This time of year it's more about garden maintenance and today we needed to give the roses some attention. Dead-heading and making room for the buds still to bloom, there is still a beautiful scent in the air where the roses grow. There were a few scratched arms, but well worth the effort. After a cuppa and biscuits we were on our way.

I gave the young fruit trees in Tamworth Park a welcome drink. This dry summer is hard for them.

The runners were very enthusiastic and full of energy!

I cheered them off at gate 1 and Aoife scanned their barcodes at the finish.

John & Vicki went to help Mrs P with a spot of gardening. John tackled the ivy and some holly which had a firm grip on the fence panels and the fir trees in the garden. Vicki weeded round the trees and they both cleared the weeds from the stoney area. Mrs P sat and watched for the pigeons who regularly visit her.
When the gardening had been done Mrs P enjoyed having a chat before it was time to leave.

So sorry, completely forgot to take a picture of the task - this was when we left 🤭

Maëlys joined us for her first Group Run this evening after a visit to Baffins Pond last weekend. Maëlys is just visiting Portsmouth for a holiday, so we are super grateful she chose to spend some of her break helping out!

Our main topic of conversation this evening was cricket. We found out that Ranjitha's husband plays for Portsmouth and that several of us have been enjoying The Hundred over the last couple of weeks. We were even joined by a cricket (or perhaps a grasshopper) whilst we worked, who was particularly fond of Judy!

I'm quite gutted we didn't get a "before" photo, because the difference we made to the weedy and leafy paths was huge! Lots of effort was put in to pulling weeds, sweeping brickwork and even sawing down an ivy and bramble infested stump. Barbara was once again very please with our work - well done, everyone!

I stepped out of my comfort zone on Saturday 16th August. I blagged my way through the running of a cockpit experience for a boat in the Ocean Race that has stopped off in Portsmouth. Seems I can pass myself off as a fully qualified ocean going skipper!