Our final balsam bash of the 2026 season included a mega litter-pick and too many nettle stings to count! At first it looked like there wasn't much balsam to pick but once you spotted one plant there was always more to follow. There were lots of smaller ones coming back through and a few flowering, but fortunately still no seeds ready to pop. The undergrowth had us going on a right adventure clambering over fallen trees and skirting around nettles. I wasn't sure if everyone would find their way back out at the end! A head count revealed we hadn't lost anyone and had gained many bug bites along the way! We'll see you same time, same place next year :)

Tonight we got to work tidying up the flower beds in the Rose Road car park. A lot of the plants were overgrown in the sensory garden, bindweed had taken over and rubbish had blown in off the street. We carefully pruned, pulled, picked and swept to leave the main flower bed looking much smarter and the parking spaces clear. I don't know about everyone else, but I worked so hard with the secateurs I got a blister!

The Ludlow Infant School Summer Fayre was great fun, with Wilson on the basketball stall, Sarah helping children fish through slime to find hidden shapes, Leszek running the hunt for the special lollipop, and Joana bringing the excitement at Spin the Wheel.

Joana also managed the sporting moment of the event, casually throwing a basketball backwards and netting it!

I think we were all "relieved" at not being given the "job" of running "Get the Poo in the Loo" game.