GoodGymer Chandrima collected four portions of cauliflower soup, the biggest loaf of bread they had, and a croissant—respecting Mrs N’s strict dietary restrictions—from Humdingers Bakery soup kitchen for Children With Voices. Since Mrs N cannot get collections every day, the multiple portions ensure she has meals for several days. These were safely delivered to Mrs N’s house. ❤

At the end of this morning's session, as we were packing everything up, and a small industrious team of little volunteers were token sorting on the ground, Run Director Rue turned to us and said he was a bit disappointed as he'd expected today's turnout to be "closer to 50"...you know you're in extremely tough company when today's actual total of 47 enthusiastic runners doesn't meet the RD's clearly very high expectations on turnout...!!

At 0855 today we had one runner, and about 6 volunteers, and were wondering what we would do if that proved to be today's turnout...but as the minutes ticked towards 9 the crowds appeared from all directions, and we definitely had a parkrun to organise. After a few callouts to the crowd for last minute Marshalls and a Tail Walker, we had all the essential volunteer roles filled and were good to go.

Rue led his now infamous (I'm sure this is what draws the crowd...) Hackney Haka as the warmup act, and it was impressive to see how many of the junior runners now know all the moves by heart, before timekeeper Johnny set them off on 2 laps around the sunny Fields. Marshall Nick briefly had to step in as Tail Walker when a large gap appeared after the final runner, but it transpired that the actual Tail Walker was doing his job perfectly by stopping to check on the welfare of one of our first timers...and soon caught up the back of the pack once again.

Another close finish for the top two positions (separated by just 2 seconds), and then a steady stream of happy faces appeared in the finish funnel - the spring like conditions (and the dried out mud) clearly were inspiring as we had 14 PB's...Rue was probably thinking it should have been at least 20... See you next week for more fun at the Fields.

Met the local celebrity enforcer, Snoops the dog, clearly the head of garden security. He gave me the official sniff-approval (no tail-wagging bribes required). Solid paws-up from the top brass.

Armed with a spade and questionable digging technique, I successfully excavated 10 perfectly imperfect holes along the wall. These bad boys are now ready for their leafy occupants to move in and start photosynthesizing like bosses. The wall didn't stand a chance — it's officially on the path to becoming way more vertical jungle than vertical concrete. Feeling dirty, accomplished, and slightly watched by a very serious dog the whole time. 10/10 would dig again.

Thanks to the Hoxton Gardens crew for the good vibes and the workout. Green thumbs and PAW’s up!

Today I visited my third person in Hackney who was in need of a little help with their garden....

This lady was unable to manage her gardening due to I'll health, but it was obvious she is a keen gardener as she knows all the usual weeds and a great number of plants too.

I set about weeding both beds at the front and back gardens while the lady selectively pruned the overhanging roses.

A grand day of sunshine and such nice company too.

Today I visited a second isolated resident of Hackney in order to weed the front gardeney bit I didn't quite have time to do on my last visit...

All went well and the ground looked much better before you knew it.

A great day, lovely weather and two outta three so far.

Today I visited an isolated person in Hackney, this persons garden has seen a few visits just lately....

My prime concern today was to make one fence panel secure enough to make the lady feel safe, the last thing we want is for her to be afraid to go into her garden.

The panel now looks a bit sorry for itself and a little like a patchwork quilt. But it's now strong enough not to blow down in the wind.