News & Events

News archive: Well hello Summer!

July 21st, 2013
Author: Chris Conder
Tags: Abbeystead arkholme b4rn community digging digitalbritain farmers fibre ftth gigabit city jfdi radio Lancashire volunteers
Posted In: Archive News

Arkholme and Gressingham join

This year has been the year we should have had last year! The glorious weather has meant the farmers have got their crops in and many have been digging for victory. The Route to Gressingham from Arkholme joined up yesterday, and the volunteers are filling in the trench and will soon move on to help more houses dig their ducts in.

Congratulations to John Hamlett and all his fantastic community. John is a video producer, and this week he rang up to ask if he could use a connection in Arkholme as he had tried for three nights to upload a film to a customer. (He uploads them overnight, one film takes all night to upload on his business broadband connection). He went to see David at Arkholme post office and the film uploaded in 6 minutes on David’s wifi. Its reasons like this that bring out the community champions, those who have a desperate need for a service for their families, home or work.

More essential tech, the bread tray.

To celebrate there was a picnic in the field, and John said that when its all over and his village is sorted he would like to carry on working as a volunteer for B4RN because he now has a six pack, he’s lost excess weight and he feels fitter and healthier than he has done in years. Kudos to George, the digging farmer and to all the people who have helped.

John and Peter backfilling the trench George dug

The main dig around the village of Wray has started this month, with the core duct that is going to feed it on a temporary hold ‘until the lapwings have finished nesting’. Thank you to the environment agency for looking after some lovely birds. If indeed they would have minded a digger in the same field, but one never knows.

Main core duct to the chapel hub

Work to complete the join between Wray and Quernmore should be finished before the house installs are complete so it won’t really be a hold up.

Phil threads duct through subduct to the village hall

Everyone in the village is busy planning how to get it to their houses and share dig work by putting more than one duct in trenches. If they are as ingenious as the other villages it won’t take them long, and already neighbours are helping each other and getting the trenches dug for the elderly.

Sharing the hole

People are getting out, getting exercise and making new friends. The south side of the village street is finished as far as the farm, with the East side getting started this week.

Iain in the cellar.

Volunteers have been working in wine cellars, fields and houses.

David from Bath helping John from Docker blow the fibre into the farms

Honest sweat, better than going to the gym?

Volunteers in Arkholme have dug all the way round to the school and the houses behind it. Dripping sweat was observed on quite a few in these temperatures with the men of grit wielding crowbars and pickaxes yet again.

Big blows have gone on and now Docker has fibre in and will come live very soon once all the joins have been done. Volunteers from Surrey, Kent and Bath have been visiting, as well as a youngster from America aged 14 who learned to fuse and help put 3 more homes onto the network at Newton. We now have all the fibre to complete the core route, a.

Enough fibre to join all the core route. She’s ready to blow.

Fibre delivery. To complete the core route.

The people are building their own network. Power to the People. If you want to see how its done come to the show/tell day on July 30th and have a tour of the network.

William’s bullet

William learned how to fuse and did his first bullet.