“Say trees!”

24 runners; 3 task owners, many different tasks…

A good sized group of us made our way to the Haggerston Orchard this evening to help task owners Camilla, Benoit and Sophie tackle some stubborn tree stumps head on.

On arrival at the task, we were speedily briefed and divided into three teams: a large group headed over to the tree stump area, where tree expert Benoit explained to the crew how they were needed to help whittle and prise some tough old trees out of the ground, route network an’ all, to make way for some new beginnings.

Groups of 3-4 worked on each trunk which was tough work. But unbelievably rewarding when the trees finally broke loose, and the area was free to be filled in with new compost. This ended up being quite the plant production line.

Meanwhile, Sophie and Camilla juggled some fine runner distribution, speedily shuttling runners between different areas of the large garden, juggling task overlaps such as nettle-plucking with soil-turning in the vegetable bed; rubble-clearing with watering…It was an industrious remaining two teams who shuttled themselves (and piles of stones, compost, nettles…you name it) from one end of the garden to another.

Glutes ‘n’ roots

And before we knew it (I say that every week, but honestly, the time flies) it was 8pm and the ‘all hands on deck’ moment arrived to start the clearing away effort. A small crew of 5 opted to remain on Project Tree Stump, filling in remaining holes with compost, while the remainder of the group obediently made their way to a clearing in the garden for our Glutes ‘n’ Abs session, tonight’s content chosen by my fitness panel, Jo, Andrea and Lucy.

Wicked work here tonight. I swear you’re all getting lots stronger, with improved balance. We enjoyed quadruped hip extensions, single leg deadlifts, cycling crunches to name a few.

…And then it was time to say cheerio and head back to base for our final stretches of the night. Another amazing night, everyone, it really was.

We enjoyed very much having our new runners with us, Anthony, Emma and Charlotte – thank you for your brilliant input, and humour!

And thanks to Si and Bryon for navigating, and to Jo and Lieke for backmarking.

What a team! You’re all amazing – everyone says so.

And before I sign off, I just want to give a big shout-out this week, to our two runners who ran yesterday's London Marathon, Becky G and Leanne. A massive congratulations to you both. And another shout-out to members of the team who volunteered, including Becky J and Sarah M who did a cracking job manning a bag truck.

Now, next week, we’re heading back to the Parkview Estate to check on those fruit trees and visit the residents. This is not one to miss, so get involved now.