All through the previous night, the wind howled and the rain lashed down. Thank goodness it had all calmed down by the time the vols arrived at Bridge 8.

The majority of us reinforced another stretch of bank. Lance and Rowan mixed the mix as Chris and Pete filled the bags. Chris then trundled them down to Duncan and Mike who set them in place. This task seems never-ending but is so important to maintain the integrity of the canal bank and towpath.

Sue, Sharon and Andy walked up to Ynysmeudwy Locks bashing balsam as they went. Another never-ending task but luckily Anna and Cerys were on hand to provide encouragement.

Tea was taken with cakes baked by Andy and Jan. Pete really enjoyed Andy’s pastéis de nata, and was keen to demonstrate his command of Portuguese.

As we finished our break, it was joyous to see a mallard and her eight ducklings paddle gently by. This is what is supposed to happen on the canal, rather than the scene of carnage in Coed Gwilym park

That was it for the day at Bridge 8 as we ran out of hessian sacks. Some of us went back to the Swansea Canal Centre to help unload the equipment.

Meanwhile, Bob and Martin were working in and out of the Canal Centre today and this is a brief video of Bob baling out the rainwater from his boat. As it was well down in the water it took him some time to get back on an even keel. Well done Bob.

In the end, the weather was kind and a good bit of work was done, so thanks and congratulations to all our volunteers.