I can’t write this run report without talking about the weather!! Would it or wouldn’t it rain for our task helping Cllr Anne & florist owner Lisa refresh some large planters in front of the parade of shops in Valley Road, Portslade? The early morning cold drizzle seemed to have lifted just in time as I set off, and as we started work all was well. But soon a fine drizzle settled in, and developed into a full on deluge so slowly that we barely seemed to notice we were working in the pouring rain.

Our task was to remove all the old, dead woody, weedy vegetation from the planters so they can be replanted. It was a pretty tough task as some of the old woody shrubs had developed some very deep roots as well as being tangled up with some pretty thick ivy. Using a combination of digging, scraping, pulling, snipping & twisting we got the job done, bagged up all the rubbish and proudly surveyed what we had achieved before setting off home in the pouring rain (which of course stopped almost as soon as we left!)

A huge shout out to Jana& Kat (& Niva the dog) joining us for the first time. I was sure the weather would put them off but they didn’t seem to mind at all, chatting and smiling away, soaked to the skin and covered in mud but still enjoying themselves! Our kind of people!!

Cllr Anne & Lisa are delighted with what we achieved and can now continue to the next stage of the project which is to paint the planters with designs by local school children. Can’t wait to see them finished.