4 Goodgymmers battled with the slippery slopes at the Westbury Banks Nature Reserve as they lent a hand to the Friends group with a bit of a facelift.

Ivy'n Told There Are No Ivy Puns Left To Use

Dave, Niamh, Charlie, and Yours Truly came together on a very drizzly night in Turnpike Lane for a spot of tree planting at the Westbury Banks Nature Reserve.

The Friends group is hoping to create a natural cover for the Reserve and we came to help. We planted a total of 18 trees along the fence on the Westbury Avenue border of the site in the hope that as they grow, there will create a green flowery screening for this much loved green space.

It wasn't all plain sailing, however. We had to fight against a very stubborn ivy cover that had spread all along the floor and its roots were asphyxiating everything around it. While Dave and Charlie discussed how to best deal with it, Niamh took matters into her own hands and, with surgical precision, proceeded to pull the s%$£ out of the poor ivy. The creeping evergreen didn't stand a chance. Before you knew it, Charlie and Dave, armed with loppers and spades had joined in the carnage and the ivy was no more.

We tidied the newly-dug up bed and tucked in the new trees.

14 dog roses, 3 hazels, and a blackthorn are now sitting proudly along the fence at the Reserve and they will hopefully have fewer battles with the resident ivy.

By 8pm, and in the absence of our much-loved and much-missed timekeeper, it fell to Gramps to call an end to the proceedings. But not before we made time for some selfies and quizzing Dave about this week's Film Club offering.

Come next week!