On a decidedly wet and seriously muddy Saturday morning, four intrepid Balsam bashers – two from the Monday Group and two regulars from a local Rotary Club – met at Dore and Totley Station for our annual assault on the alien species that attempt to infiltrate Ladies Spring Wood along the banks of the River Sheaf. A recce during the previous week had shown a smaller number of Himalayan Balsam plants than expected, at various stages of development, with some already well into flowering. Unfortunately, a small colony was also spotted below the weir, an area that had previously had