The Race Team, putting the “GT” into Gunnersbury Triangle … one of the more bizarre bits of rubbish that must have flown over the fence when there was a garage next door (It seems to be the exhaust pipe of a large motorcycle; and Sarah’s jacket is from sailing races round the Isle of Wight)Flagon and Oil Can … not to mention the hundred beer cans, dozens of energy drink cans, lemonade bottles, bits of insulation, cable, and mirror … it’s really convenient to heave your rubbish over the fence into the nature reserve, ideal place for it …Auricularia mesenteroides, a relative of Jew’s Ear, a jelly-like fungus with indeed a mesenteric appearance. (The mesentery is the flexible membrane that ties the gut in place, in case you never did Biology dissections when you were at school.) Alick Henrici found quite a few interesting Ascomycetes, a good day for it after recent rain.
Volunteers debrambling the Acid GrasslandFour VolunteersQuite a haul of rubbish by the fence (and yes, that’s a distributor cap)
Distributor bits, wing mirror, electrical leads, yes, there used to be a garage over the fence. What with old rusty pipes, cigarette lighters, glass milk bottles (remember them?) and remains of workers’ lunches, it was quite a haul. We dug out some champion brambles and quite a few enormous nettles, too.
I also found some bits of Asbestos roofing, but we left them in situ as there was a Smooth Newt sheltering beneath them. All in all, it’s amazing what people will sling over a fence. We were happy to leave the North bank in a better state than it’s been in for many years.
The English seem unemotional … except for their passion for nature
