A series of emails had established the system for getting the fuel tank for the work boat, but clearly someone involved didn't know their Honda from their Yamaha as the connector on the fuel tank we were given did not fit the engine. This being the third time this has happened we are starting to wonder'..!

However, mother being the necessity of invention, in circumstances such as this we hatched a plan to cross a deep ditch to reach the otherwise inaccessible area where we needed to work. Access would involve walking a plank (which we would have to carry). The somewhat concerned look on the faces of some of our volunteers at this prospect were only equalled by their even more concerned looks when we arrived at the location of the plank-walking! But we set off, with plank, determined not to be beaten by either the lack of a boat or the challenge of crossing the ditch.

It seemed fair that the person who had hatched the plan went first (after all, he's expendable), followed by those whose confidence increased as they witnessed every successful crossing.

And it wasn't long before we found what we were looking for.

And it was down to work, with even our newest recruit soon developing a good technique.

And of course there was the usual teamwork involved

There was no shortage of weed and all of our volunteers were kept busy.

And the further up the ditch we wen, the more weed we found

At last, with no dissenters, it was time to break out the refreshments

And our usual sumptuous feast was enhanced still more by the generous, and greatly-welcomed, donation of WARM sausage rolls (the chilli ones were pretty hot) and WARM mince pies. A rare luxury.

(he's giving them out, not eating them himself!!)

And, as usual, we were treated to our monthly joke 'although some noticed that today's had been recycled from a previous work party!

Back to work, and as the ditch split into two, so did we.

One group worked on a ditch that hatches pennywort from a pond that seems to have no feed into it (leaks from the Navigation?)

And we found that we had a challenger to our usual 'rope the chrome'expert

And eventually our work there was done

Meanwhile our other team was making good progress up the main ditch where there was more pennywort than you could shake a chrome at 'although shake many chromes we did.

Floating American Pennywort is enemy number 1, our primary challenge, and of course time is enemy number 2. And eventually both had us beat. We had made superb progress, but had to leave with still more pennywort to draw us back in future. So it was back to base

Though not before the final challenge 'the return crossing of the plank. But by now our confidence level was so high that some almost skipped back across the plank.

The delight that the plank experience was over was plain to see

And we trekked back to Sandford Lock a happy bunch of work party volunteers. It had been an excellent morning's work with huge amounts of pennywort, which would otherwise be flushed into the Navigation, having been consigned to rot on the bank.

It just remained for us to wash our boots (biosecurity) and wish each other a Merry Christmas before heading off home.

Crossing Barnes Mill Lock and walking across the water meadows was the easy part, but practically as soon as we arrived at The Ditch our party organised themselves into two groups and started work. Both had lots to do.

The pennywort was thick and in most places the access wasn't easy

But skilled volunteers these, they all knew they had a role to play and gradually the pennywort-removal moved along the ditch.

Coracle man Steve was certainly kept busy

And eventually where once there were dense carpets of thick pennywort there were now areas of clear water.

It had been another fine effort by a committed band of volunteers.

Our actual start was delayed for a while since we needed to show the press that the Chelmsford City Mayor was supporting the event. We reckoned that skilful use of a litterpicker from behind could make it a Mayoral Chain Picker. But it was nice of the mayor to show support for the event and later on in the morning we had the opportunity to talk to two knowledgeable and interested Deputy Mayors.

Before the refreshment break our two coraclers worked on the two rivers above the weir, working up as far as the unattractive concrete troughs that carry the rivers through the city centre - such a valuable asset so hugely underplayed!

The free refreshments at the Sea Scout hut were plentiful and some of us were not overly-offended by being mistaken for the drivers of the rubbish vans!

Able to put it off no longer, our coraclers knew that their major task was ahead of them: any amount of rubbish in the green soup which was held back by the boom across the weir. Just had to be removed

This was one tough task. Steve, our skilled coracler, ever the gentleman, and having let the apprentice use the more stable coracle, also ferried both coracles into position - what a guy!!

The smaller coracle is for poachers to make a quick getaway with their rabbits; the larger one designed to allow poachers to pull large salmon on board. There was plenty to bring on board, but the only animal we found in the water - a dead pigeon - remains there.

We cannot lie - it was hell! Smelly and difficult to get through. There seemed to be a preponderance of ladies' cosmetics, quite a few bottles of Mexican beer (empty apart from a slice of lemon) and bottles containing some dubious yellow liquid which wasn't necessarily orange juice!

But our coraclers are nothing if not tenacious, and working steadily they eventually had the area cleared of all rubbish that could be found floating above or in the thick weed covering.

Five sacks of rubbish came out of that area!

It had been a good morning's work. Well done to all who took part.

With another impressive turnout we were able to send groups in two directions. The larger group, hearing of the challenges ahead, headed downstream by boat and on foot to Cuton Lock, and the smaller group headed by inflatable, canoe and coracle up the millstream.

Arriving at Cuton Lock it was familiar territory for some, and a new experience for others. Nevertheless everyone played their part. A route through the vegetation was created to allow access to a large raft of floating pennywort

And then the hard work began, hauling it ashore from the water

And far enough up the bank that it would rot

Meanwhile, quality control 'catching any breakaway weedlets which would infect the Navigation further down 'was in place further downstream

And valuable moral support was provided by other members of the group. The love they showed was impressive!

Next, it was back up to the ditch which runs parallel to the Navigation. This continues to be a challenge and did not disappoint today.

Luckily, for a while, we were able to access both banks of the ditch, making removal more effective.

And just when we thought we had it all there was more

Meanwhile our smaller party were facing a larger task

They did an excellent task before the call to refreshments came through.

Always a popular part of a Saturday morning work party the scones went round (and round and round) and the tea and coffee went down. Some discussed the meaning of life and some just contemplated it!

A comment was made that the Trust was perhaps spending money unnecessarily on refreshments. NOT SO!!! Apart from the fact that none of the Trust's money is spent on refreshments, the modest supply of cakes and biscuits, tea and coffee, is a small price to pay for such valuable, and enthusiastic, volunteer time. Paying a contractor to do the same task would be in the 'ks! (and potentially be done to a lower standard 'as we have discovered in the past!)

Enough of relaxing though, there was even more work to be done, albeit tidying up. So many of the party headed off to the infamous ditch to admire the work so adequately completed by the smaller group.

Those guys had worked hard and could be justly proud of their efforts

Finally it was back to Sandford Lock and another work party was over. Several participants commented on how much they had enjoyed the morning in the fresh air, the walk to Cuton Lock and back, and working alongside such committed and pleasant people.

Meeting promptly at the Landing Stage beside the Tesco car park - and with the work boat arriving with only 30 seconds to spare - our trusty volunteers took no time in passing their Health and Safety A levels and preparing to bust the weed and bin the litter!

Five volunteers on the water and two on the bank was a bit unbalanced - but the efficiency and enthusiasm of our two landlubbers mean that they did sterling work. At one point they were working so fast that we lost them!

But our Buster crew were no to be outdone and soon they were getting into action (eventually!)

And of course our trusty canoe and coracle duo were also hard at work

We made it all the way up to the flood gates at Beeeleigh, and with the light starting to fade, all the way back to the Landing Stage, picking up not only rubbish, but a coracle and coracler on the way.

A pleasant evening - and the last of our Wednesday evenings for this year! Back to Saturday mornings!

The scores for the Health and Safety test in the car park were impressively high with the symptoms of Weil's Disease and procedure on finding a syringe being known by all.

Sadly Buster, our jointly-owned work boat had blown a fuse, was out of commission and could not be used to ferry volunteers, tools and rubbish.

But their 15 minutes of glory were short-lived and soon they were getting stuck into their tasks. The north-bank towpath was remarkably clear of litter, especially given the number of people fishing, and there was hardly a dog-mess bag to be found hanging in the trees.

And our chaps on the water played their part too. It is a shame we did not get a video of Dudley hurling rubbish to the bank.

At Hall Bridge we did some consolidating of rubbish

and with time on our side made our way further up the towpath to Wave Bridge. Then it was back to Hall Bridge and across to the other side of the Long Pond.

By now the sun was starting to set, but that didn't stop our bank-side volunteers from stopping to make use of one more photo-opportunity.

Then it was a pleasant stroll back to the car park with very little rubbish to be found on the way.

We dropped our rubbish off at the skips and stood back to admire how much we had collected.

(OK 'we must own up 'ours were the two bags in the wheelbarrow!)

What a smashing evening!

There being no recent pennywort sightings we had decided to concentrate on litter and associated debris removal from the water and banks.

The forecast had promised rain for the afternoon and evening but for the main part we were only delivered a desultory drizzle towards the end of the session. Steve, the lock keeper, had prepared the Dory, and we had, at the last minute, procured a qualified skipper, Ray O'Shea. He arrived early and was very enthusiastic about the whole operation so he and crew started off before the starting gun. We were subsequently joined by other volunteers who concentrated their efforts on the towpath side from Hoe to Rushes lock.

On the whole the river was very clear and clean, just the odd plastic pieces and cans lurking in the eddies and under bushes and trees. The banks and lock sides at Rushes bore the signs of numerous picnics in the form of discarded disposable barbecues. Dealing with a hot barbecue after the event seems to be beyond the imagination of a lot of people.

We finishes somewhat early- it was still light!- and would have had time to proceed further upstream if we had taken a lock key, something to be remembered next time out. As it looks as if we are going to be concentrating on litter clearance while the pennywort is preparing to attack in late summer it would be wise to choose future sites that are most prone to littering.

The Health and Safety Assessment having been passed with flying colours by all participants, our trusty volunteers set off. Three on the bank, three in the Raider, one in a coracle and one in a canoe 'it doesn't get much better than that!

Once we had negotiated the electronic gate at Barnes, and were safely parked beside the towpath, we set off for Barnes lock, crossed the footbridge below it and headed across the meadow to the dreaded ditch some half a mile away.

This ditch starts in Chelmsford near the old Army and Navy roundabout and runs for about two or three miles parallel to the Chelmer Navigation. Luckily the pennywort was concentrated in a large patch with small growths downstream for nearly a mile.

Initially we were hampered by undergrowth and trees on both banks and progress was slow. Some of the group managed to cross to the opposite bank and this helped us to reach everything.

The banks were for the most part pretty steep which made falling in a strong possibility. It turned out to be quite a test of our agility because the banks further downstream were steeper still.

Pennywort was raked out and spread on the bank to dry out.

Surprisingly we saw several large swims of fish which pleased the anglers among us.

After a long walk to the old waterworks perimeter ditch we took refreshments. Here we were sheltered from the keen wind.

Continuing along the footlpath we completed a circular route meeting with the canal and familiarising ourselves with the waterworks ditch where we had worked previously- we did find vestiges of pennywort there hidden under the bank.

On our arrival back at the lock, and our cars, it was time to reflect on what a good job we had accomplished in clearing and surveying. It could stand us in good stead during 2013 and prevent pennywort leaking into the main river. Good company, good weather, dry under foot - an enjoyable morning well spent.

Attentive to the Safety Briefing, as always, we planned our distribution of labour for the morning - five on the bank, four on the water.

Dudley got away swiftly and headed off to deal with the Pennywort.

But Steve in the coracle, often our main man as far as flexibility on the water is concerned, found himself having to be fairly flexible in the water, and getting out of it - equipment failure at an early stage put paid to any further floatation.

Well at least it gave us extra capacity on the banks!

Everyone headed up to Beeleigh - a treasure trove of miscellaneous rubbish, mainly left by those who have no excuse for not taking it away with them.

Some concerned themselves with the area around Beeleigh, others headed down the towpath, and soon Buster, the work-boat, was collecting sacks-full of rubbish collected by our skilled volunteers.

It is important to keep our volunteers in top form so by 11.00 am it was time to stop for our mid-morning break on the Refreshment Platform

Then it was time to head further downstream. Our volunteers kept working and the full sacks of rubbish kept being brought on board.

And we worked our way back up to our starting point.

And as we finished where we had started it was good to meet up with Dudley again.

An impressive haul of litter and an excellent morning's work.

As usual, the work party started with the important 'safety briefing'; in conditions like today's (bitterly cold) it was important that, apart from everything else to consider, no one was at risk of falling into the freezing cold water, and if they did, that appropriate action was taken promptly.

Essentially there were two tasks - to look out for pennywort that had been flushed by recent floods out of feeder streams and into the Navigation, and to pick up whatever litter our volunteers could find (and did they find it!).

So, litter-pickers and rubbish sacks in hand, off they set.

And we were fortunate to have support on the water as well.

Our volunteers braved the elements and made good progress downstream.

At one point it seemed like a doddle on the work boat

So skilled were our litter pickers that the work boat was soon kept busy collecting full rubbish sacks - rather than dealing with its prime task of looking for pennywort. But eventually our work boat crew got to their planned destination and dealt as best as they could with a small infestation of pennywort - and as before, this location will need a further visit.

Then, with a shortage of rubbish sacks curtailing our efforts, and with some of our party starting to feel colder than they would have preferred, the suggestion that it was time for refreshments was met with enthusiastic agreement. The coffee was hot and the jam in the scones was rhubarb and ginger.

Having refuelled ourselves we returned to Sandford to restock with rubbish sacks and to venture upstream and more of the same.

And eventually we caught sight of two of our volunteers who had been involved in work away from the main group

Finally, as is sometimes the case, there was plenty more rubbish our volunteers could have picked up, but not plenty more time to pick it up in. So it was back to base to unload an impressive number of rubbish bags

And finally, with the importance of bio-security high on our agenda, a thorough washing of boots and equipment.

Eleven trusty volunteers - an impressive number - turned up at Sandford Lock to take on the vital tasks that are intrinsic parts of our work parties. Although we had a plan, we were flexible, and it turned out that, as a result of the recent flooding, litter-picking was probably more of a priority than pennywort removal; but we dealt with both.

With rubbish bags and litter-pickers to the fore, both banks were efficiently combed for litter and other non-native detritus washed down by high river flows.

Meanwhile our pennywort-busters had found another of the 'breeding grounds' for Floating American Pennywort and had were quickly on the case. It was another excellent team effort - two volunteers removing the bulk of the pennywort, and our invaluable Coracle Man Steve undertaking the vital removal of the small strands and remnants left in the water.

There was more to do further down the ditch, and that task was completed efficiently too.

Rubbish was still being collected efficiently.

And Dudley left to reconnoitre the state of some of our other pennywort hot spots.

All too soon it was time for refreshments.

Then, with some of our volunteers having to leave to undertake other responsibilities the remainder of us headed back downstream to Sandford

But our job there was not yet complete - a short hike round to the weir stream allowed us to both remove some burgeoning new growths of pennywort and also to see the useful effect the flooding had had at a previously-blocked bridge where the 'overflow' had efficiently lifted huge amounts of weed, including pennywort, onto the bank, meaning our task here was much less onerous.

Another fine morning's work!