out ERM/Rhodia/ Solvay’s phase work when
If a child goes “missing” in the area after following a pied piper- please Heyrmans get away whilst you still can, and do not go looking for them for it will be a trap, take heed before the clans of Tipton descend on the Rattlechain lagoon for their summer sacrifice.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FOREMAN WHO CARRIED OUT THE TASK OF REMEDIATING ALBRIGHT AND WILSON’S GOWER TIP AT LOWER CITY ROAD!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEOQqnHMSMc
On the serious side unfortunately hired Foreign help is something that the chemical industry (Albright and Wilson in particular) liked to carry out- with dire consequences. I do fear for the long term health of anyone exposed to toxic chemicals, regardless of what “protective ” equipment is given to them when usually the instruction and the risk is not communicated transparently.