[Doug]

Lodges, that’s a word lost in my past. Uncle Mick I have to admit that it's a long time since I was up there, but I can remember that their was always a bit of standing water around during the wet season, which was almost anytime back then. I know where people are coming from but I think it’s easy to loose the gist of the point. Risks are all around us all the time and sometimes action must be taken to protect youngsters, but in an open semi wild environment like the coppice it shouldn’t be an issue. Like you point out the lodges are already there and it is unlikely that people would want to see them fenced off, filled in or cover over. Fighting against standing water in man made ditches is a bit like gilding the Lilly when there’s already so much around. By the way I lost two very young neighbours in the canal at church back in the early 60s and another mate to a drowning accident years later, When we where kids we use to swim in the lodge up Fern Gore almost every week without incident. So its not that I don’t understand or don’t care. I do Very much…….