Beecroft Redemption

With the sky turning orange, a sprightly 26 runners ran through Ladywell towards Crofton Park, to help out at Beecroft Garden School, covering 5km along the way.

Thanks this week to Oli, for our clever title pun, good work!

Ah, it's good to be back. Thank you to Lucy for looking after everyone last week, while I had a break, sounds like you had fun :)

In my absence, some new people came along, so I had lots of new names and faces to learn, along with those who joined us for the very first time tonight. Lewisham Love to you all, especially Olivia and Clare, who made their GoodGym debut.

On a mission

Before our group runs, I like to check up on what everyone has been doing and there have been an impressive number of missions and coach runs happening in the past week. Well done to Oli and Clare, who took on their first ever missions, taking us into the 190s with our mission tally, isn't that just incredible?! If you're wondering what all the fuss is about, have a read about what missions involve, here. You just need to bring some ID along for me to check, then do some online training to prepare you to go out and help people who might be feeling a little isolated, easy.

Our little warm-up saw us jumping, running, hi-fiving and shoulder rolling, before we headed out towards Ladywell with Bradley back-marking, making sure we didn't leave anyone behind. At Beecroft Garden we were met by Gemma, who enthusiastically told us all about the various jobs that needed doing. With so many people, it took us a few minutes to organise ourselves, before some smaller groups set off to take on:

• lifting, shifting and delivering bags of sand (heavy work and somewhat chain-gang-like, hence the title!)

• weeding and tidying in various raised beds across the playground

• digging away the soil behind where the sensory space will go

• transporting this soil to the bed near the gate, to be spread and raked

• watering the plants

Does it mattock what it's called?!

I busied myself by moving between the various spaces, taking photos, keeping an eye on time and making sure nobody took out their neighbours with a pickaxe swing (I must add here that we actually had both a pickaxe and a mattock, very important detail Helen). As ever, we found time flying by and were soon gathering up tools, wheelbarrows and weeds and enjoying the healthy hospitality on offer (thank you!). If we can all remember to bring head-torches, we might manage another trip here before it gets too dark.

Those who know me well, know that I like to make use of Hilly Fields when we're over this way, so off we went, to take on the winding hill that we usually run down at parkrun. This time we worked in pairs, taking it in turns to run up hard and steady down. There was an air of disbelief when I said how many times, but you all did brilliantly! On Saturday, our lovely parkrun at Hilly Fields will be celebrating its sixth birthday! This means a chance to run it in the opposite direction and, of course, all the cake :)

Next week we will revisit the 'secret' garden that is Luxmore, where we will do some planting, sign up and join in here. On Sunday there is an opportunity to grab another good deed to add to your collection, by joining in a community mission, spreading the word about a Twilight Walk to raise funds for St Christopher's Hospice.

See you soon!