You have a nice long run of orange duct in the ground. There comes a stage when it is ready for B4RN to come along and blow fibre down it. This is how it happens

A 2km stretch

288f fibre, the largest size, and unforgiving of any small defects in the ducting along the way. You don’t want to cut and join it (can be done, but to be avoided), so you are trying for a continuous run.

DAY 1

1. B4RN arrive and set up shop at chamber 601. Open up chamber 602, send sponge through from 601 to 602. (makes a satisfying pop as it exits, and maybe a slight spray of water)

2. Blow fibre from 601. The fibre gets 150m and comes to a dead stop. Dig down short of where the fibre got to (from machine measurement). Cut the duct, pull the fibre end out, lay the fibre out along the surface to the ‘problem’ point. Dig down to find problem. Crushed duct. Mend.

Blow again. Fibre is going slower and slower and clearly will not reach 602 (it is about 40m short). Need to cut into the duct and blow from a point further east of 601.

3. Not many places where you can get a vehicle near the duct, so have to cut into the duct nearer than you would like, at the next farm entrance, 300m from 601. Blow the 1.7km of fibre from 601 to a neat pile in the field at Point 3.

Set up shop at Point 3. Connect the two ends at chamber 602 together. Open up chamber 603, blow sponge to 603. Attempt blow from Point 3.

4. Fibre comes to a dead halt somewhere near Point 4. At this stage we are in a good position where we can just leave everything (no stock in field, farmer okay) and it’s been p***ing rain all day, so we stop.

DAY 2

4. Dig down to find problem. Takes four dig holes to find the exact point. Crushed duct. Mend.

Try again from Point 3. Fibre has got a few metres further to Point 5, but is clearly struggling, and having seen the rocks around that area we decide to blow from somewhere nearer. Debate about possible places to blow from, and it must be somewhere without animals, as we will need to leave it overnight.

6. Then, after a kind lady has relocated her alpacas for us, we set up shop at Point 6. Dig down to find duct and cut it. Transfer about 1.3 km of fibre from Point 3 to this new point. A longer air hose will be needed from Melling and having again got to a position where everything can be left (and it’s still p***ing with rain), we call it a day.

[Total progress Day 2 is 6 metres]

DAY 3

6. Blow from chamber 603 backwards to get the 150m front end of the fibre back to the Alpaca Field. The fibre accelerates madly as it exits the duct and whips 50m dangerously into the air. As long as you have been warned, this is really magic (otherwise certain death).

So, we start again from Point 6. It is doing a bit better, and at least it gets to 603. Dig down slightly east of 603 to find the duct and cut it. This is so we can get the duct laid out on a much better bit of field. We transfer the remaining 900m of fibre to this field at 12m per minute.

7. Set up at Point 7. Open up 604. Blow sponge to 604. Send fibre.

8. Fibre gets stuck at Point 8. Several digs to find problem, in running muddy water, so you must find the problem by feel, then make a big hole so that you can lift the duct above water level to mend it.

Start again from Point 7.

9. Fibre starts slowing such that it will need another dig and a re-start from somewhere 450m further on at Point 9. Everything is a place where it can safely be left, it’s going dark, so call it a day. (No rain)

DAY 4

9. Dig to find duct at point 9, cut it, blow from Point 7 on to the field at 9, whilst fending off horses. Blow from 9 towards the end at Point 10.

10. Flows really well and reaches 10 with no problems. Then a few adjustments back along the whole line to get the right amount of spare at each chamber. Job done. Simple.

[Throughout: Make good all the holes that have been dug and tidy up chambers. Talk to farmers and householders. Keep our own team spirits up with weak jokes and personal insults.]

You now know how you should have designed that section……

You know what line you should have taken, where the chambers should have been, where you should have protected the duct more, etc, etc.

You can do a better job next time.

Being able to be deeply involved in the whole operation and to see it from all angles from wayleaves to working fibre you learn a lot about how the network should be built in an optimum manner. By this stage your own village is probably about done (and probably you are done too). But this knowledge needs to be passed on somehow.

Well done Nick, James and Sam.