Yesterday Claire and I travelled up north to the Fylde to attend the funeral of Veronica, our dear friend Dom’s mum. Whilst it was a sad occasion it was also a joyous celebration of Veronica’s life, with many, many people attending, a testament to the friendly, supportive loving person she was. As was said on the day, she was irreplaceable and will be sadly missed by everyone who had the privilege to know her. The whole event went off well and was particularly well organised and executed a credit to Dom, his older brother Mike and sister Loretta. Mike and Loretta and Lorretta’s husband Adrian had travelled all the way from Perth in Western Australia to be there, and it was really good to see them and many other people after such a very long time. We also got to see and chat with Dom’s lovely partner Rachel, which is always a pleasure, as well as seeing Rachel’s ever so cute Jack Russell little Radish. It is certainly a day that will live in mine and Claire’s memory.

I almost forgot to mention that the reception was at the impressive Singleton Lodge Hotel in Poulton-Le-Fylde, hence the photo of me next to a lit Cleanburn Stove, which was in the hotel lobby – Claire couldn’t resist the photo, she never stops thinking of work that girl!!

Birds nest removal is something we have to do in the autumn as legally we can not remove Jackdaw nests from chimneys between 1^st March and 1^st September. This is because nesting birds are protected by the law (Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981) and it is an offence to disturb a nest and destroy any birds. So, we as sweeps are restricted to that time of year when the birds are not nesting and raising their young. Unfortunately for us this just so happens to coincide with our busiest time of year. As we work 6 days a week in the autumn, nest removal usually means working on a Sunday to get the chimney cleared. They are usually very dirty and time-consuming jobs to do, lots of dust sheeting is usually required prior to working on removing the nest.

This nest removal job was in an upstairs bedroom, which obviously creates the additional issue of carrying all the equipment up the stairs. And in this instance covering a large amount quantity of very light carpet, bedding and furnishings. I removed the nest by initially hooking out the bottom section of the nest using a rod and a ‘pig’s tail’ attachment. This was just to give myself room to work in the chimney. I then used rotary power sweeping equipment with steel cord flails to break up the nest. Finally, I brush swept the chimney with an inglenook brush to clean out all the dust and soot. I used my large CCTV camera to check that the chimney was completely clear of nest, and I conducted a type two smoke test to check the draw – Job done! It transpired that there was seven meters of nest in the chimney which equated to nine large garden trugs of nest material.

 Here is a very historic property that we have swept for on an annual basis for many years now, Ashdon Guildhall. The Guildhall or to give it its full title the Guildhall of St Mary, is situated just behind All Saints Church at Church End at the top end of the village just off the road to Saffron Walden. The guildhall was constructed in the 15^th century and is indicative of the wealth and prosperity of Ashdon at that time. A guildhall is a historic building in Britain and Europe, originally used by medieval merchant and craft guilds for meetings, trade, and tax collection (from Old English gild meaning payment).

In terms of sweeping, the guildhall has two modern lined stoves one of which is located upstairs (Dovre and Coalbrookdale stoves). This keeps us busy in the autumn, particularly moving all the sweeping equipment upstairs – A big effort for a pair of oldies like me and Claire!!

The Guildhall of St Mary is a Grade II* listed building, first listed on 26^th November 1951, Listing Number 1112492.

 If I’m being perfectly honest, removing bees’ nests from chimneys is my least favourite chimney sweeping activity. It is not so much the job, although that can be rather dirty and sticky, it is having to clean all the equipment of sticky mess afterwards that I find quite unpleasant! This particular job was unusual in that rather than waiting for the bees to die off, pest control had been called in to kill them. The reason being that the family whose home it was had two very young children, indeed one of them had been born during the bee crisis. To get into the chimney the bees had mined an entrance through the masonry at the base of the chimney stack. So, the bees were getting into the house and everyone had been stung, so pest control had to be called to kill the bees.

This however was not the end of their tribulations; within a short time wasps got into the chimney through the same entrance at the base of the chimney stack that the bees had made. Pest control were again called and all the wasps were dispatched. Things now moved at a pace, scaffolding was quickly erected and on our recommendation John and Mark Taylor the builders came to make the chimney good. We swept what was a very extensive bees’ nest from the chimney using rotary power sweeping equipment. Fortunately for ourselves, the wasps had eaten a lot of the honey, so we only got a bit stick. There was a happy ending as the family who for a time had to move out of their home, were able to move back in.

We can highly recommend the builders we used: J. Taylor & Sons, (John & Mark) 01799 586582 (M) 07885 493034 or 07854 027082 – Email admin@jtaylorandsons.co.uk

In September for a couple of days we had the company of local lad Andy Bannister, who had recently retired from working for Uttlesford Council in Saffron Walden. We have been sweeping Andy’s chimney in Radwinter for a good few years and he had always spoke of the possibility of taking up chimney sweeping when he retired. So, on a couple of days Andy came out with us to get an idea of whether he would actually like or be any good at the job. In two days, he saw most types of sweeping jobs and experienced the best and worst of days sweeping.

On the first day it was warm and pleasantly sunny, and we spent the day sweeping in and around Kedington, Hundon, Clare, Stoke-By-Clare and Cavendish all of which is quite picturesque. On the second day it rained heavily all day, and we had a flat tire which we had to change in the rain which put us behind our time for the whole day. We got around in the end though!

All said and done, Andy said that he enjoyed chimney sweeping and would seriously consider taking it up. He appeared to me to have all the right qualities for the job, he is practically minded and he was very good with the customers, chatting with them and putting them at their ease. In the meantime, Andy has found a driving job for Burtons Butchers in Saffron Walden and seems happy doing that for the time being. But you never know, some time in the future he may decide to become a chimney sweep!

Here is a fine example of a thatched kangaroo this time on a roof in Suffolk and the work of Clive Dodson, Master Thatcher of Cambridgeshire. It is very close to a thatched address we sweep at in West Wickham. There is another Thatched Kangaroo on a roof in this country, this one being on the roof of a tearoom in Godshill on the Isle of Wight. It actually caused quite a stir when it first went up. Under the BBC headline ‘Kangaroo told to hop off’, it was reported that the owner of the Royal Essex Cottage restaurant and tea room was having to apply for planning permission for the large thatched kangaroo when locals complained of its presence! The locals stated that the three-foot-high Kangaroo did not fit in with the heritage of the area.

The kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning “large foot”). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, and western grey kangaroo. Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. The Australian government estimates that 34.3 million kangaroos lived within the commercial harvest areas of Australia in 2011, up from 25.1 million one year earlier.

As with the terms “wallaroo” and “wallaby“, “kangaroo” refers to a paraphyletic grouping of species. All three refer to members of the same taxonomic family, Macropodidae, and are distinguished according to size. The largest species in the family are called “kangaroos” and the smallest are generally called “wallabies”. The term “wallaroos” refers to species of an intermediate size. There are also the tree-kangaroos, another type of macropod, which inhabit the tropical rainforests of New Guinea, far northeastern Queensland and some of the islands in the region.

I just had to share this beautiful and kind Christmas gift we received from friend and brilliant artist Richard. Pictured in the snow are our three working Cocker Spaniels, Millie (Black), Roger (Brown) and Maggie (Black & white). Richard has really captured their characters and the way they sit in the garden at times! What a fantastic surprise Christmas gift!

You can view and buy Richard’s fantastic artwork on intergram @dickie_illustration

You can contact Richard Smith on rich.b.smith@me.co (mobile) 07999 989616

Firstly, we would like to take this opportunity to wish all our friends and customers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. And a big thank you to you all for your loyalty and support throughout the year!

Secondly, it has become a tradition for us to finish the busy sweeping season on the Wednesday before Christmas and to mark the event and the start of our Christmas by entering the Plough at Debden Christmas Quiz. The Walden Sweeps Team go by the ‘nom de plume’ the Quizzley Bears! We had a really fantastic fun evening with a lovely meal to boot. We enjoyed the quiz and came a creditable third against some tough opposition. The team are pictured enjoying themselves, Pauline, Richard, Emma, Katie, Claire and me.

I have used this very useful bit of kit a lot this autumn, usually on Sundays when we tend to remove birds nests from chimneys and clean particularly dirty flues. We have been using it for a number of years now, and I initially saw it in use on one of the chimney sweeping Face Book Forums, it is the Hepa 500 Air Scrubber. Although it is a little on the bulky side, looking like a big blue box, it fits on the van and is invaluable when working on very dirty jobs, such as chimneys that have seen heavy usage and have not been swept for some time, or chimneys with birds or bee’s nests in them. The Hepa 500 Air Scrubber works by filtering the air within a room whilst the work is taking place. It has a powerful filtration system that drags the air through the machine and its Hepa filters, completely changing the air in the room every seven minutes. This helps to prevent fine particles of soot and dirt getting suspended in the air, which would eventually coat the room in a layer of dust and dirt later. So, a very valuable bit of kit when dealing with jobs that are particularly mucky and that have the potential to spread dirt and dust into the atmosphere of the room.

I would recommend that all reputable sweeps should have a Hepa 500 Air Scrubber, it helps you to work cleanly and professionally in the most difficult of sweeping situations. It also gives reassurance and confidence to the customer that you are not going to make any mess, particularly when combined with numerous rubberized dust sheets. It’s a real must for all good sweeps!

Here we are sweeping again for the Bishop of Chelmsford in the lovely Essex village of Great Maplestead. Fortunately, we had some time to enjoy the historic medieval church of St Giles following the sweep, it is a real Gem. Remarkably, both Great and Little Maplestead churches have surviving Norman apses. Great Maplestead also has a hefty Norman west tower. Oddly, the bits in between are later. The choir which is between the nave and the apse was rebuilt in the Thirteenth century as evidenced by a couple of lancet windows on the north side. It is odd that the apse was kept but we can be very grateful for that.

In the fourteenth century a south aisle was added with, so it is averred, a south “transept”, although the transept is the same depth as the aisle so it might be more accurately have been described as a chapel. In any event, in the seventeenth century it was extended southwards to make space for the Deane family tombs that are the highlight of the interior and thus became a transept as we might expect to see one. The north side is completely Victorian apart from the choir wall, as is the south porch. The arch between apse and choir is the original Norman. Its underside is adorned with five painted roundels of 1566. Four represent the Evangelists and the fifth is a cross. The chancel arch is fourteenth century and contemporary with the rebuilding of the choir.

The Early English chancel arch is enormous compared to the tiny one that separates it from the apse. To the right, and hardly separated from the south aisle,  is the south transept with the Denny monuments. Sir John Deane’s monument is in the east wall of the north transept. Jon was a minor worthy, serving Essex as Sheriff, Lieutenant and MP for the county before his death. For his place in society as a minor gentleman he was a very wealthy man, having benefited from some hefty inheritances. He clutches what seems to be some sort of staff of office, not a sword which is presumably behind his body. There is no suggestion that he wore his fine armour in any kind of warfare! His wife, Anne Drury, outlived him by eight years and she does not appear on this monument but had one erected for her sole benefit (below). The space above the monument shows his two sons and six daughters. It is suggested that he enjoyed the support of Sir Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick who held the manor at Braintree. If so, this might explain the appearance of a bear at Sir John’s feet, this being the symbol of Warwick.