Some heavy lifting & carrying to remove chunky rubbish from the undergrowth along the A12 and get it ready for collection & recycling

As usual it was a great session at Frenford Foodbank. Good Gymmers and non members as working together as one big convivial team. Ed, Linda and Peter were there early busily setting up, before getting stuck into packing. AJ did a great job packing and mentoring some young-uns. Vicky cycled in and, despite being flustered from getting a little lost on the way, threw herself straight in to packing. Sharon did a sterling job calling some of the users to find out what they needed.

We were all finished and tidied up by lunchtime, well done to all of us 🥳. Sorry not many photos. I really must start nominating a photographer when I set these things up 🤦‍♀️

We met up and was joined by a newcomer, a welcome addition to our small group. We set off to do a litter pick, first stop middle of the road grassy patch, then the high street where we met a wonderful council worker, who offered us some litter bags, to carry on picking up the scraps, as we were wandering along, we were keeping up with the council workers.

we split up after this, 2 went for a walk, the other 2 went for a run. In a stroke of pure luck we ended up at back at HQ roughly the same time. A couple of stretches later, we were done and went our separate ways.

Using one of Ed's legendary Marshalling phrases for the report title to celebrate his 200th parkrun volunteer session. 🥳

Originally reluctantly dragged to his first parkrun in July 2019 (by Linda in the hope he might take up running) Ed opted to volunteer and was immediately hooked. Soon his enthusiasm and witty encouraging phrases became legendary among not only the parkrun community but spread to other local running groups.

With Ed proudly taking up his usual post as car park marshal the rest of us were scattered around the course taking on a variety of jobs, marshaling, VI walker, timekeeping, token giver and bar-code scanning. The Run Director bigged up Eds achievement during the briefing instructing runners to cheer him back as he cheered them on the way round- which I am reliably informed they did.

We came together at the end, with some of us assisting with the close down before settling in a corner of the children's playground for a cup of something and a bite to eat. Sadly Colin couldn't make it this week but sent his stand in Wiggles instead 🐛

Not sure how things would go due to a distinct lack of council bags (yes, my fault 🙈) , the three of us set off on our stroll down to Redbridge Roundabout to see what we would find.

2 bags between 3 wasn't all that bad and when we dug up a crate just past the leisure centre we all had something.

Just as we started to run out of space, a big white builders bag came to the rescue to contain all the different car body parts we dug up as well.

Bags dropped at a convenient location for collection by the Council we finished our loop, job done.

Collected litter was reported to and since collected by the council. 2x dumped rubbish too much to carry was reported as fly tipping, Council is investigating.

July’s Anytime Litter Pick Round-Up

July saw a flurry of GoodGymers taking to the parks, pavements, and parkruns for some self-led (and often friend-powered) litter picks. Instead of one big group mission, we had a string of solo and paired-up heroes tackling the mess wherever they found it. The results were as varied as they were brilliant: • Peter van Tongeren took charge in Hackney and Redbridge, clearing gas canisters, a Lime bike dumped in a disabled bay, and general rubbish at parkrun. • Epping crew handled general waste with their usual quiet efficiency. • Kidbrooke’s Sutcliffe Park got a deep clean thanks to one dedicated plogger. Not only was a lost ‘Boris Bike’ reported to TfL, but around 200 Himalayan balsam plants were pulled to protect local biodiversity. A toy plane made a soft landing and was thoughtfully left for a young aviator to find. • Paul and Mike turned a casual walk into a purposeful mission, chatting and laughing their way through a clean-up with coffee and compliments from passers-by. • Jackie and Sally teamed up too—proof that plogging is better with pals!

There’s something quietly joyful about doing good in the background—just you, your buddy, and a grabber. People notice. You’ll feel it. And it sticks.

So why not give it a go this August? Grab a mate, your running shoes (or comfy walking ones), and sign up for your own little mission. You’ll get fresh air, friendly waves, and the warm fuzz of doing something that matters. And who knows—you might even find a toy plane of your own.