(Yellow) hats off to the generous people of Kingston

Time for the round-(robin)-up of the community mission!

Brilliant idea from Caroline, here’s a round-robin run report with segments from each of the runners who wore The Big Yellow Hat and joined today’s community mission!

Ready, Set, Go: Caroline sets off for GoodGym Kingston:

On a blustery spring morning 5 runners from all around the Kingston area (and a little further afield) arrived at the town centre to do their bit to support the Marie Curie charity by manning collection points on their Great Daffodil Appeal. Caroline started the day bright and early and watched the folk of Kingston get blown in for a day of shopping and fun. Dressed in an eye-catching Daffodil yellow tabard and a fetching top hat (to attract the sympathy vote apparently) that complemented post-run red faces brilliantly we reported to our posts. As the crowds increased so did the weight of the buckets. As the kind hearted folk of town and their kids (full of very effective pester-power) added their donations, Kingston town bloomed with daffodils on lapels. Passing the mantle on to Paul who ventured all the way from Streatham to add to his Parkrun letters, only to be thwarted by a cancellation due to another local race...Caroline ran off to defrost her fingers on a well earned hot chocolate! 

Over to Paul for the second leg:

After I had collected my attire from Marie Curie.....

Semi disaster a large gust of wind hit me covering Kingston in Daffodils 🌼.

After some nimble fast feet from me I headed off to collect some donations and decorate the Kinstonians in yellow flowers.

From the start I had people of all ages approaching me to make a donation and receive a daffodil.

A few people didn’t take the daffodils but said they were making a donation for wearing the Bright Yellow Hat.

15 minutes in and I covered the main stall for half an hour to let one of their regular collectors (who was doing a long stint) have a well deserved break.

After he was back I did about another 30 minutes in my starting point and the sun came out to join me.

Stint finished said a quick goodbye and headed back to SW16 

Baton safely handed to Kate and Samia:

Kate and Samia took the baton, and hats, tabard, buckets and daffodils and were sent over to Bentalls to continue the collection. We found a sheltered spot outside, with the roof overhanging, and the collection seemed to start well... only to be relocated “off the marble” to the bricks of Kingston high street by the security guard. Battling with the wind, we were kept entertained by a busker serenading is with some Snow Patrol and a small demonstration table which then included children acting out events from war-torn countries. We decided to tune into the busker again instead and were greeted by Laura on her way to sign in for her stint. Shift complete, we reluctantly returned the hats and handed in the buckets for counting.

Now Laura takes the baton into the final straight:

Over in Eden walk the people of Kingston were contributing generously, sharing a smile at our hats if nothing else! After a while we were treated to some live singing, allowing for a bit of collecting and bopping multitasking. Not sure if it made people more willing to donate or scared them off, but it was fun all the same!

All summed up nicely by Wordsworth (with a little edit from GoodGym Kingston...):

"“When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; ... Being blown around Kingston in the gusty winds"