Utopiary*

It was a glorious late summer's day when GoodGymmers Sarah, Beth, Hannah and Patrick gathered at Peter and Judy's flat. Peter is in a wheelchair and Judy has health issues so neither of them are able to look after their garden as well as they'd like to.

Sarah arrived fresh from Hampstead Heath Parkrun via a detour to the top of Parliament Hill - always worth it on a good day for the stunning view.

Peter and Judy's garden is mostly paved but there were weeds growing through the cracks in the paving, along with accumulated leaves, rubbish, and an overgrown shrub that was sold to them as a bay tree but unfortunately had no culinary value whatsoever!

Sarah set to clearing the rubbish, while Hannah dead-headed roses and swept leaves, Beth weeded between the pavers and Patrick managed to saw the ersatz bay tree into tiny pieces. A friendly bin man popped by to say hello, and Peter and Judy came out to keep us company and chat for a while too. Various garden critters also joined the party including a bright green grasshopper, a flock of woodlice, a colony of ants, and an escargatoire of snails**.

In just over a hour we transformed the garden and the lovely Peter and Judy were very happy.

Ponytails and new shoes

The field of runners (another collective noun) headed to Stables Market for lunch before Patrick, Sarah and Hannah headed to the Roundhouse to take in Penny Woolcock's Utopia installation.

The installation was a confronting look at inequality in London through real-life stories played through speakers dotted around a dystopian London landscape - including a story featuring a certain Camden-based group jogging around a council estate in red t-shirts. It certainly gave us something to think about!

*credit to Patrick for the run report title

**genuine collective nouns