Mick, Nivi and myself were joined by Nivi's daughter and three other Friends of Raymill. Between us we cleared the beds of leaves, weeded out more of the invasive Winter Heliotrope, dug some more of the rockery and repainted the bubbles on the path.

Jen and Sheila, having just been promoted to Lead Rangers, led today's session at Ray Mill Island for the first time. We had 7 volunteers, some of whom had their own projects to work on, but also some new volunteers. We worked on trying to weed the invasive Winter Heliotrope out of the rockery by the Vintage Boys sculpture. At one point Jen had a Ladybird in her hair, and as Sheila tried to gently remove it, we thought it may have fallen inside Jen's Goodgym jacket. Whilst trying to check it wasn't trapped, Jen was delighted to find a secret pocket inside the zip. It made her day! The session finished with a wheelbarrow full of weeds and a clearer rockery

Sheila and Mick helped out at Ray Mill Island in their continuing effort to improve the island for both humans and wildlife. Alongside other volunteers, Sheila did some cutting back of the herbaceous perennials whilst Mick tackled the bed in front of the cafe, removing the pampas grass. He dusturbed a cute little toad, which will hopefully find another safe place to overwinter. A good productive session with lots of volunteers

Roberta and Sheila met with another volunteer, Tracy, at Ray Mill Island to continue work on the restoration of the 'Maiden with Swans statue which had been in a bit of a sorry state. Over the last couple of days, work had been completed to stabilise and strengthen the base, and start painting the structure. The 3 of us sanded down the remaining parts of the statue, getting into all the lumps and bumps, crevices and cracks. We gave her a good brush and then Tracy applied acetone to giver her a final clean and provide a good bonding surface. Then Richard, the artist carrying out the restoration, took over and did the final coating. It was a lovely project to be part of, and all credit to Richard Grant for carrying out the restoration in a mere 3 days with only amateurs to help. There were so many positive comments from visitors to the Island - the statue now looks as new, and will look great for years to come

The Maiden with Swans is a much-loved and iconic sculpture on Ray Mill Island created by Eunice Goodman and donated to the Island in 1988. Over the years she has suffered some damage, with holes appearing in her base which has let in water and debris. She has also lost her original bronze colour, and the Friends wanted to try and restore her to her former glory. A local creative artist Richard Grant offered to carry out the renovations but needed some extra pairs of hands to help out. Nivi and Sheila helped out on the first morning together with a couple of other volunteers. First job was to brush down the sculpture, getting rid of as much of the debris as possible, including scooping out all the muck from inside the base. The stonework around the sculpture was taped off and then it was time for a chemistry lesson. Two chemicals were mixed together vigorously, poured down paper tubes positioned in holes in the base, and after a few minutes they expanded to form a structural polyurethane foam and left to harden. Fascinating! Sheila returned on the afternoon of day 2 to find the base fully stabilised and repaired, and one of the swans painted with bronze resin. The next job was to rub down the rest of the sculpture, brush it down and clean with acetone before painting. By the end of the afternoon the second Swan had been finished as well as the Maidenhead seal. It was fascinating to be part of the project and contribute to the restoration of this beautiful statue

A spa day for the Maiden and pet pampering for her two swans. That was the task that faced Christine, Viv and Sheila. The Maiden and Swans sculpture on Ray Mill Island is now nearly 40 years old and is in need to repair and a touch of paint. A local artist has agreed to give her a make-over but before this can be done she needed a good clean. We set about giving her a scrub with soft brushes and river water, getting into all the folds and crevices. She got the full works - including pedicure, manicure, teeth brushing, hair treatment & skin care. The swans got a good preen. We then gave them all a final rinse. Tara, our taskowner stopped by to say hello and thank us, and also bring us some delicious grapes from her garden. Now all that's needed is a few dry days for the restoration to begin