Walking through the woods in the dark

There was an open evening up at the Mill last night, to show the locals what had been done prior to it all going public. The invitation said that we could arrange to be picked up, but we decided to walk, set off just after six, when it was of course still full daylight. Walked up the river path, first time I had done that, and it was gorgeous, warm and still. Not a soul around.

In fact, there were not that many at the gathering. Which meant there was more wine for all those who did attend. There were crisps, nuts, biscuits and chocolates, too, and soft drinks and tea and coffee. They rather did us proud in that respect.

I like what has been done, it all looks great. All the timber comes from the estate, and will continue to do so, including the wood for heating - there is this fabulous, huge wood stove in the middle of the cafe area. There isn't exactly a lot to see, but the power generating bit was far and away the most fascinating. There are two turbines run on water-power from the river, and photo-voltaic panels on the roof. Huge batteries to store the electricity generated, and all sorts of clever dials and displays so you can see what is coming in and going out. I wanted to photograph the beautiful copper wiring, which looked like some very modernistic tapestry, but couldn't on this occasion - will have to go back.

It is hard to work out what is going on - on the one hand, they say that they don't want to encourage more visitors, on the other, they are setting things up that will do so. They have all sorts of schemes to encourage people to use public transport or to walk, but seemingly ignore the fact that existing members will be unaffected by their discounts. I really dunno. But I do think that this new team is a big improvement on the previous shower, not that that would be difficult to accomplish.

The thing was late starting and went on quite a long time - by the time we set off home, it was pretty well dark, and the torch that the DSM had so thoughtfully brought decided to pack up working the instant he switched it on. So we two, and the only other three on foot! Walked back down the track in the dark. It was lovely. Not something that we often do - my night vision is atrocious, and in fact I was literally walking blind as I mostly couldn't see where each foot was landing - but because there were a few of us, it was ok and really quite fun. By the time we got back, the tawny owls were tuning up, quite magical - I always love to hear them, anyway.

The bad news is - snatched a quick word with the Boss Guy, and he has backed right off from doing anything about the Troll. Warned off by those above him. I'm not really surprised - I did always fear that this would be the case. So, if we want something done, we have to make the official complaint ourselves - funny, I thought we had already done that, but seemingly not. So, we wait now until the next big bust-up, and then screw up our courage and go for it.....