When Men Mop Fields...

Those of you that are addicted to use Facebook may have noticed my status this morning was a little strange..  0dd, you might say:

"Dan English can't help but wonder why there are three men in high-visibility jackets standing in the middle of a grass field apparently mopping it..."

Now, strangely, this caused an international flurry of activity with speculation and tequila, JFK and conspiracy theories.  Of course, one person even demanded pictures, which made me chuckle because I KNEW I would blog about it, so from my place on the other side of the field, I actually took a couple...

So, picture the scene.  It's not much after 9am on a freezing cold November morning.  I am standing in said-cold, waiting for Gemma the 0dd Sister.  Now, there's not much to do while waiting in a car park at the side of the field.  I could smile to all the people walking by, but think the funny farm might figure out where I am.  I could admire the sun and blue sky, but frankly, I was much too cold to think about nature in a positive way this morning.  I could have phone the sister and demanded she hurry up, bring hot tea and a blanket, or - as is usually the case - I could watch people go about their business.

Standing at the side of the field, I notice some men in the middle of this field, a fair distance away from me.  Three men, wearing high-visibility yellow jackets, wielding mops, mopping at the grass.

Mopping.
The grass.

Bear in mind, I was a faaaairly good distance away, but they were, in fact, armed with mops, accompanied by a bucket, dipping it in the bucket and scrubbing away, before repeating the whole process.

To prove my sanity, I popped out the phone, zoomed in, and took a grainy, pixel-ridden zoom shot (did I mention I was a fair way away?)

If you click the pic, you will see three men and a bucket. However, every time I snapped, the mopping activity had ceased. Maybe they were doing it to get me checked in to the mental ward, or maybe my timing just sucks. Granted, both options are viable, but I decided it was the latter.

As I watched - and, I am sure, got seen by them photographing them - I noticed across the field, more men in high-vis jackets heading their way, armed with mops, a wheelbarrow and a large barrel.  Two more men in bright yellow, and one NOT in yellow - I would imagine some sort of management.

They stood around talking for a bit, then all five in yellow resumed their mopping.

Of course, I had to get another picture - after all, three men mopping a field is a strange sight.  FIVE men being supervised mopping a field was just gold dust...

Again, if you click the image, it's a bit easier to see... Sort of. BUT I did catch the chap on the far-left mopping!

At this point, my little sister turned up, her expression confused as to why I was spying on six men in a field.  Her walking companions also gave me strange looks, but when I pointed out "men" and "mopping" and "field" their confusion shifted from me to the men in the sun.

See - no matter how 0dd you might think I am, there are 0dder things out there ;)

However, this tale DOES have a slightly decent ending.  Well, it would if I wasn't such a git.  I have since discovered exactly what the mopping tribe was up to this morning, using my artfully-placed sources amongst the local population.  And while the answer is totally mundane and a shocking amount of resources for something so mundane...

I ain't telling!