On Monday we headed to St Mary's Church to help with various tasks, we were due to be inside the church but the bell ringers and brass band were practicing which meant we were outside tackling the mountain of woodchip whilst being serenaded by the bell ringers.

As well as shifting the woodchip, part of the group also tackling the watering of the plants and filling up the pond with rain water.

The woodchip pile was looking a bit lower than when we started and the graves had a generous amount of woochip around them. It was good to see the plants that we planted on our last visit have survived the lack of rain and looked like they were thriving!

We were then spoilt by St Mary's who always provide us with cups of tea and cakes and then it was time for the brass band to serenade us!

Next week is another shorter run to RUSS!

We love our monthly sessions at Holy Trinity Lamorbey Primary School, where Vice Principal Jane always has something different to keep us busy.

This time, we were delighted to be joined by the Mayor of Bexley, Councillor Lisa-Jane Moore, and her Consort, Justin Moore.

They ran to our meeting point at Sidcup Leisure Centre, where there was time for some official photos with our runners and walkers, ceremonial chains and all, before we set off for the school.

Taking different routes to accommodate the different paces of the running group and the walking group, we all rendezvous-ed at the school with those who had made their own way there.

We had great fun presenting the Mayor and Consort with red GG T-shirts, which they promptly put on, along with their chains, for some more official photos!

Then it was down to work.

🌿 Some of us cut back brambles and low-hanging branches in the outdoor learning area, ferrying the cuttings across the site to a compost pile.

🥕 Others cleared the planters in the vegetable-growing area.

🎨 A third team set about painting a fence.

🔨 And the final team were due to construct a flat-pack grow house, but that plan was scuppered when we discovered there were no screws in the box!

As the light faded, more paintbrushes were found and the fence became a flurry of activity, with a couple of people holding torches aloft to provide some much-needed light.

It's brilliant how much we managed to get done in just an hour, although that long fence is definitely going to need another visit to get it finished!

With all the equipment packed away we moved into the school reception area for some well-earned cake and a final team photo, before heading home.

Another fantastic session, loads done, and plenty of community spirit along the way.

Next month Jane has indoor jobs lined up for us, so sign-up now to join the fun.

It was a small, but mighty group that left Glass Mill taking the scenic route through Brookmill Park (there were once lots of mills along the Ravensbourne) to The Albany, meeting Joseph at the door. We were given a brief tour - seeing the stage where a former Area Activator had once performed.

Its Open House weekend fairly soon and we were given video instructions as to what was needed - moving one side of a pile of wood chip to paths in the garden area. It was the first task of the season that needed head torches to see help with the raking on the path.