On what seemed to be the first day of summers evening, 6 of us met at HQ outside the Old Factory Gym ready to have a lovely chatty slow jog up to Broomfield allotments where we would meet Sallyann and Jess. There we would turn over a plot for an elderly gentleman, ready so he could start planting in. Leah was running late from work and as she lived nearby said she'll meet us enroute or at the task.

So we set off, with Ben leading the way and explaining how his sore shoulder actually turned out to be broken 🤯, but all healed now🥰. And as we passed a man watering his garden Jane exclaimed from nowhere "Nice tulips" to his and our surprise and also Jen's giggles.

We arrived still in sunshine ( it really makes all the difference) and set to work on the plot with fork and spade and a tool that you twist to break up the soil... which i have now learned is called a Tiller ( as being demonstrated by Jane in a photo). Chatting as we worked, Joel took some great photos and videos for the socials, one of which if you zoom in, looks like Jess is shouting at Leah but she promises she wasn't 😂

With a job well done we packed up and set off back to HQ as the sun set. Thanks for coming guys, it really makes a difference to the people we help. As Joel pointed out, 9 people doing 30 mins work = 4.5 hours for a single person. So well done all.

We'll be back at broomfield allotments in 2 weeks, but next week David will be leading us to an allotment closer to base for Age Concern. So if you are free next Wednesday come along for more chatty tilling.... ( look at me getting all horticultural 😂)

until then

RUN HAPPY 🥰

Rich

• We were diggin' in the rain,
• Just diggin' in the rain,
• What a glorious feeling,
• Doing Goodgym again!
• I'm laughing at Martin
• So dark up above,
• The runs in my heart and we're ready for love!
• Let the stormy clouds chase
• Everyone at sexy pace,
• Come on with your rain,
• I've got a smile on my face!
• I'll walk down to see Jane
• With a happy refrain,
• Just diggin'', diggin' in the rain!

Oh, and Sallyann dug up loads of bulbs she should't have done, Martin stabbed a fork through his head, and Mohammed brought an umbrella!

Great turnout. Great group. Rogue task.

We arrived at the Old Factory excited for a long weekend upcoming and even more so for the return of Joel after a hiatus to welcome a new baby into the world. Andy actually made a great quip about Joel not coming since his first child, funny but harsh on the GG stalwart. We welcomed Elliot back from Portugal for his third run, Tina from a work crisis for her second run, and Nicole from a restaurant in Norwich which had a conveyor belt of cheese for her first run!

We jogged up to Broomfield allotment, with Joe taking immaculate photos of leaping goodgymers on route, eager to begin. We met Sallyann fresh off her starring social media role (see below) and Fay. However! Alas! Donna was no where to be found. (A case of crossed wires). So we got the four shortest GG'ers to pose by the tallest sunflowers we could find. Laurie was ecstatic to find out she towers over the national average by a solid half inch.

Fortunately the wonderful Pam stepped in to save the day and got us watering the plots for the older people at the allotments. I attempted my best Sir David Attenborough impression for Fay leading the watering can refilling in her usual role as head honcho. Pam not only saved the day but shared with us some of her tomatoes, showcased beautifully by Ben. Hopefully all the watering cans made it back to their various homes!

After we headed back to base we discussed the forgotten merits and benefits of the hovercraft, which Russell is trying to buy two of for Essex because....bants and such. Erin is abiding by the results of the GG poll and changing her DJ name to EK47 in tribute to Pistol Pete.

Next week we are off to Moulsham Mill to tidy their garden ahead of the garden party launch and this will be led by Angela, whose superb artistic photos can be spied in tonight's run report.

Well well well...if Joe isn't now a local celebrity after his doppelganger starred in the sixth commandment (watch it now on the bbc). So we posed as the famous senses: smell, taste, sight, hearing, touch, and murder. Joel may be the next victim after we waited for him and he hadn't realised he had signed up...

After that jovial start - we trotted up to Broomfield and I marvelled at Richard doing the three peaks this weekend. Next stop Everest!

We separated into two groups and attacked the two beds. Weeds, wood, bricks, grass were to be disposed of, and the delicious smelling mint was retained. Fay didn't enjoy me throwing grass in her hair for some reason but we did a great job nonetheless. You can see by the before and after photos.

After we headed back we had a brief chat about musical abilities. Andy had a senior moment thinking he could use a comb - clearly been too long since he knew what a comb was for - and then psyched up for the brewery 10k tomorrow .

One more week to go for Jog On! We have six pairs now.

We'd known all along that Goodgym being open to runners of all abilities was sexy - but now we have a Guardian article to prove it: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jul/24/slow-running-revolution-sexy-pace-enjoy-the-race

Joe has a multi-billion dollar idea to do a dating app based on running. Watch this space.

Anyway, onto the run! After an incredibly modest firework display to showcase my majestic victory at last week's brewery 10k, we set off to Broomfield. Decent pace on the way there to meet Fay and Sallyann, but wait! Sallyann was no where to be seen! After she arrived, Andy certain she had been at the pub, she dived right into turning the bed and flattening the ground. That's more than can be said for Rich, who didn't appear to be doing anything, so naturally he posed while I lobbed grass at him and it didn't photo well.

We did a great job and thanked Donna before heading back. Got honked on the run and arrived back in some rain.

Remember: Barbie viewing soon (Andy will be wearing a pink tutu), pub quiz at the ale house, Harry Potter quiz, free alcohol free beer from Athletic Brewing after the run on the 23rd, and perhaps also Back-Inn Time too. waiting on Joel to sort a date for that...

We were very pleased to see Leanne for the first time in a while and Jenny for the first time in a couple of weeks. Joe and Joel remembered to bring/pop home to get their old running shoes to donate to JogOn, and Richard nearly brought his. If you have a pair you no longer need, please bring them to a GoodGym session by the end of July so we can post them off.

We jogged up to Broomfield in the sunshine and found Fay and Sallyann already working on the task. Our task for the evening was to dig over a bed on the Men's Shed plot, to prepare for a new greenhouse.

In typical GoodGym fashion, the group made light work of the digging, whilst discussing pub quiz success on Sunday (including Erin's special subject of old wives tales), locations for socials and getting to know each other better. On this occasion, the food locations were Back Inn Time, and trying out Chelmsford's local cafe's for breakfast (all suggestions welcome). The getting to know each other segment was finding out that Joel has a different interpretation of 'top of' (e.g., the road) than the rest of us, which was confusing for everyone involved.

Next Thursday we're heading to the beer festival - sign up and find the link to buy tickets here

On Thursday 20th July (Joel's birthday) a few of us are doing the Chelmsford Brew Co 10k Trail Run - sign up and find the link to buy tickets here

See you all soon,

Laurie