Acton Junior parkrun's roster was overflowing with volunteers today. So much so that there were 5 (yup, five!) tail walkers who included Kash. She was disappointed that today's Run Director, Joanna, didn't assign her the orange tail walker hi-vis with the leopard's tail. Maybe next time...

Most of the ice around the course had melted by the time the runners got going, so the black ice warning cones, placed during the course check, were redundant. They looked like they were randomly placed for the children to slalom through and dance around. They left marshals Steph and Sevan a bit confused too.

There were more confused people on the course too as 3 adult men showed up after the start and asked if they were late for the start of today's parkrun. They may have been young at heart, but Sevan explained that today's event was for children only and they should head to Gunnersbury Park next Saturday. Not counting the 3 men, 45 other young hearts enjoyed today's free, organised parkrun, whizzing past Harvey who recorded their times and Alan who dished out finish tokens to the happy finishers.

The pre-shop chat with Mr G took longer than usual this week, and not just because we caught up on his activities over the festive period. We took a look through his cupboards and fridge to see which of his regular items didn’t need a top-up, as well as discussing some possible new items as part of Mr G’s New Year resolution to eat more a more healthy diet.

In the end, the list consisted mostly of familiar items with one healthy recent addition (salmon fillets) offset by a much less healthy treat.

Mr G was particularly pleased that I managed to get a new battery for his doorbell which now works perfectly, confirming the diagnosis made by the Stream Team just before Christmas.

Cold but sunny Sunday morning with the sun on the horizon in a frosty park, but this did not stop the 29 children to turn up and run with parents. Volunteers were present with gloves, hats, extra layers and warm coats to keep warm. Some icy patches near the roundabout, but that was it on the course. The ground was hard and the pond was frozen. Alan, Michelle and Steph Ducat were marshals today. Michelle had a new position we did not know about - the one near the logs on the path going up to the top of the park. Joanna was at the finish line giving tokens. Everybody survived the cold and went back safely to their next occupations.