Len Dewell 1932 – 2011 A tribute to our Deputy Warden who died last month. From an email by Michael Leach, one of Len's Warley Place colleagues….. Len had a cheerful optimism in the face of adversity, as well as a dedication to Warley Place, which should be an example to us all. I love, Michael goes on, the way that he was rarely defeated by a practical problem and I have always envied his natural ingenuity which enabled him to turn his hand to so many different things. He made a superb job of the walled garden brickwork, so much so that most of his repairs are now invisible, exactly what was needed – and he was so much better than the professional bricklayer whom he initially assisted! The physical evidence of his ingenuity and enthusiasm will remain at Warley Place for a long time, as well as our own individual memories of him – such as his makeshift tent in the ha-ha and his cheerful phrase "All right, then?" Other volunteers remember him finding several drowned voles in one of the many galvanised dipping tanks buried in the ground. They had fallen in and could not get out. Within a few days all such tanks round the reserve had little ladders in them so that animals could escape. Len was a man who cared. We'll miss him. And now for the rest of the news: I wonder what that is sticking out of the ground? Thoughts that went through our volunteer John Cannell's mind while raking mole hills flat in the West Meadow by the car park. Well, when pulled out of the ground the shape resembled a small bomb, but it couldn't be, could it? He carried it to the car park where Richard, our reserve Warden (who has some wartime armament knowledge) had a look the following Monday and said 'I think we had better call the police' and carried it back to the meadow. The police came and promptly called the Bomb Disposal team who said it was probably a wartime shell and decided, just to be on the safe side, to dig a small hole in the ground, set a small explosive charge, cover with sand bags and earth and then assured us that there will be little to see in the way of an explosion. Well, there was an enormous bang and sand and soil was seen trying to escape the earth's gravity for nearly 100 yards either side, this due to the high explosive content of what turned out to be an anti-aircraft shell. What do moles do when they have a headache? We need more parking spaces, these words have been echoing since our first of two guided snowdrop walks last month. It was estimated that there was over sixty visitors on the first morning, with four separate guided tours and due to the weather, slightly less people on the following weekend walks. Olive and Thelma, two of our volunteers, who have an expert knowledge of Ellen Willmott and Warley Place lead these guided walks and as always are very well received, but this year had to be supplemented by John and Fiona. Many thanks to Warley Cricket Club who kindly let us use their car park as an overspill. It certainly lightens the heart at this time of year to have such a fantastic show of colour from the various bulbs giving their all to the spring sunshine. Snowdrops and snowflakes are always the first to show with crocus and daffodils following closely behind. Others that are flowering at the end of this February at Warley Place are the lesser celandine with brilliant yellow flowers, usually nine petals; the yellow winter aconite, violets and the small blue scilla that grows well in the walled garden. Also, you can't help notice the smell of the wild garlic, this plant is abundant around the reserve. If the smell of garlic is not to your liking, don't be put off, come along for a stroll around, its nature as it's intended to be. In March, look out for primroses. |
