Memories of Andy... by Maddy Pfaff I first met Andy when I returned from University and was unemployed. Far from sitting idle, I wanted to do some volunteering and my criteria was that I wanted to work outside. It just so happened that two doors down the road lived the West Purbeck Ranger who worked from home. I went round to have a discussion with him about my aims and what he did – resulting in not only a volunteering position but ultimately in my future career. In his inimitable way, Andy decided that I should first learn how to drive the works Landrover, and so handed me the keys and said ‘off you go’. I’d only had my driving licence for two years and driven a VW polo. I begged him to at least sit next to me and after an afternoons initiation skidding up and down the Drove from Winfrith to West Down we returned with a mud bespattered Landrover and grinning like Cheshire cats. I finally had it sussed – and only had to use the winch a couple of times to drag us out of the stickier spots! This was the start of a hugely fun and productive working partnership. Andy loved to work with volunteers and I have fond memories of a few of us loading a stile on the roof, chucking a couple of beers in the cab and setting off to Swyre Head to install the woodwork before it got dark. We also took the vehicle down into The Warren to fit furniture – getting out up the steep slope, seeing only the sky from the windscreen, became a battle of skidding tyres against the settling dew. On another occassion Andy, Steve White, Paul Coombs and I were towed down Bindon Hill by a milestone we were to dig in – with the four of us as anchors on the end of a rope. Dorset Conservation Volunteers will remember the head-to-foot coating in muddy slime that Andy would have us cheerfully digging out to clear choked ponds, the mega scrub bonfires on which baked potatoes were cooked with tea on the tilly stove, and the stone steps we dutifully manhandled down the cliffs. Because we always met at his house to start the day I became used to being jammed into the 6x6 home office next to a multitude of maps, tripping over Tom and Hebe’s toys or listening to Tom’s spellings before school. I would also pop in to grab some lunch, and was invariably handed a spoon of his latest vegetarian concoction from a massive La Cruset pan…..mostly from his amazing vegetable patch, sometimes inspired, sometimes inedible! Andy also entered every category in the village vegetable competition…. just to ensure success! We also made an eating routine when dashing to meetings in Swanage – he would drive first, while I ate, then we would swap at the bakery in Corfe (while picking up nice cakes) so he could eat. If I didn’t eat quickly enough I would have to finish my pudding while driving, which is quite a feat when it’s yoghurt! When Dick Burt had completed twenty years for DCC, Andy and I made and iced a cake, complete with a map of the Heritage Coastline in green against a blue sea. I once (in some awe) said to him ‘ how do you know all this stuff’ when he was demonstrating his multiple academic and practical skill base - pointing out plant species, reeling off ROW law and routing out fingerpost text. I am proud to say that last year my Trainee Ranger said to me ‘how do you know all this stuff?’ It was Andy that started me off in the first couple of years, instilled in me the quality approach he had to his work. He took his work seriously and worked very hard, would never accept a job half done, or done with poor materials, and helped me to practice hammering – at which I always struggled – until I could fence alongside the best of them. He loved to teach and had a way of inspiring kids, with his zany nature, to really want to connect with the countryside. The wildlife gardens at both Winfrith and Lulworth schools were Andy’s work. He was never phased by a four year old wielding a spade. Research was always exacting – leading us up to the highest peaks in the Lake district to search for a path surfacing method, and into sand dunes near Liverpool to see for ourselves the perfect habitat for Great Crested newts. He also looked after me – I remember him turning up at my office when I had some personal problems – taking over the school groups that I was meant to be teaching, listening to my woes and making endless cups of tea. I was able, later, to return this care when he called me from his home at the lowest point of his nervous breakdown, to find his partner who was out, call for medical care and ensure his safety. Sadly, during his illness, Andy returned to Northants so I had new work colleagues. However, my approach to having a blended work/life ethos in the countryside and having as much fun as possible at work is down to him. People who have worked at Lulworth have oft commented on the ‘work hard-play hard’ feeling in the office. In recent years he and I have both had young children and have not been in constant contact save for Christmas, Birthday and birth cards. It’s a small world though and news of his work and life has filtered through none the less. Just 12 months ago I learned that he was seriously ill and had been for some time. In September his treatment was stopped and four months later he lost his battle with cancer. His legacy of working at Lulworth will live on – the steps down to the beaches that were invented by him and Dick, the stone pitching on Hambury Tout, the mis-spelt ‘de(s)cent’ on the South West Coast Path milestone, and the wildlife on the chalk grassland, which he managed and loved. Last but not least, check out the U-Tube site for a recording of Sir Cliff singing Saviour’s Day at Durdle Door. My thoughts are with Jo, Zeb, Bella, Alison, Tom and Hebe. Rest in Peace Andy Maddy Pfaff