As it's never a good idea to pour tons of concrete on top of something that might need to be accessed for repair or maintenance the skate park was moved a few metres. That's necessitated a rethink of the paths round it and to it. When the detail is worked out we'll share it with residents of course. Work on the skate park is a few weeks behind schedule, partly as a result of having to reposition the design and partly because of the weather. The metal constructions are being created while waiting for suitable conditions for pouring concrete.
Work on clearing some of the overgrown vegetation behind Butterfly world will start in mid June and is being carried out by volunteers from Cummins in Stockton for which we're very grateful in this era of reduced budgets all round. Clearing away the overgrown hedge and the undergrowth will mean that visibility is improved round that bend in the roadway to the overflow car park and pedestrians crossing over to and from the path through the wood will be safer.
Following the tour of the site I made a rapid transition from wellies to smart shoes in time for the launch of the exhibition "Tees Valley Remembers" in Preston Hall. This is a project led by Hartlepool Borough Council which shows the impact of the 1914-18 war on the people of the 5 boroughs in the Tees Valley, alongside the contribution of those boroughs to the war effort. There are stories of individuals and little groups, posters, paintings and displays representing the bombardment of Hartlepools, the Shell Shop in Darlington and much much more. In a small space an amazing amount of information is included. I was particularly pleased to see that part of Stockton's story is the story of the 225th Field Co, Royal Engineers which was brought to the attention of the organisers by my husband when he was researching his grandfather's story. His grandfather is portrayed there in one of the photographs taken before they left for France.
