The last 6 weeks have made a difference to the paths of the wildlife garden at the allotments: dry ground, super-ripe blackberries, and strong growth in the brambles.

We helped with two of these this evening by chopping back as many brambles as we could, and taste-testing a few berries that would otherwise have ended up at the bottom of the compost.

The self-confessed frog-fan/frog geek, Kat, also let Jeannette know that longer term the ponds will be healthier by having short spells like this where the pond dries out, as nasties like ranavirus can't survive without water so it 'cleans' the ponds ready for when the rains return.

We chopped and moved five barrows full of brambles from the path and behind the fence edges, and learned how these allotments also have plenty of community activities on AND we had a peek at where last year we'd cleared and dismantled the very solid chicken coops and plans are now being made for seating spots in the now grassy and clear space!

The weather was HOT tonight as we made our way to Cator Park to give the (no longer so tiny) saplings in the Tiny Forest some much needed mulch and water.James, Clare, Kelsey and I were on wheelbarrow duty, getting a good upper body workout shovelling and transporting mulch across the park. Meanwhile Tony, Catherine and Kat took care of our young trees, spreading the mulch and getting rid of pesky weeds.

Thanks to all who came and great to see how much the Tiny Forest has come on!

Last night we had an epic trip to Beckenham Park Care Home. It's a pretty big site and they had lots of space for Christmas decorations!

Me and David met at the Bridge House, we met Cat, Clare and Kelsey en route, spotted the David Bowie ⚡️ before meeting everyone else at the care home.

We'd been assigned three trees to decorate...

LBDouble-Yule

One room was in the cricket-themed bistro. In no time, a classy red and silver themed tree was created. David also added a few select decorations to the rest of the room...

In the second room, Kat did an incredible job, using her knitting skills to untangle a load of fairy lights. Some white feather boas gave the tree a snowy-vibe.

And the final tree was a bit mismatch... with all the leftover decorations.

The care home team provided a few glasses of baileys, very greatful for our help.

We also discovered a Kelsey Way sign. 🙌

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Nice job everyone! 🎄