Ana and I arrived at Mrs M's from different directions this sunny afternoon to move some bags of garden waste, a small sandpit and a surprisingly heavy pool table, which had clearly seen better days. We had as an audience Mrs M's friendly cat, who was clearly keen to get involved in the action too. With everything shifted to where it could be collected, the chimes of the local ice cream van got louder and it conveniently pulled into Mrs M's street - we both resisted the temptation, but we may have spied Mrs M popping out for a welcome cone...

What better way to celebrate the message of the Big Plastic Count (Reduce Reuse Recycle) than to do a two for one special task helping out our friends at Get Rid of and Donate (GROAD).

GROAD directly benefits those underprivileged, impoverished communities and people in need of that extra support, providing immediate assistance with free clothing, shoes, and other living essentials and we were helping spread the word to the community around Brixton Water Lane so people could make donations of pre-used and pre-loved items to be redistributed.

Mark met AA Yianny at Papa's while we agreed with Louise and Jo to meet on the way as well as Marie-Noelle our resident walk leader!

We set off in 2s and 3s down various roads and by 8pm a huge stack of flyers had been reduced to almost nothing - and we barely got sprinkled on to boot, although just enough for a rainbow to appear, so that was a bonus :0)

It is a simple but satisfying task and one that we hope will make a big difference to GROAD in their search for donations to give a deserved 2nd life to. If you are interested in supporting GROAD why not sign up for one of our weekly Sunday sessions at St Faith's Church where the donations are packed and sorted? Check out the links below for the next couple (and they run every week!) https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/taking-in-and-sorting-donations-for-get-rid-of-donate-can-you-help-53ba1ab7-a400-46ad-ac04-765dbe637b52

https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/taking-in-and-sorting-donations-for-get-rid-of-donate-can-you-help-553fd5fc-f470-49a1-997e-a027c55df4a2

Big thanks to all and see you next time!

Loughborough Park is a "Site of Importance for Nature Conservation" in recognition of its importance not just for wildlife, but also for people to enjoy access to nature.

Local residents and communities are now working to deliver a programme of improvements which will secure the park's future for all ages, interests and abilities to enjoy.

Our task today was to cut back and prune a large, invasive bush which was dominating a mound in the middle of the park and stifling other growth. There was a lot of it, but we took to the task with a variety of gardening tools; it took us an hour and a half, but we did an amazing job clearing the central area.

6 bags were filled putting a good dent into the weeding for Ms R - still some to go but the patio is clear for sitting out in the spring sunshine ☀️

The session began with the distribution of a giant slab of marge. Less slicing, more lumberjacking. The delivery arrived and a huge load of food was unpacked and stored away.

The core Lambeth team was back in action last night as we had a last minute call for help from the Friends of Loughborough Park and Farm.

AA Yianny met with returning Task Force legend Katie, Mark and Tilly at Papa's in advance of heading over to the arches at Loughborough Junction.

Everything was coming up roses, having Katie back after a while away, Tilly bringing some very positive news, Mark keeping up his streak, the sun and blue sky above our heads making this the official start of GoodGym Spring!

We set a very good pace and within 10 minutes were over at the arches 1.5kms away where Heather was ready to meet us. We were also joined by Jo coming straight from work - great effort Jo!

Our task was a simple one, to move all the planks from under the arches over to the pallets on the other side of the site and once we were joined by the rest of the FoLP team including Karen and Alice things could really get moving. Looking at the pile there was probably in excess of 250 boards but the team made light work of it, carrying singles, doubles, triples, quads and even eight a time on the trolley!

We then wrapped the session (literally) by placing the tarps over the pile to protect them from the elements and then it was time to head back to base.

We had time on the way back to discuss GoodGym Lambeth book club and a general love-in for the works of Murakami and of course the GG London social this Thursday - check out the link below and hope to see lots of you there :0) https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/gg-london-monthly-social

Thanks everyone and see you next week!