Workers: Iain McCallum, Pam McCallum, Phil Ramsbottom, Chris Thickett, Lester Payne, Alan Wylie, Dave Wylie, John Dobson

Apprentices: Richard Dobson, Ian Dobson

Another working meet focusing on the kitchen project.

Preparing the walls for re-painting took a lot of effort, mainly from Alan, Chris, Lester and Richard, but with most people chipping in at some point. All the joints have now been re-scrimmed in advance of painting, but the wall above the cooker hasn't been sanded down yet. It should be possible to finish this off and get it all painted in one more weekend.

Phil and his apprentice, young Ian, installed wiring to power the electric igniters for the new hobs. Ian was small enough to get right under the worktop in the corner and, as he's left handed, he could wire up the parts that other electricians cannot reach. Now you just turn on the gas and press the button for instant heat.

In case things get too steamy, Dave installed a couple of extractor fans to get rid of all the hot air the club generates. They're independently controllable, and variable speed, so you can choose how hard a suck you want.

Lester replaced the "trace heating" to the new plumbing for the sinks, so that even the coldest of Welsh winters won't freeze things up.

The final electrical work was to increase the number of 13A power points. Dave fitted new double outlets to make a total of six sockets. We can now safely have both fridges, both microwaves, the toaster AND the fairy lights on the Christmas tree all on at once!

John added a shelf and an end panel to the new sink unit. The new wood hasn't been varnished yet, so please try not to make too much of a flood. The new unit still hasn't got all its trim installed - watch out for the rather sharp exposed metal edge behind the taps on the right hand one.

There are still several other jobs outstanding before we can claim to have finished the kitchen. The various storage areas will move round a bit once the new "Island Unit" and food storage boxes have been built and installed. The skirting boards have not been replaced, and there are various small jobs still to be tidied up. Plus the re-painting of course. However, it looks like the majority of the big jobs are now out of the way. We're getting there, as they say!

Away from the kitchen, Chris and John plumbed in the missing link to get the large "Belfast" sink in the Gent's back in use. In the same area, Dave had a go at fixing a leaking cistern in the first Gent's cubicle. Please report any further signs of flooding in case there's still a problem here.

Iain finished off the new floor in the upstairs members dorm, whilst still finding time to tend to some of the trees and do some more bulb planting, helped by Pam. The two of them also did the catering, with two batches of soup on Saturday and even apple pie for afters! Thanks to them, the work could continue far more efficiently, without everybody having to stop to cook their own food.

As usual, lots of small maintenance jobs also got sorted out in passing. It's amazing how many things need looking after even away from the major development projects. Replacing blown lights, fixing decapitated mops, mending chairs, replacing broken glasses, checking gas supplies, etc. etc. None of it takes very long, but it all adds up.

Many thanks to everybody who turned up and put in so much hard work.

(And Thanks to Dave Wylie for writing this up so quickly, Ed)

This is the working party do. I think that it is by invitation only. Don't feel left out if you aren't on the guest list. Contact Steve Taylor if you really need a fix.