The Dirty Dozen

We did eventually let everyone else have a drink!

(c) Liz James

On a cool St Patrick’s Day evening, the island’s residents met to formally open the re-vamped ringing hut for business. We are all very busy cleaning, decorating, lambing ‘live’, settling in the newly arrived goats and generally getting Bardsey ready for the coming season – hence the soubriquet Dirty Dozen, but once the ribbon had been cut by Steve we were able to find the time to raise a toast to ‘all who ring in her’!

We started the ringing hut back in the autumn by removing the old ceiling and shelving and storing the ringing equipment in one of the adjacent barns, for use should Jim catch any birds over the winter. Once again Jim had measured up what was needed in the way of ply and hardware back on a previous visit in the summer, so he had all the necessary to hand once he got going and Screwfix helped with the rest.

The first job was to refit the ceiling and in doing so create a new storage area in the roof space; to ensure this stayed fairly clean the roof was lined with plywood and then a ladder built to access the space. Once all this was in place the walls were painted, several times, and the floor given a new coat of red paint. Then the ringing equipment, cupboards and table were returned to their new home.

Jim decided he would like to mark the occasion with a traditional ‘topping out’ ceremony so an evergreen branch has been suspended in the hut and a few glasses of bubbly were enjoyed too.

This project has been close to Jim’s heart for a variety of reasons; as he has already said his ringing career started on Bardsey more than twenty years ago and the ringing hut has been a special place for him since then. I too ringed my first bird there, a Brambling.

Elaine