The club flagpole was on the “huh”, the bottom end was in dire need of a chop and the pivot hole was close to collapse – so the stalwarts of the premises team Neville Allen and Peter Lane, with the help of a massive Volvo powered crane that only just got into the car park, got the pole down in the autumn and saw the extent of the rot.
The good news was, after Peter expertly had sawn about 15 inches off, the rest of the pole was in good order. The weather vane was removed for restoration by Peter along with the one on the club house. So after a winter under tarpaulins the pole was rubbed down and had multiple coats of paint and the restored weather vane placed back on top.
Now came the task of pole erection – with the help of member Phil Molineux’s farm land rover and the helping hand of member Alison McDonnell, the pole was erected – several times following a few mishaps. Not least was the weather vane clearly had never previously been set to point to all 4 cardinal points accurately and its mounting had split and needing welding.
Repairs arranged by the redoubtable Peter and another day of erection planned. The same team then successfully got the pole up and the weather vane pointing the right way. A few repairs and painting to the tabernacle and the job was a good ‘un.
