The weather today was glorious – warm and sunny throughout, without being too hot. Several of our volunteers went to weed the gardens around the canoe store in Coed Gwilym Park, whilst Bob and Aled continued to work on the boat. Sadly, there is no photographic evidence for these activities. The rest of the vols worked in the Buried Lock site.

John Gw fixed the mirror that is so useful when crossing the towpath. Note Martin barrowing topsoil – more of this later.

Chris collected hardcore that he used to bring up the level at the top of the canoe portage.

Andrew mixed the concrete that Sharon and Chris used to lay more of the wall in the by-wash.

Andrew then went on to work on the steps up to the garden. Is there no end to this man’s talent?

Alan T, John Grav, Sue and Andy almost finished the pointing. They were thwarted by water lapping into a couple of joints.

Martin and John AD were busy planting a vast number of foxgloves on the top of the green corridor. They put to good use the soil barrowed in by Martin. We can look forward to a splendid display in the very near future.

Gordon added some finishing touches to the paddle separating the two halves of the sluice. We will now be able to direct the canal appropriately as work progresses.

Toby brought one of his pumps, in case it was needed to clear water from the dry dock. Dai made sure it was in good working order.

Later in the day, Toby and Mike the Rubbish collected two huge bags of stone that will be used to face the dry dock. That’s the good news: the bad news is that the bags had to be emptied by hand. Backbreaking work!

Tea was taken with cake provided by Tesco. This was necessitated by the designated baker being stricken by COVID. Get well soon, Alan W. Apologies for the photo – your cub reporter was so busy chatting that he forgot to snap away until tea was almost over. As usual, Anna and Cerys hung on to the bitter end, just in case any crumbs were left.

As you can see, the volunteers achieved a great deal this week, their efforts being rewarded by the lovely weather.