Today Amy and I helped out at the Sparkhill Summer Carnival organised by Narthex.

We met up with Bhavna from Narthex who had organised this great event which was set up around the bandstand in Sparkhill Park.

We got started with putting up some banners around trees, with Amy doing all the thinking whilst I just held up the banners.

After a bit of decorating, Amy and I started litter picking around the event and we filled up 5 large bin liners full of rubbish over the course of the 3 hours we were there. During the course of this, we found someone's phone and managed to return it to the owner, made friends with a squirrel and came across lots of bread/rolls, so it was a case of bready, steady go... and then we were on a roll, picking up as much litter as possible.

The weather was a little downcast at the beginning of the event, but Amy was prepared with her umbrella hooked on to her backpack in case it was needed, as shown in the photos.

The weather improved as the day went on and it was great to see people come out and enjoy the food, music and other stalls on offer. There was also a stall highlighting the great work and services offered by Narthex, including a food and clothes bank and advice service.

We tried some Gol Guppa snacks (water bombs) and even got some mocktails to enjoy. We were both also given lovely crowns to wear made out of the likes of branches and flowers, which had been very skillfully made and as can be seen in the photos.

It was a lovely event and we enjoyed ourselves.