Jen and Brenda met Bob and the BBOWT amd Friends of Haymill volunteers on a rainy morning.

The only job today was to work our way along the outside of the perimeter fence, cutting back the hedge that was encroaching on, and taking over in places, the public pavement.

Brambles and Ivy were kept in check with loppers whilst the rake and brush were put to good use to clear up the cuttings so we could move them back in the undergrowth by the fence.

Our first job today was to rescue the vandalised Kingfisher sculptures one of which had been thrown into the stream.

We then split into two teams, one team coppicing the Hazel trees, with Phil from friends of Haymill branching out to slash the greenery back from encroaching on the path. The coppicing team included Sheila who is handy with a saw and loppers.

Team two split into sub teams with Pepsi and Jenny donning waders and starting to build a more natural second dam and Bob and Jen chopping down more branches to act as stakes for the dam.

We even managed to fit a litter pick in too so a good morning all round with a great workout.

Sheila and Jen joined 11 other volunteers from Friends of Haymill/BBOWT and headed to the reed beds where our main task was to bring some life back to the reed bed area.

This entailed digging channels to enable the water to spread further across the area, raking and removing the old reeds which had been cut down on Thursday, chopping back some vegetation and there was even scope for a litter pick and an attempt at refitting a gate which had been removed and dumped further in the reserve.

It was definitely a morning of heavy labour and good teamwork. It was so satisfying to see the clean, clear water running along the newly dug channels and to feel the newly watered ground squelching beneath our feet as we left.

Doing good, feels good; doing good outdoors, surrounded by nature, with the winter sun shining down - feels even better.

It was 27th August 2018 (Bank Holiday Monday) when I turned up at Salt Hill Activity Centre to find out what Goodgym Slough was all about because my usual bootcamp didnt run on bank hols and I wanted to be active/keep fit.

What better way to celebrate than my first of two Good Deeds today. First a return visit to help Friends of Haymill and Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) with some more overgrowth cutting to keep the path through the reserve clear.

It was all oaky dokey as long as we left the oak saplings in situ. As 'b'rambled along the path cutting back nettles, brambles and holly, we encountered a tree with a snapped branch making it difficult to navigate the path. I can't remember who 'saw' it first but a quick hack and it was down.

Some of us then turned our hands to litter picking although this all became a bit 'tyre' ing when we found an old bicycle wheel.

Before long it was 12.45 and time to (chocolate) wrap (per) up for the morning. A quick tool count and a shorter walk back to the BBOWT Landrover and it was time to head home.

We weren't quite the famous five, and there was no sign of Timmy the Dog but it was great to be joined by Tim and Sama for their first task; and to be joined again by Samuel for this berry good task with volunteers from Friends of Haymill.

We started by clearing the nettles and brambles from one of the entrance gates. After I introduced them to task owner Bob who safety briefed them, Tem and Sama got stuck into cutting back the overgrowth from the path leading to the main path.

We moved along the path, stopping at heavy overgrowth areas to get stuck in. Brenda joined us just as tea break approached but she managed some shear hard work after the break.

Samuel had to leaf a bit early although when the rain arrived at around 12.30 we all threw in the trowel and called it quits for the session.

Myself and 7 volunteers from Friends of Haymill met up with task owner Bob, from BBOWT for our health and safety briefing.

After collecting our tools we headed off down the main path to start clearing the overgrowth of nettles, weeds and brambles which were starting to obstruct the path for walkers.

With our range of different tools, there was no 'lopping' us. We had slashers, loppers, shears, rakes, tarpaulin, litter pickers and rubbish bags. We made good inroads but there is still more to do on our next visit.

Anyway enough of me 'b'rambling on, I'm going to leave this report 's'hear before it looks like I'm raking the mickey.