Author Archives: Neil Frost

Several of the OWLs take an interest in all aspects of the Forest and one had spotted something a bit unusual – a swarm of bees hanging from a branch in the middle of the track.

And this was a BIG swarm! (that whole mass is just bees!)

If they were honeybees they wouldn’t cause too much trouble. Unless someone walked right into them – which being in the middle of the track would be possible, especially if distracted by views elsewhere. Or if anyone decided to knock the hell out of it with a stick.

OWL is keen to ensure cruising can continue safely so action was needed. Only one thing for it – a message and pic to OWL’s Resident Apiarist for confirmation of whether or not it was a honey bee swarm; and suggestions of what to do with it (he can be relied upon to give a good answer to that question under any circumstances!).

It turns out that it was a honey bee swarm and it would be advantageous to remove it. Plans were made to undertake the task the following morning.

A quick check with our friendly Forest Keeper that it wouldn’t be against the byelaws to remove it and it was agreed that pragmatically getting on and removing it would be wise.

It’s not unusual to see men dressed in unusual gear walking round the Forest so a guy in a beekeeper’s suit wasn’t really out of place and received no attention at all.

Preparation over (remove lid of box) it was time to act. A quick snip of the branch

and the swarm was in the box. That’s in the region of 20,000 bees!

Lid on with a bit of a gap to allow those outside to get in with their mates (this surely has to be the largest intimate gathering that has ever occured in the woods at Snaresbrook!?).

Then a wait of maybe 20 minutes to allow those bees that had left the swarm to understand where their queen was and get back to her (maybe they took a while because there were other queens around in the woods and they were distracted!)

Finally, with most having gone back into the box (the stragglers would find their ways back to the colony they had first come from) time to seal them in ready for their ride to a better place – one of our apiarist’s hives which was waiting for them.

Apparently its a good time of year to gather a swarm from the wild. As the old adage says:

A swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay;

A swarm of bees in June is worth a silver spoon;

A swarm of bees in July isn’t worth a fly.

Hmmm!

There are other things to do in the woods. And, like a bee sting, they also cause swelling! Good deed over it’s back to cruising! Bees aren’t the only things to produce sweet sticky stuff.

LATEST UPDATE!  The bees have settled in to their new home well and are already out foraging. 

Another record-breaking litterpick for the OWLs. Eight enthusiastic volunteers, with the opportunity to welcome two new guys.

As always there was plenty to do and after the initial briefing – including, unusually, a request to sort drinks cans into separate rubbish sacks – we were off. Most of us are old hands at this and the new hands soon got the hang of things and were working effectively. Along the paths and into the various ‘hot spots’ with many yielding plenty of swag for us to collect. Our ‘permanent’ bags are being well-used, as is the bin we’ve placed on the footpath. Sadly some guys don’t seem to understand how to use a rubbish sack and throw their sexual debris into the bushes; potentially that’s more difficult than dropping their rubbish into the conveniently-place rubbish sacks. Do they do the same at home?! OWL believes that, as a facility used by a range of people, there is no need to piss others off by leaving used condoms, condom foils, lube sachets and so on all over the place. The recent cutting back of vegetation to expose (and ruin) several of the ‘hot spots’ seems to suggest that at least one ‘vigilante’ has taken it upon themselves to try to stop the horny action that goes on in the bushes.

Eventually it was time to take the ‘first half’ sacks back to the car park and enjoy a bit of friendly banter and some Covid-compliant refreshments.

Then on for more. We’ve noticed that some of the action has moved (maybe because of the cutting-back of vegetation?) nearer to Woodford New Road. We were on a mission to clear that area up.

There was plenty to deal with and two groups attacked the large amounts of litter – in newly-discovered ‘hot spots’ – with enthusiasm and efficiency!

We think it’s a lot better for everyone when it looks more like this – with only dappled sunlight on the ground:

To save us lugging sacks back to the car park our friends, the Forest Wardens, had agreed that we could leave some of the sacks near the traffic lights for them to collect.

Then a stroll back to base, taking in some of the other areas, including the nude sunbathing area.

And finally the task of sealing the remaining sacks and placing them by the road.

The final total, including two extra sacks collected by a volunteer when the rest had left, was 34 sacks of general litter and 26 of recyclable materials. That’s an amazing 60 sacks of litter which we think is a record-breaker. Since our April litterpick two of our lovely volunteers had also undertaken their own solo litterpicks, collecting a further 11 sacks. Giving a Grand Total of 71 sacks of litter over the last month.

Ten sacks of cans went off to be used in the creation of a piece of art! We’ll be pleased to see it in due course!

Although we always feel good when we collect record amounts of litter it would be better still if we didn’t have to!

If you think you might like to help keep the cruising area in a state that minimises the likelihood of complaints, feel free to join us at one of our litterpicks. We are a friendly group. Many of us cruise the woods. We welcome anyone with a bit of time to spare on the first Tuesday of each month. We publish details of forthcoming litterpicks on Squirt; dates of the rest of our OWL litterpicks for 2021 can be found by clicking here.

 (Please note, we respect everyone’s right to anonymity and only show pics of those willing to have them posted. No inferences should be drawn from anyone’s participation in an OWL litterpicking session)

Our first official OWL Litterpick of 2021. A great group of guys; good weather; good atmosphere; good banter.

We knew there would be plenty to do – although some of our OWLs had undertaken their own individual litterpicks in January and February (what some stars!) so there could have been even more litter to collect.

Experienced litterpickers, we knew what we had to do and got on with it. Some emptying and replacing the ‘permanent’ bags we’ve left in many of the hot spots

Others working through the woods collecting the range of litter we are used to finding.

We think cleaning the woods up – especially of the large amount of sexual debris – is worthwhile. But we also find it difficult to understand why litter has to be discarded, rather than put in the various rubbish sacks and bins that are available. Some places are pretty grim.

Is it any wonder that members of the public, often with kids who enjoy exploring the woods and the various paths and hidey-holes, get upset when they see so much offensive litter? Although we don’t approve of it, does it come as any surprise that someone has cut down much of the vegetation, presumably to spoil our fun by removing the bushes that used to hide a popular hot spot? If we don’t want more of this to happen surely we have to take some responsibility and not leave evidence of our fun there for all to see?! (Rant over!)

A good first half and time for some well-earned refreshments (all provided in a Covid-secure way, of course).

Then off for more. And guess what?! Another area that many of us like to use for nude sunbathing. But does it really have to be left like this?

Much better if it was left like this

We don’t want to be party-poopers. We want guys to be able to do what they want to do, enjoying horny fun. But without causing offence to others and risking complaints and the inevitable negative responses.

Our willing volunteers (yes, we do it for no reward apart from knowing that we’ve potentially helped make the woods a better place for everyone) did a brilliant job.

Thirty six sacks of rubbish collected today. And add forty six sacks that individual OWLs have already collected in 2021 – that’s a total of EIGHTY TWO sacks of litter, including a very large amount of condoms, condom foils, lube sachets, wipes, tissues, the odd vinyl glove, syringes, a bong, poppers bottles and so on.

 (Please note, we respect everyone’s right to anonymity and only show pics of those willing to have them posted. No inferences should be drawn from anyone’s participation in an OWL litterpicking session)

It was good for our OWLs to meet again, post-Lockdown, and to be prepared to take part in a litterpick despite the conditions not being the most favourable. Any excuse to have a fun time in the woods, eh?

This was not just any OWL Christmas Special Litterpick, this was a Birthday Special Litterpick for two of our group!

As usual we set off in our various directions, aiming to clear up as much litter as we could find. Although the recent bad weather might potentially have reduced the amount of cruising in the woods, maybe Lockdown had increased the motivation to get out and have fun!

It’s surprising who you find loitering (or anti-littering) in the woods!

The hot spots delivered their usual ‘treasure’ – condoms, condom foils, lube sachets, wipes and tissues. As well as the odd empty bottle of poppers, latex glove and kamagra sachet. Many of the paths were pretty free from litter

A substantial amount of litterpicking having been done it was time for our Festive Refreshments (who can resist a warm mince pie and a glass of mulled wine – all prepared under the most careful conditions). And it was time to toast our two Birthday Boys! Many Happy Returns (and not just to the woods!).

Then off for another round of litterpicking. Good to see that some of the rubbish sacks we’ve left in the hotspots are being so well used.

What a great way to spend some time in the woods!

And finally the sealing of the bags and display at the roadside – with, again, several people thanking us for what we are doing. Thirty-three sacks of rubbish in total; twenty of general rubbish and thirteen of recyclables.

It almost being Christmas we aren’t sure if Santa would approve of us filling so many sacks. Maybe, like so many other users of the woods, he’d like his sack emptied!

All credit to our OWLs for all of their work throughout the year. In 2020 the OWLs have collected over 350 sacks of litter from the woods.

For the rest of the winter the OWLs would usually hibernate. But given the amount of litter that we continue to find, we’ll be carrying on with our ‘First Tuesday of The Month’ litterpicks throughout 2021. All are welcome. Click here for the dates of OWL Litterpicks in 2021

 (Please note, we respect everyone’s right to anonymity and only show pics of those willing to have them posted. No inferences should be drawn from anyone’s participation in an OWL litterpicking session)