Solving the Hole Problem..

Excessive rainfall and the subsequent rise in the water table had turned our "hole" into a "lake" at least a metre deep full of stagnant water.

With the warmer weather coming, this was not a problem we could not afford to neglect.

A failed attempt at draining it with a pump and a series of hose pipes had taught us that if we wanted to survive to see the job done, we were going to have to find a better method.


Solution? Four extension reels; Five x 4m lengths of 40mm diameter waste piping; 4 x 40mm connectors; a submersible pump; gaffer tape; scissors and the close proximity of a farmer's field...

We set up this sophisticated apparatus yesterday morning and pumping continued all day...

The water was fed through the pipes to the end of the garden and over into part of a field which is left fallow..

At the end of Day One, we were mildly optimistic that the plan was working.. The water level had dropped significantly...

Pumping continued today and towards the end of the afternoon it was necessary to dig a sump and re-position the pump to allow it to drain the last few centimetres.

So at the end of Day Two..

Colin's cunning plan had reduced the "lake" to a slightly damp patch of ground...

And as long as it doesn't fill up again over night, we can declare it an out and out success!