Today at Preston Parks

Good afternoon blog followers and welcome to the latest instalment of the intrepid adventures of Alex Ashworth as he continues to gain valuable experience in the field of gardening within the voluntary sector.

Today marked a return to Preston Parks at Ashton Park after a two week break. I arrived at approximately 9.45am complete with full outdoor clothes in ( getting ready for the winter freeze), and, after I helped myself to a brew and made one for Senior Park Ranger, teacher, mentor and friend Steve Smith we were just about ready to get going for the morning's activities.

For the first hour or so it involved giving the park a good clean up and, since Steve had already been round last Thursday and Sunday it wasn't as bad as previous weeks had been, in fact both of us could probably testify that we only used about 1 and a half bags throughout our walk round the park.

Thankfully, this week it didn't rain only a slight drizzle so it did mean cleaning the park wasn't as gruelling . We began with the first port of call, giving the car park a little maintenance then I turned right towards the tennis courts and teen shelter and Steve

turned left heading towards the doctors surgery then on to the path where he would meet me later.

Sometimes it easy to loose each other and I did turn round several times to see if Steve was still in focus. I'd just about filled my first bag so I tied it and placed it next to a bin for the council to take away. It was at this point that Steve surfaced again and he instructed me where he'd like me to clean up next.

It was after 11 am now and we were both getting parched so Steve agreed to call time and we went back to base for a brew.

By 11.45am we went out towards the main road on the park and Steve had the major job of bringing in the old green flag from last year down the pole and attaching the new one. The Green Flag represents a clean, sustainable, eco-friendly park and is accessible to all if, they too keep it clean.

Prior to Steve fixing the new one and hoisting it up the pole he took several pictures of me holding the flag with a somewhat cheesy expression. Thankfully, the lens didn't break so I must have been looking good.

After the pictures were taken and the relief was over, Steve hoisted the flag up the pole and it looked cool as it floated in the wind.

Which marks the end of another PP session for another couple of weeks. I'll be back with Steve on September 19th, until then, however, this is Alex Ashworth signing off for a rewarding and productive morning with Preston Parks at Ashton Park, Preston.