Remember, remember the fifth of November...

David Miller writes: ...this week’s GoodGymmers certainly will, with 19 of them braving the cold weather as they returned to Spitalfields City Farm for the third and final installment of ripping up the plastic sheeting from under the top layer of soil in the large field there. Although only a short run from the gallery to the farm, it was made more interesting with the odd “ooh” and “ahh” from the team, as all around, fireworks lit up the clear November sky. With a good two-thirds of the field already cleared, and the “roll, heave, tear, shovel, repeat” method perfected in the previous weeks, it didn’t seem too onerous a task at first, but progress was slowed down a little for the team as they had to work around the posts of two shelters and shift some heavily compacted soil towards the edges of the fields. Another factor that briefly threatened to halt proceedings was the arrival of a group of youngsters outside the farm, who decided it would be fun to let off some fireworks in the team’s direction. Combined with the digging and muddy field, this lent an almost ‘Battle of the Somme’-like feel to the evening. Ever the diplomat though, Mark went over to reason with the group, and almost managed to gain a new recruit from one of them, who boasted about the size of his “guns” – thankfully referring to his actual arms, rather than any firearms. Eventually they all moved on to terrorise unsuspecting members of the public elsewhere, leaving the team to rip out the rest of the plastic in good time, dispose of it all in a very well-guarded skip, and vaguely level out the shifted soil. This had been a job the farm had wanted doing for a long time, and they will now be able to use the field for keeping reindeer, donkeys or whatever else takes their fancy. No doubt they will have more tasks for us in the future, so hopefully we will return soon to see the fruits of our labour!For the run back, the team split into two groups, with Mark leading a shorter run interspersed with some sprints to tire out those who still had energy to burn, and Alison leading a longer, slower run around the streets back to the gallery. So all in all, an eventful but enjoyable evening – a good job done, a nice run, a work-out for our own “guns”, and a free (if somewhat up-close) firework display – what more could you ask for?!