Summer Sortstice

A nifty nine nipped along Algernon Road, along Ladywell Road and up towards Crofton Park Library to help mid-summer sort at the Crofton Park Bookshop. We lifted, shifted and sorted then lifted and shifted our own body weight up at Hilly Fields for good measure.

This really was a day of two halves, weather wise. We had been planning a visit to Wildcat Wilderness in Catford but, as our task depended on the ground being dry, we decided to postpone our trip until July 18th. Instead, we were really pleased to be able to help our friends at the Crofton Park Bookshop. This meant a slightly shorter run and a change of gear.

Of course, the sun was out by now (it's that GoodGym GoodWeather thing that happens at about 6:45 on a Monday evening, we're sure!) and our grassy warm-up zone was full of sun-seekers. This didn't stop us getting stuck in to some expert ball-throwing and some springy skips, side-steps and sprints though. There was a touch of deja vu, as we retraced our footsteps from last week, passing through Ladywell, mingling with the commuters as they stepped off the train, then traversing Adelaide Avenue before the gentle (and humid) climb up Ladywell Road towards Crofton Park.

Jason was there to greet us, all set and ready to go. How different everything looked from the last time we came in the dark winter! The front doors were thrown wide open and sunlight streamed in through the entrance. Water was glugged before we split into two groups: the lifters and luggers and the sorters and scribblers. The scribbling sorters picked up a pencil and an armful of books, then priced and placed them in the correct area of the bookshop. Here there was lots of talk about the value of books, with a few being put to one side, to be bought at a later date! Meanwhile, Jason had shown the lugging lifters down to the cellar, where more books, records and boxes lined the walls. A steady line of boxes could be seen making its way up the narrow staircase and out into the sunshine - why do the sorting inside on such a glorious evening?!

Soon, piles of books were forming around our volunteers, some were 'stay' some were 'go' (yes, we may have discussed that too...). It was clear sometimes, if a book was set for 'recycling', but some posed problems and were waved at Jason for his approving nod - he knows what people look for in a vintage book. Inside, shelves were filling up nicely and we were running out of space (and time). As the minutes ticked away, we moved some boxes temporarily into the space at the end of the library. It was great to see how this has changed since we were last here, from a storage area, stacked with boxes, to a neatly organised work space and quiet area.

Out into the sunshine now, for our return leg. Talk often turns to food about now, our tummies rumbling and it seemed appropriate to point out our lovely local chippy, Brockley's Rock, for future reference (it was suggested that it might be nice to pop there for a social sometime, taking our food up to Hilly Fields to enjoy the view. Oh yes!). Usually, when we return via Hilly Fields, we tackle some hill repeats, but this time we just tackled one hill. We paused to remember good hill-smashing form: high hips, high knees and good, strong backward arm-drive. And off we went!

The view from the top of Hilly Fields on an evening like this is stunning, in one direction you have the city, with The Shard and even the London Eye to one side and the O2 and Canary Wharf to the other. Turn around and you can see out towards Kent, with Crystal Palace in the foreground.

At this point is a nice little workout zone, with bars, bollards, monkey bars and hurdles. The plan for tonight was to do a series of shuttle runs, interspersed with squats, press-ups, tricep dips and planks, all performed with grit and determination on what had turned out to be a quite sticky evening. Well done all of you! Here, of course, we should really have taken a detour over to the Hilly Fields Stone Circle, but everyone was so keen to run down a hill that we completely forgot to get some henge action. Down the hill it was then, with some talk about the upcoming London Athletics Community Games, where we plan to field a couple of teams for the 4x1 mile relays.

Time now to stretch and get those heart rates back down. We realised at this point that there were a couple of big football matches taking place, which explained the deserted streets - it really had felt like we had Lewisham to ourselves at times. Next week, we're off to the Ladywell Fields Adventure Playground, to get (back) on top of those weeds and to wrestle with the long grass, hopefully making the space more usable for little legs.