Goodgym 1 - 0 Caterpillars

With world travelling trainer James caught in airport delays, it fell upon the rest of us to improvise and enjoy ourselves in the sunshine. A visit to 'our' allotment was on the cards, but at the last moment a more urgent matter popped up, who are we to decline to help a lady in distress!

Anna from the Wanstead Community House, our base, showed us how caterpillars had been going after several of her previous plants, decimating the foliage to the point of no return. Best option was to dig them out and dispose of them, so armed with a shovel, pitchfork and a bin for transport the team got to work removing about 8 bushes. Especially Matt seemed to enjoy himself with the shovel, leaving a trail of (planned) destruction in his wake. Helen & first-timer Lauren followed his example in removing some more bushes, with Cedric & Kris tidying up behind them.

Part 1 done, Matt & Kris took over watering the plants from Anna, who led the rest in searching through the remaining plants on the soon-to-be-butterflies' menu to pick as many as could be found to stop those plants falling victim as well. Numerous hungry caterpillars were caught and efficiently disposed of. Fingers crossed those remaining plants will survive!

Tidying only took seconds, after which we found our feet following the familiar route towards Eagle Pond. Now the evenings are longer, a meandering route across Leyton Flats was definitely the better option. Moving smoothly past the Green Man roundabout Matt led us through the edges of Wanstead Flats before returning to familiar roads and a way back to base. A few stretches later, a happy squad split and made their way home, ready to return another day.