We are becoming regulars here and its always a nice task at the bowls club. always assured of a friendly welcome and thanks galore. With 5 of us hot footing from the clothes swap we were joined by Ben and Ellie. With Pete on barrow duties the other 6 took up the shovels and soon made short work down the side of the access rd. No cake but the home made tea loaf was delicious....

Tonight's bumper turnout came with its own challenges as Ed turned from run leader to shepherd in order to keep things going as smoothly as you've come to expect from Monday night group run. With newcomer Nathan yet to appear we were stuck celebrating Chris's brunch at the weekend, before Charlotte saved the day with something actually worth applauding having climbed a particularly difficult climb! But just in the nick of time Nathan arrived and received a warm welcome, before we set off. Give him a big cheer 🎉

Laura set off first with a walking group, before Ed led out the run with Amy backmarking. After a short run out we met taskowner Maeve on New Walk and split the group into 2 with Pete leading the breakaway team to Millennium Fields (more from him later).

At New Walk the team got to work, armed with scythes and spades, removing the docks to make way for less invasive species. James S, Katy, Martin and Kit made light work of the big clump of docks with some epic scything, whilst the rest of the team got stuck in digging up the roots and getting them into sacks ready to be moved down to Millennium fields to meet the others later on.

We picked up a few extra bodies as Pete's crew completed their job, which made for a mad flurry of activity towards the end before we started the short walk down to meet the other group. This is what they had been up to...

After dropping the scythers and dandelion pullers off a group of 10 were led by Pete to Millennium Fields, a place of many a task. After finding the hidden stash of tools it was not hard to find the big pile of woodchip. Getting stuck in we soon realised that one barrow was not enough and while some managed to cup some in their hands Charlotte did a quick dash to her allotment for an extra spade and a very big drag bag. That allowed us to very quickly shovel, rake and stamp the path until the pile had miraculous disappeared. Nice to see Holly return after joining us for her first task in Jan and proceedings were scrutinised throughout by the part carbon fibre, part hero that is Vicky. Soon after we were joined by Ed's crew for fitness fun.

Fitness tonight involved trying to keep a "pizza" on your hand whilst running around and being chased. All perfectly normal stuff and not in the least bit confusing for onlookers from Millennium bridge!

Tonight we were back at the Arts Barge to help them do some jobs to get the barge ready for spring.

We had one group working on the boat doing a bit of problem solving sawing up rectangles of polystyrene to fit the inside of the boat for insulation.

The rest of the gang were tasked with tidying up on land. Michael, Jane and Nick were quick to volunteer to build a fire yo burn unwanted wood. Kit and Ben took it in turns to power wash the stones with a very big hose! Everyone else used various tools to weed between the cobbles.

We finished with a group pic then headed off to Tower Gardens for a Jenna speciality fitness. This involved moving around then getting in different sized groups to make a human sculpture! GG imagination at its best - we had a beehive, a barge, a snail, normal and sophisticated!

It was then back to base and off to the pub for some!

The first group run of April also brought first really nice evening of the year weather-wise as the majority of GG Yorkies ditched the long sleeves and leggings for shorts and baseball caps. Tonight we celebrated a couple of epic recent PBs; one for Matt at the Berlin half last weekend and another for James at yesterday's tricky Helmsley 10k. Epic running chaps 💪

Tonight we also celebrated Hannah completing her 50th good deed! Although there was to be no cape tonight as she signed up too late for Ed to realise he needed to pack one. We'll get you next time!

Tonight we headed off to the Groves for some leafleting and a few odd tasks around the communal gardens. Laura set off promptly with a walking group, which was a good job as they decided to take the long way round, whilst Rich led a walk/run crew. The rest of the group set off with Ed at the front and Pete backmarking, but not before they'd had a stab at guessing the world's most popular chocolate bar (a question that proved to be a bit too much for Mitch as he struggled to muster an answer). Leanne was the only one who guessed correctly which got her out of 10 seconds of fast feet!

Over at the task 16 leafleters (not sure that's a word) paired up and set off delivering flyers for the Groves Association. The remaining team got to grips with various tasks including shifting bricks (careful), putting up some fairy lights, and a spot of composting

We all then met back up at 7:15 sharp for a quick team photo before a very appropriate fitness session from James who organised an epic sack race and even brought along some chocolate for the winning team. Cue lots of talk about James' sack for the remainder of the evening!

Many will know that it's become tradtion

To write a fairytale about this mission

Where an old allotment keeper's plot is cleared

Of treasures collected over a hundred years.

But Legendary Leanne gets easily bored

Of doing the same things for the same applause,

So she thought that this might be a good time

To weave a tale, inspired by Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes.

--

In previous weeks the GG Yorkies had been

To give an allotment in Holgate a big spring clean,

They'd chopped back brambles and dug out roots,

Then emptied the shed of all its loot.

They carried old tools, treasures and knick knacks

And piled them up at the end of the track.

Then, they burned all the wood they found

In a blazing fire that lit up (a bit too much) ground.

--

Now, those in the know can tell you straight

That the heart of a goodgymer isn't really that great -

You see, the thing that they crave isn't growth and construction,

What they really want is chaos and destruction.

This is why a task to demolish a shed

Got eight red clad knights out of their beds.

I know this is true because you could easily spy

A dangerous destructive glint in their eyes.

--

They started by talking about health and safety

(Which is something you always have to do lately).

Some sensible knights topped their armour with masks

Because it was sure to be a dusty task.

They ventured inside to tear out cupboards and shelves

And remove some glass, to protect themselves

From the carnage that was soon to be created

When the shed was recklessly decimated.

--

James and Ben tore off the door

Becca and Jane rolled up carpet from the floor

Vicky separated the metal, plastic and wood,

Jen carried them away from where the shed stood

Then James stepped in a pane of glass,

So Ellie swooped in to save his ass,

And in a calm and efficient manner

She broke all the windows with a sledge hammer.

Some joined in to pick up the shards

While others were still working hard

to bring that shed down to the ground

(and rehome all the spiders we found).

Helen emptied a butt of water -

Leanne wasn't impressed when the splashes caught her!

But at least it gave them a bit more room

To spread out the wreckage when the shed met its doom.

--

Soon only half of the shed remained,

It's solid foundations now barely sustained,

It was time to use some real brute force

To bring it crashing down - of course!

Ben stepped up and grabbed the hammer

In a confident, enthusiastic manner

It made the onlooking goodgymers drool

to see Ben wield such a manly tool

He took his aim and swung it back

He made contact with a mighty crack

At first it didn't make much of a difference

But each blow added more significance

Until the shed roof dramatically tumbled

And the rotten wood below finally crumbled.

--

When the hour was up, I must confess,

There was still an awful lot of mess,

So everyone, without grumbling

(even though their tummies were rumbling)

Stuck around to create some kind of order

Within that large allotment border.

We left a lot of wood behind

So check the GG website, and soon you'll find

Another task listed for next week

to tidy up (so to speak -

There will in fact be a blazing fire

For everybody to admire.)

And so with that, we can put to bed

The tale of the magical allotment shed.