Bromley’s Cator Park is looking especially beautiful today thanks not just to its dazzling displays of daffodils but also the litter picking efforts of GoodGymers Tony, Claire and Laura. After an hour’s work, chatting as they went, the grass and borders are free of rubbish – meaning less pollution, fewer hazards for wildlife, and a spick and span space for locals to enjoy.

Meanwhile, Linda helped the Friends of the Park to inspect the playground, paths and planted areas, listing any jobs needed over coming months. Watch out for future sessions if you want to help out: tasks could include installing a hedgehog house and rainwater butts, securing sapling stakes, filling holes in lawns, and building a wattle fence to protect piled logs providing a habitat for insects and other creatures.

Laura and I joined John from the Crystal Palace Museum following a very wet and muddy CP Park Run with Mark. To keep warm, we quickly got to work uncovering some ceramic water pipes which were covered in soil and vegetation. John explained that Brunel installed the pipes to keep the Palace cool so that condensation didn’t form on its big windows. Clever stuff!

The pipes had cracked in places so we had to work slowly to be careful not to damage them but we ultimately managed to uncover a decent section. In doing so I also found a bird skull (see photos) and some McDonalds wrappers from the 1990s 😬

Was a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning and it’s been so satisfying to see the progress we’ve made on this project over the last year.