Hello Chelmsford!

Both our battlecry and the theme of the night's mission. On a freezing Wednesday night we met for a walking tour led by Alan, a bit of a local legend.

Really interesting tour with some highlights below!

• County prison in 1660 was where Toni and Guy now is, presumably where Andy used to go for his crimes against fashion
• Chelmsford is named after Coelmaer's ford, from the Saxon times and that spot is the roundabout outside Tesco!
• From 1-5 July 1381 chelmsford was the capital of England! (Well technically Writtle but Leanne and Jess said that counts as Chelmsford)
• Charles Dickins stayed at the MetroBank, not a Metro at the time but a pub, check out the blue plaque, and clearly lived up to the first four letters of his surname saying after not being able to find a newspaper on a Sunday, "If any one were to ask me what in my opinion was the dullest and most stupid spot on the face of the Earth, I should decidedly say Chelmsford".
• Alan's first blue plaque in Chelmsford was Dr Ben Pugh, just above the Cornish Bakery and there for a legend who helped make Chelmsford one of the first towns to get rid of smallpox and developed a pipe to clear baby's airways after birth which is still recognised today. All some forceps which sounded unpleasant...
• In 1808 there was the great fire of Chelmsford leaving about 11 dead. Glad we don't have private fire brigades now
• Ben studied the difference between a public and a private blue plaque (Marconi on Saracen's Head). Or the drink deals, not sure which took his eye.
• Judge Tindall was the first to use grounds of insanity to not convict someone. I've attempted to use this to my wife when I miss the last train but to no avail
• Only three buildings in England have the same recipe of white stone as the part of the cathedral which retained it after the collapse when they dug a grave too close to a pillar and it all collapsed (sounds like a task GoodGym could have done better!) . The other two aren't as famous as the second smallest cathedral in England - King George Chapel in Windsor and Buckingham Palace

There was also loads more information on the tour - and Alan runs loads of these with the Chelmsford Civic Society. Check them out: https://www.chelmsfordcivicsociety.co.uk/index.html

I will be looking out for the tours of the Shire Hall once permission is received!

Armed with the local knowledge the plan is to use it for our walk and talk sessions to help develop language skills.

Happy running and wrap up warm!

7 GoodGymers got involved with this month's walk and talk, it was also Martin's first foray into run leading and it was good to see Erin back after a while off. After a word perfect introductory briefing we set off towards Central Park, dodging commuters along the way. We arrived to find Sallyann and Leanne ready and waiting and Edith and the group from the Ideas Hub arrived shortly after. We took at leisurely stroll up to Admiral's park and the gym equipment area. Rich showed off his prowess on many of the machines. There was also a monkey bar competition, but Richard decided he liked his shoulders in one piece and didn't take part, seemed sensible to me! We made our way back to Central Park and said goodbye to Edith and the group and then those that were going that way headed back to HQ where we did some excellent stretching.

Congratulations to Leanne for her 50th good deed and see you next week for some more GoodGyming.

5 of us met at the gym and quickly decided it was too hot to run, so a lovely walk and chat to the task was in order. Which was a also to be a lovely walk and chat.

Tonight we were to meet up with Edith from the Ideas Hub and meet some of the lovely people who are currently refugees and attending her English classes. We met at the cathedral and then walked along the bunny walks to Arun Park where there are many football pitches. Her classes must be popular as it seemed like at least 20 guys had turned up and ready to chat and practice their English.

We split into smaller groups and chatted away in the evening sun along the green pathway. Sayed and Jason are keen at sport and like to go swimming and to gym, and Hassan was curious if Chelmsford had a boxing gym ( I didn't know). But we all agreed we loved food and talked about our favourite dishes ( mine is whatever is in front of me).

We walked up to the Park and i unfortunately think that we have been challenged to a football match the next time we meet up ( oh dear). So better start practicing your keepy uppies peeps.

We walked back to the gym, said our goodbyes, shook hands and went our separate ways to have our dinners. Thanks for coming guys and see you next week where we will be going up to the Beaulieu Community Centre for a spot of painting.

and remember

Run ( or walk) HAPPY

Rich

It was a beautiful evening to have a short jog into town and meet The Ideas Hub for another walk & talk mission.

We met some new people and had a slow mooch towards Oaklands park to shake things up after our gym session in Admirals park last month.

It was decider that the weather right now is mostly lovely (apart from the odd shower) but that November is definitely not ok and I think we can all agree with that.

As we hit the park we met a great big greyhound, perhaps a Labrador (should have taken pictures) and a Romanian rescue. Many ear scratches were had and I think we should make it a side mission to meet as many dogs as we can while good-deeding.

The museum was closed but it sounds like a few of the group might head back to check it out soon and hopefully enjoy some more sunshine in the park over the weekend.

See you at parkrun on Saturday! and keep an eye on your handbags.

Only 7 of us met at the gym last night but we doubled in numbers for maybe one of our biggest groups (?) to hang out with The Ideas Hub and friends in the park.

Richard made a surprise appearance, spotted Mohammed maybe doing some warmup laps before 6.30. Leah provided mobile security services (the car boot) and Rich was very happy to talk about his new shoes to someone other than poor Jane. Martin arrived and we were all officially early to set off for a loop of the park before 6.45.

At the park we found Fay and Sallyann and waited for Edith from the Ideas Hub.

The plan was to chat and have fun with some people who have recently moved to town and want to practice English where it might not be their first (or second!) language. It was clear that football is universal, and there was some light jesting about who is currently losing to who while we walked to the gym equipment in Admirals park for a very serious and structured work out.

And by that I obviously mean have a mess about.

The plan is to do some more of these going forward, so if you want to show us how many chin-ups you can do or just have a wiggle on the surfer, come and have a chat!

We started our Wednesday evening with our first group attempt at Beat the Street - it started out with military precision, but it all slowed down a bit whilst we tried to get the app to work. David definitely had the right idea with the card to tap instead, and Rich somehow ended up as IT support.

After our convoluted journey to fit in four Beat the Street boxes, we made it to the task and met our host and Sallyann who had been on her own Beat the Street journey en route to the task.

We were shown the white Community Wall to paint, and the blue paint to use. In less than 20 minutes, the wall was done! David, Erin, Jenny, Richard and Sallyann turned the wall blue in no time, whilst Andy and Jess (in her own painting shirt) reached the tough spots at the top.

With no washing up to be done, we had time for the second part of the task, which was edging another wall in blue. Rich and Angela set up and project managed, until Russell painted the wrong side of the tape, requiring a hasty wipe with a tea towel (which went better than we all expected). Richard and Leanne got to those hard to reach corners, getting this part of the task done in no time at all! Joe got some great action shots, showing the whole group hard at work and the wall in various stages of blue.

After showing how much we can do in a short space of time with a bit less chatting, we headed back for another round of Beat the Street, and then most of us got changed and went to enjoy our curry. I think we'll all be back to Balti King again with our 50% off vouchers!

See some of you on Sunday for the run!

Laurie