Rake it til you make it

After a day of rain a hardy bunch met at East Oxford Community Centre last night, prepared to do battle both with the weather and this week's task. After a good chat about Stu's London Marathon experience, our media stardom (summary; enjoyed our 15 minutes of fame, but should've been more aware of our best angles), and ideas for future tasks, we set off on the short run to Aston's Eyot.

Aston's Eyot is just a hop, skip and a jump away from our base at East Oxford Community Centre, tucked away beside the river. 5 minutes of running and chatting, and we were there, being greeted by Ruth and Penny from Friends of Aston's Eyot. Ruth explained our tasks for the evening would be raking up the grass which had been cut back in the meadow areas, and pulling out the taller nettles in the wildflower meadow so that they don't swamp the smaller flowers.

Wheelbarrows, rakes, and sturdy gloves at the ready, we set to work.

The Rakes Progressed from meadow, to picnic area, to glade, like red T-shirted Poldarks. The rope swing in the picnic area proved a draw, but the eventual verdict was it would be better on a warmer evening.

In the wildflower meadow we grasped the nettle with enthusiasm. It was oddly satisfying pulling them out by the roots and revealing the smaller wildflowers beneath the canopy of stingy beasts, expanding our knowledge of wildflowers as they emerged into the light. Having amassed quite a haul of nettles we had to consider whether we could be making good use of the 'weeds'. Our top 3 options:
* Nettle Tea
* Nettle Soup
* Beating ourselves with them for warmth, just like the Romans

After 45 minutes of work, and many wheelbarrows full of nettles and cut grass, we waved goodbye to our hosts the Friends of Aston's Eyot, ran a loop around the Eyot to fully explore the place, then headed to South Park for a few hill sprints. Relay hill sprints got a little competitive, until Rachael and Sophie had the genius idea of skipping down the recoveries instead of jogging. Great for running form, and a whole lot of fun!

Next week: drinks after the Group Run at James Street Tavern. Looks like we'll be toasting Tim Kendall's 10th Good Deed, Mack's new status as our first Taskforce member, saying a big 'Well Done' to Town and Gown 10k runners, and belatedly celebrating all those spring Half and Full Marathon achievements.

Many thanks to Tim and Mack for the rake puns :-)
Hope that all of Team Nettle's stings stop tingling soon!