Holy Trinity Lamorbey Church has lovely grounds that are enjoyed by parishioners and public alike.

Last summer we made a couple of visits and cleared most of a very overgrown flower border - pulling up a weed membrane and removing unwanted plants and brambles. The area has now been planted out by the parishioners and it looks really great 🌱.

This evening we were back to finish off the final patch that we'd run out of time to tackle last year.

Some of us met early for a lovely walk around nearby Lamorbey Park, getting some extra steps in while catching up, while others headed straight to the church.

It didn't take long for everyone to get stuck in. Working together, we collected litter, wrestled up the last stretch of stubborn weed membrane and cleared away the remaining weeds, finally bringing the project to a satisfying conclusion.

But we weren't quite finished. The church had also asked if we could pop across the road to their hall, where bushes had started poking through the railings and out onto the pavement. Fifteen minutes with shears and loppers and we soon had everything looking neat and tidy. Much better to have the pavement back to full width!

With the cuttings and weeds added to the church's compost heap and their tools packed away, our reward arrived in the form of refreshing ice lollies – definitely appreciated on a warm summer evening 🍦🍦🍦.

Just as we were about to head our separate ways, someone suggested a quick drink at the micro-pub opposite. It was an unexpected but very welcome way to round off another productive evening of doing good together.

This was our second visit to help get Mr B's gardens back under control so it's more manageable for him to maintain himself.

This time we concentrated on a corner next to the patio close to the house. We cut back a rampant plant, untangled masses of bindweek from the fencing and peeled it away from the ornaments, pulled up weeds, trimmed a couple of trees that were encroaching on the path and brushed up a carpet of crispy leaves. Then we gave the path a good sweep and the transformation was complete.

Mr B chatted with us the whole time, telling us some amazing stories from his life. He also has a great collection of garden tools and provided just the right implement for the job at every turn!

Once we finished the main task, Mr B invited us to collect plums from the tree further down the garden - not being a fan of fruit himself he was keen that we should make the most of them. We were very happy to oblige 😋!

Our instructions were to lop off the branches and pick the plums from them - pruning and harvesting all in one. However, we had to rethink because the plums were still pretty hard. So, anticipating one final visit to tame another area of the garden, we decided to wait until next time to for the fruit gathering.