Unlike the previous year we would not know when the judge would attend as the reserve was to be ‘blind shopped’, we could only hope that the judge chose a nice sunny day to do his inspection, meaning that the reserve would look at its best. Being ‘blind shopped’ brings several challenges. Throughout the whole of the summer the ‘friends group’ had to keep a close eye on general maintenance, litter picking and path maintenance, just two tasks which needed constant attention. Judging took place in mid August and shortly afterwards we were notified that we had been successful for the second time. The judge had lots of very positive comments to make and as always these were appreciated and incorporated into the annual work schedule.