Many will know that it's become tradtion

To write a fairytale about this mission

Where an old allotment keeper's plot is cleared

Of treasures collected over a hundred years.

But Legendary Leanne gets easily bored

Of doing the same things for the same applause,

So she thought that this might be a good time

To weave a tale, inspired by Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes.

--

In previous weeks the GG Yorkies had been

To give an allotment in Holgate a big spring clean,

They'd chopped back brambles and dug out roots,

Then emptied the shed of all its loot.

They carried old tools, treasures and knick knacks

And piled them up at the end of the track.

Then, they burned all the wood they found

In a blazing fire that lit up (a bit too much) ground.

--

Now, those in the know can tell you straight

That the heart of a goodgymer isn't really that great -

You see, the thing that they crave isn't growth and construction,

What they really want is chaos and destruction.

This is why a task to demolish a shed

Got eight red clad knights out of their beds.

I know this is true because you could easily spy

A dangerous destructive glint in their eyes.

--

They started by talking about health and safety

(Which is something you always have to do lately).

Some sensible knights topped their armour with masks

Because it was sure to be a dusty task.

They ventured inside to tear out cupboards and shelves

And remove some glass, to protect themselves

From the carnage that was soon to be created

When the shed was recklessly decimated.

--

James and Ben tore off the door

Becca and Jane rolled up carpet from the floor

Vicky separated the metal, plastic and wood,

Jen carried them away from where the shed stood

Then James stepped in a pane of glass,

So Ellie swooped in to save his ass,

And in a calm and efficient manner

She broke all the windows with a sledge hammer.

Some joined in to pick up the shards

While others were still working hard

to bring that shed down to the ground

(and rehome all the spiders we found).

Helen emptied a butt of water -

Leanne wasn't impressed when the splashes caught her!

But at least it gave them a bit more room

To spread out the wreckage when the shed met its doom.

--

Soon only half of the shed remained,

It's solid foundations now barely sustained,

It was time to use some real brute force

To bring it crashing down - of course!

Ben stepped up and grabbed the hammer

In a confident, enthusiastic manner

It made the onlooking goodgymers drool

to see Ben wield such a manly tool

He took his aim and swung it back

He made contact with a mighty crack

At first it didn't make much of a difference

But each blow added more significance

Until the shed roof dramatically tumbled

And the rotten wood below finally crumbled.

--

When the hour was up, I must confess,

There was still an awful lot of mess,

So everyone, without grumbling

(even though their tummies were rumbling)

Stuck around to create some kind of order

Within that large allotment border.

We left a lot of wood behind

So check the GG website, and soon you'll find

Another task listed for next week

to tidy up (so to speak -

There will in fact be a blazing fire

For everybody to admire.)

And so with that, we can put to bed

The tale of the magical allotment shed.

This morning at York Community Woodland Parkrun (Or YoCoWo some people are disappointed to hear it's becoming known as!) some of the GG crew stepped in to Car park marshall, course marshall, funnel manage, number check and deliver the first timers briefing.

Shout out to Nick for the most effort - he not only did two different volunteering roles, but also managed to run too!

It was back to Holgate Allotments for tonight's task but before we set off we had a fair bit of cheering to do. First off we welcomed newcomer Jody who was joining us for her first ever goodgym session. Welcome Jody! 👋

We also gave a big round of applause to everyone who had taken part in the Snake Lane 10miler over the weekend. There were PBs for Jane, James, Amy and Ed as well as an excellent showing from Neil, Leanne, Nick and Steve. Well done guys 💪

Over the weekend Stef had also completed his 400th parkrun at the York Community Woodland event (or YoCoWo for short). Awesome work Stef!

Finally it was time to set off to the task with Ed leading the run out and Laura backmarking, whilst Nikki led a small walking group and Vicky led a steadier running crew. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Helen who swiftly got one group underway on cutting back some bramble along the side of Holgate beck, whilst the rest of the group were given the very simple instruction of getting everything clear from the shed!

Before too long, there were all sorts of old tools making their way from the shed and down the line of able GoodGymers before being taken back towards the top of the allotments. Sam was our man in the shed, with Vicky coordinating the movements on the outside whilst the rest of the group did an excellent job of running back and forth with various items including an awful lot of spade handles, screws, saws, and what appeared to be a giant corkscrew.

As efficient as ever, the GG crew got the shed completely cleared with time to spare and so as a bonus shifted a few other items from the allotment including a very heavy oil drum which Jamie and Nick duly rolled all the way back to the top of the allotments, much to the delight of Paul Kelly who thought it resembled a barrel from Donkey Kong!

With the shed and brambles all clear and the rain starting to pour down, we stopped for our team photo and a quick but complex fitness sesh that involved holding a squat position and attempting to get out of it without moving at the same time as anyone else. Turns out it's easier to manage with 13 people but significantly harder in a group of 26!

It was then back to the Ackhorne for a quick stretch and a pint for a small group of thirsty volunteers