It was a lovely crispy frosty morning for an early start to Saturday with a joint effort to clear York Stream from brambles on its banks.

Clara and Sol joined the friends of Waterways to work on the banks to cut off the overgrown brambles.

Amy joined us in the very beginning to present a medal to Clara for completing 50 good deeds! Amy had also prepared delicious flapjacks. It was such a nice surprise!

Afterwards we split into two teams: Clara joined a team in the boat to cut brambles from the opposite bank and Sol helped the other team cutting brambles into smaller chunks to gather in garden rubbish bags.

Passers by cheered us on and thanked for the effort. The coffee break came soon and we got the opportunity to sample the flapjacks and coffee.

We continued our never-ending fight with brambles until it was already midday. Even two swans came to inspect our work at the end of the session. They were so beautiful!

This Saturday morning was all about Dragon debris and litter out of York Stream and the surrounding area with Friends of Maidenhead Waterways.

Dominic and Tony joined the FoMW volunteers to clear debris from around the weir, while Kanika, Kate, Sol and I joined another volunteer litter picking along the banks - a task that soon progressed into a full scale battle with a huge bramble bush. Hence, Game of Thorns!

We started with litter pickers but soon upgraded our Tull(y)s to loppers and long-handled rakes and hooks to reach the heaps of captive bottles and cans.

Nick and Juli happened upon us on their way back from parkrun (Volunteer Coordinator for Nick and a season's best for Juli - nice one!) so we invited them to Bolton to our community mission. They were a great help, hauling out bags of litter.

The weather wasn't too Greyjoy and even though there was Ice in the water, we were wrapped up well and there was Fire in our hearts! We achieved a Stark difference over just a couple of hours.

If you Arryn('t) busy next Saturday morning then look out for a listing for another work party - this time wading at Marsh Meadow. Can't wait!

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for this Wednesday evening helping task owner Lou Tyrell at Holyport FC. Click here for all the details.

P.P.S. If anyone can think of a way of working the houses of Lannister or Baratheon into this report then please comment below!

Due to continued flooding at Ockwells, our group of intrepid volunteers were re-deployed to Braywick Park. It was great to be able to welcome Karin to her first ever Goodgym session, and Angela to her second. A warm welcome to you both. We armed ourselves with shovels and spades, and made our way down into the park. Our task was to clear the mud and leaf litter from the sides of the paths to make it safer for walkers, runners and cyclists. We were amazed by how wide the paths really are, and we got appreciative comments and thanks from pretty much everyone who passed by. We have released Braywick's hidden motorways! There is more that can be done, especially along the Cut to make it safer for parkrunners, but we have made a great start.

What a gorgeous morning! Glorious sunshine, the beautiful scenery of Widbrook Common, views of Cliveden catching the sunlight across the valley, and another stretch of stream bursting with weeds for us to wrestle with.

All of this of course made even better with excellent company - Friends of Maidenhead Waterways volunteers Dominic, Tony, Ian, Phil, Mick and David, and GoodGymers Sheila, Alex, Clara, Tony and Dominic. Yes that's right, Dominic and Tony appear in both of those lists - superheroes are real!

As is usual for these Autumn/Winter work parties, our aim was to clear enough weeds from the stream (usually 1-2m width) to allow water to move freely, enabling a flow into the town centre streams and keeping the stream ecosystem healthy in the process.

It is always a laugh getting started - greeting familiar faces, dressing up in waders and other PPE, trudging out to the target area carrying equipment like rakes and pallets and listening to Dominic's safety briefing to try to avoid getting 'that sinking feeling.'

Then the real adventure began. We worked as a team to drag, heave, cut and yank weeds out of the stream and onto the banks, from where any disturbed critters could make their way back to the water. It is really heavy work and it is incredible how much vegetation can come out of one little stream.

Phil and Tony were like machines, harvesting great armfuls from the water, while the rest of us created a range of soggy weed mountains, marking where we had been. We agreed that the pointy rakes were better than the more rake-y rakes, but that it also works fairly well to 'get in touch with your inner hippo' and wallow around on all fours using your hands, arms and body weight.

We powered through the first hour or so motivated by the promised half time snack and hot drink - a Twix AND chocolate fingers plus coffee. It didn't disappoint - thank you Dominic! The second half also flew by as we really got into the flow and became fully immersed in the task (you didn't think I could get through the whole report without some watery puns did you!?)

A highlight of the morning was watching a little coot, who came along to see what we were up to and to feast on some of the wildlife we had churned up. Another was witnessing a different kind of wildlife: Tony's post-session yoga practice - a round of single leg downward facing dogs designed to empty half the stream out of his waders.

Thanks to Clara and Ian, who helped me look for my lost car key at the end. That'll teach me not to run, walk or cycle!

Dominic, Tony and Sheila gathered at Braywick Heath Nurseries, which helps build skills and self-confidence in members of the community. They rely on volunteers to help deliver their aims, and at this time of year there is an enormous amount to do. We started by filling up large pots with compost, piling them up wherever we could find space. We then moved on to transplanting plug plants into the pots - some lovely petunias, delphiniums,rudbeckias and penstemmons. What a delightful way to spend a morning in great company. The time just flew by, and by the end we had trolleys full of beautiful plants ready for sale.