Pruning, Prickles and Penpals!

Missing our much loved group runs, Gina and Tracey met up early and squeezed in a quick run to the home of our local parkrun but were a little ambitious in how much distance they could cover in the allotted time (and got a bit distracted by taking selfies with the horses). Tsk tsk!

Meanwhile the rest of the team were gathering back at Prince Rupert Court which is part of the Guinness Partnership who provide supported housing. We last visited in January during storm Brendan, when we got drenched and our gardening task was called off so we played indoor games instead while trying not to drip on their carpet. Then along came Coronavirus. So we’ve been really looking forward to the day when we could safely go back, and that day finally came after eight whole months. Hurrah!

They are working on a project to improve access to one part of the garden which is rather nice and catches the sun but is not so easily accessible to those with limited mobility. Our task was to clear the space of bushes and weeds where a lovely new path and maybe some benches will go. Being fans of the fresh air we were happy to help out on a task that encourages outside activity. There was a lot to remove including some particularly sharp shrubbery, and bushes to dig out. Being the caring lot we are, we also rescued a Fusia and replanted it in a pot. Fingers crossed it survives!

We’ve been writing to 11 of the residents of Prince Rupert Court during lockdown, while they’ve been shielding. So we were thrilled when some of our penpals popped out to see us for a socially distanced chat! It was great to hear from them how much cheer our letters have brought and some lovely connections have been made. They also commented on the efforts we’d made to decorate the envelopes. No half measures here! Gina and Mrs J had a good old chinwag, while Tracey and Mrs L seemed unaware that they’d unconsciously chosen matching outfits for the unplanned catch up! Sadly Teresa was unable to see Mr M as he’s been in hospital – we wish him the speediest of recoveries.

On to task number two, to tidy another corner of the garden that had been taken over by the dreaded brambles and other prickly bushes – who knew there were so many types of dangerous bush! After the incident with the quince on an earlier task, Jason wasn’t allowed near the prized rose tree that’s outside the window of one of the residents but he was given special permission to remove another tree that was entwined with the rose, so everyone was happy!

In the end we filled four large industrial bags with garden waste! A very productive morning.

It wouldn’t be a GoodGym task at Prince Rupert Court without a little bit of rain, so when predictably it arrived, and having run out of time, we had a quick tidy up and waved goodbye. For now. We’ll definitely be back!