Great to see, too many hedges getting ripped out for the easier option of fencing. I was lucky when I was younger of being taught the art by an old council 'banksman', who as well as keeping verges, etc in shape he had to repair and make good the council owned hedgerows. When he retired I had to take on the job, but it wasn't long before the bean counters deemed it uneconomical to carry on the old skills and I was given a tractor with a hedge cutter (ripper) to do a years work in a fortnight :o
I've still got my billhook and slasher, but I haven't used them for over thirty five years. I did toy with the idea of entering a hedge laying competition but seeing some of the competition made me realise my type of hedging was not in vogue anymore. Mine is very functional, but they like to see it uniform and decorative as well. I still love to watch them working their magic though.
