Back before Christmas, when Martin was building the northern wicker fence on the cleared beach, David Munroe’s dog Zebedee trained him to throw the toy bone. On this particular occasion, a very cold and windy day, Zebedee had been in a few times and was cold, soaking wet and shivering. Martin threw the toy so far out into the Lido that Zebedee made it quite clear that he wasn’t going to go and get it!!! Martin, luckily, was wearing his deep waders. Despite a leak in the leg of the waders he waded out into the Lido, rescuing the toy bone just before it sank, and in the fashion of true heroes, he returned to the shore clutching the rescued toy!!! Zebedee was very grateful indeed.

The recently cleared beach has now got a picnic table. It’s amazing to have such a fantastic backdrop for a picnic in the suburb of Ruislip. Enjoy the picnic but don’t forget to take your rubbish with you!

There’s plenty of clearing work happening at Poor’s Field to maintain the heathland. The notice explains the reasons for the maintenance including the protection of plants and animals rarely seen this close to London - click on the image to read the smallprint!

The recent rainfall has filled up the ditches

and raised the water level to start creeping up the lawn. The indicator was at -4.5 a week ago.

Thank you to the swan to help give an idea of scale on the indicator pole.

A meeting will be held on Tuesday 8th January 2008 at 7pm in the green huts.

The meeting will provide an update on the activities of the Friends of Ruislip Lido and will include two guest speakers:

• The Widelife and Management of the Woods - Richard Hutton
• Childrens Play Equipment on the Beach - David Seaman

The Friends look forward to welcoming you to the meeting.

How many people does it take to make a Tic Tac advert?

An astonishingly large number as I stumbled apon the film crew down at the Lido.

The next time you see a TV advert with actors basking in the sun don’t be jealous that you didn’t get the gig of a weekend on a tropical beach. Instead be grateful that you didn’t have to sit in your bikini for an hour at the Lido freezing your Tic Tacs.

My photoshoot seemed to go down well and got the thumbs up!

Following on from the beach clearing superb natural fencing has now been added by Martin, a volunteer. The fencing stretches out into the Lido and we’re expecting Martin to resurface on the north side in April.

The fences are remarkably strong with plenty of tension in the willow.

… and the recent rain has raised the water level so it’s now chasing up the lawn in front of the pub.

The opening times for the Woodlands Centre have been revised to Sundays 10am - 3pm.

Find out more about the Ruislip Lido Woodlands Centre.

The rangers have been busy clearing a beach that you probably didn’t realise existed. Overgrown with Goat Willow the beach is seeing daylight for the first time in about 15 years. Clearing the beach lets more light though to the assualt course and creates a waterside space for dog walkers, who are prohibited from entering the main beach area.

I’m sure we’ve all got a pair of trousers in the wardrobe that we’re not going to throw out because once we’ve lost weight they’ll fit perfectly!

The Ruislip Lido Rangers have taken a more pragmatic approach and widened the willow seats by a few inches.