A day of feverish activity... at the Racecourse! Race week starts tomorrow. We zigzagged through the lorries, ambulances, fencing and lighting contractors and eventually arrived at the box for a normal day's work. Having parked the car and got into my working clothes, I was asked to move it again to allow an enormous fork lift truck to move a temporary generator. What do you call the driver of an enormous fork lift truck standing inches from your nice shiny new car? Sir !!!
At the end of  the day came a second request - can you all move your cars, to vacate the space for...a burger van ! Well, anything to be of service.

"Are you sure you are buttering that brick in the right way?" asks Tony.

 John got to work on the 50m section, and put on the second corbelling course. Tony was on the rear, backing up for him.

Don't do it, moussie....

 Back in the cabin, we have had a problem with mice. They have roamed all over the tea and coffee table as well as the draining board, leaving their droppings everywhere. This went on for a couple of weeks, then finally we snapped. We acquired some 'Little Nipper' classic traps, baiting these with a supply of peanut butter obtained from a friendly spouse. We waited a week, and on Saturday I received a report to the effect that none at all had been caught. But this morning - oh, soooo close !

On closer inspection we realised that there were no new droppings either, so we think that the mice must have been expelled with the replacement of our bin last week, which had a hole in the bottom and rustled when you changed the bag. Our new bin is taller, and has no holes in it.

The 80m section at the end of the day.

 Back at the coal face, and eager team of bricklayers worked on the 60m, 70m, and new 80m sections. While Bob put on two rows of blues along the front of two of them, a large number of reds was added to the rear, so that the trolley had to come out for two resupply runs of reds for further backing up. We think around 850 bricks were laid in all, a pretty good run, and when added to Saturday's 400, we have 1250 bricks laid this week. This is a record, since we started in late August last year.

As we took down two palletfuls from the top of the embankment, it is becoming clear that we have now manhandled the majority down to platform level, with only 7 pallets of reds left. (and a larger number of blues). This diminishing supply will get us a bit over the half way mark. I wonder how many bricks in all this build will swallow? These metrics are quite small, I think the current supply must be approaching 50.000 already when all are laid.

We attack the last of the red pallets, only 7 left now.

Pete carefully shovels on some concrete under the last blocks to be laid on the 80m section.

Fairview came with a supply of aggregate to make concrete (to even out the foundation levels under the blocks), more cement and 70 concrete blocks.

Pete adds the finishing touch to the concrete blocks on the 80m section.

While Pete was pushing the last of the mortar into the blocks on the 80m section, John S was laying the first course of reds on them, and this section is now shooting up.
Time to set out a new one, the 90m section. 110m is half way !