Blankety Blank

Weir always up for an adventure, espcially one that combines an excellent Dorkout with a good Weed. And yes that spoonerism (or considering the tools at hand, should that be a fork-erism?) was intentional! This evening's task involved removing lots of blanket Weed from around Green Lane Weir, and according to the urban dictionary, 'Dorkout' means to '... enjoy oneself without fear of looking like an idiot...!'

That's not to suggest that we looked like idiots whilst combining our excellent Workout and good Deeds of course... We looked just as stylish as ever in our red t-shirts as we warmed up in Kidwells Park and then walked and ran through town to our task location. There might just have been the odd dorky moment when I got over-excited about my ability to lock and unlock the Friends of Maidenhead Waterways (FoMW) tool container, when Clara made Juli pose with a rake and some piles of weeds, when Mandy wanted to stay all night to clear the whole waterway network, or when Sol started likening the blanket weed to a sheep...

But I fear I'm drifting off topic...much like small duckweeds, freed by Rachel from the patches of blankety filamentous algae and flowing quietly towards the eel pass...where was I!?

Basically, FoMW needed a hand with removing blanket weed from around Green Lane Weir, and we were delighted to help. Would it be a blanket statement to say that we had it covered? Or should that be uncovered?? It was a beautiful evening and the waterway looked stunning in the setting sun. We (bed)spread out and used long rakes and forks to drag the weed out of the water, and trugs to carry the weeds away from the path and into areas where it could rot down, and from where any lurking wildlife could crawl back to the water (leaving us with no quilty feelings!)

Special mentions to...

• Scarlett and Matthew, who came for their first group run/walk, and their second good deeds, having made a great start on a 'paneful morning' at Braywick Heath Nurseries

• Tony, who is a trained FoMW leader as well as a GoodGymer. He donned his gorgeous orange waders and did an amazing job of guiding us towards the blanket weed and the blanket weed towards us. Never mind 'having it covered', he nearly got covered himself! Perhaps we should call him our undercover agent?

• Taskforce members Nicola, who led the walkers, and Sol, who back-marked the runners. No duvet day for them!

• Roberta, Nicola and Anne-Laure, who filled three big bags with litter from the nearby area.

We didn't quite take the water from Blankety to Blank, but we did have an ex-stream-ly good evening. You might think we're a bit weedy, but weed did it! Duvet you think I should stop with these terrible puns now?