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Britain’s oldest wooden sauna, a rare survivor of the 1948 London Olympics, has been given protected status by the government after a campaign involving the Finnish ambassador to the UK, Finland’s Olympic committee and a small group of sauna enthusiasts from Kent who until recently were still using the historic facility. Source: The Guardian The prefabricated wooden building, which was installed in London during the post war “austerity” Games and is almost unchanged since, has been Grade II-listed, giving it the same level of protection as the Barbican, Alexandra Palace and the Radio City tower in Liverpool. Historic England, which oversees the national register of protected buildings, said the building was a “unique relic” of the event. “This building has got multiple layers of significance that make it so interesting,” said Tim Horne, the organisation’s listing adviser. As well as being one of a tiny handful of buildings known to survive from the Games, he said, it was believed to be the oldest sauna in Britain in continuous use, and possibly the oldest Olympic sauna in the world, “which is quite exciting”. The Finnish company that provided the building, Puutalo Oy, played an important role in the development of post war prefabricated structures, and the building’s level of preservation is highly unusual. “Any one of those would contribute to being a building of special interest, but the multiple layers of significance, and all the interesting historical associations that go with that, made it a clear listing recommendation.” The modest building was installed in London by the Finnish Olympic delegation for the use of its athletes, and was donated to the nation after the Games concluded. After the Olympics, the sauna was acquired by a paper company with links to Finnish timber and moved to Aylesford near Maidstone to be used by members of the company’s staff social club. It was lovingly maintained and remained in constant use by a group of former employees, now known as Cobdown sauna club. “We knew it was important, but we didn’t realise how important,” said Richard Young, the club’s secretary and treasurer. Club members had first contacted Finland’s Olympic committee after the sauna was forced to close in 2020 due to faulty electrics, a non-compliance with fire safety regulations and a broken sauna oven. They in turn alerted the Finnish ambassador in London, Jukka Siukosaari, who personally visited before joining the campaign for its protection. Young said he hoped the newly protected status would open the door to potential grant funding to help restore the sauna. “But really, the main thing was to secure its future.”

Tigercat has a new mulching head for swing carriers in response to fire mitigation equipment requirements in western North America. Source: Timberbiz Wildfire is proving to be one of the greatest challenges facing foresters, landowners, governments and environmental organizations in the 21st century. The summer fire season over the last several years in North America has devastated millions of hectares of forest land, destroying wildlife habitat and carbon sinks, while releasing massive amounts of carbon and particulate matter into the atmosphere. Excessive fuel build-up on the ground is having a devastating effect. Tigercat recently released a mulching head designed to mount on a Tigercat LX830E carrier. This machine can tackle steep slopes and operate within dense stands to reduce build-up of woody debris as a mitigation measure to guard against future wildfires. The new 4161-15 head has a 1,5 m (59 in) mulching swath, 130-degree wrist pivot, and a pin-on rake for added utility. Like all Tigercat mulching heads, it is strength-to-weight optimized and fitted with large bearings. Many of the components including the bearings, sprockets, seals and timing belt are common to the Tigercat 4061 series mulching heads and thus field proven. Hydraulic hoses are routed through the open tip boom into the top of the wrist, providing excellent protection. The replaceable wear liner is field serviceable. Removable covers allow easy access to all service points.