I arrived slightly late to find task owner Mike from Urban Green and GoodGymer Rob taking apart a fly tipped trampoline in Kenton Park . Mike had tools but the trampoline frame fell apart easily, and we put all the scrap metal in the van for recycling.

After the trampoline was dealt with the main task was cutting back the hedge to about a yard from the fence to stop the plants from growing through the fence onto the pavement. This prompted Mike, the fountain of knowledge, to explain about the old ways of measuring when a years was the distance between the end of the average persons nose and their thumb when they arm is stretched out horizontally. Another interesting fact was Bowes Museum was the first building to be built using the metric scale in England.

Once the over growth cutting back part of the task was done we had a quick tea break and Mike lent me some clean gloves, as I had managed to spill a can of very stinky stagnant water all though my hand. They still smelt after loads of hand sanitiser!

We continue on in the same area with Rob and Mike digging up fallen leaves and mud from the pavement just outside the park and I started litter picking and then Rob also joined me. The amount of litter in this area was horrific, apparently mostly caused by school children threw their cans in the bushes on the way home from school. We also found some alcohol bottles, which hopefully weren't the school childrens, and some records. Mike informed me and Rob we were getting old when a price sticker on a bottle of Glenns vodka price sparked a discussion of the the sharply raising costs of alcohol and macdonalds hash browns!

The area looked much better when we were done with the trampoline removed, no bushes protruding through the fence and much less litter! Look out for future tasked with Urban Green tomorrow at Hodgkin Park and in the three weeks time.