The head torches were out for this week's session for SIN Cru.

A tidy team of four, Beth, Scott and I ran from central Cambridge and met Christopher at the task, choosing to take the bike fresh off his half marathon sprint.

We enjoyed a melodic welcome from the dogs and were briefed by Lucy on the evening's jobs

Scott wasted no time digging up an intrusive weed with very deep roots, while I filled a pot with compost to transfer a selection of nettles. We were tasked with clearing an area, saving some for use in cooking. Despite the recent rain, the ground was tough and required a bit of strength to get them out. Not a challenge for Scott who had a massive plant up and out in no time. With it freshly planted, the rest of the area was cleared and we turned our attention to support Beth and Chris with planter building.

At a session over the summer, we'd cut the wood down to size and this week we were attaching the panels to make planters. Chris jumped at the chance to use the electric drill and while a simple enough task on the surface, a little while in, it became clear that the screws weren't long enough to get through the planks of wood. Cue intense discussions between carpentry expert, Scott, and DIYer, Chris, to work through the different options. Sadly, none were viable and we felt a little defeated until Lucy pointed out that the other planks were thinner. Feeling like planks, but with new found purpose, we continued. Beth and Scott were holding the planks steady while Chris and I added the screws (my manual method proving no less effective, but rather less efficient). A team effort, overseen by site manager Beth, we soon had two planters (one with a slightly wonky side) ready to be dug in.

There's always plenty of time for a chat at this task and we enjoyed a good debrief of all our recent races, heard about some rather lovely holidays, and briefly discussed head torch etiquette (eyes down!).

To top off the session, we had a little celebration for Chris who has reached 10 Good Deeds. Congratulations! The tub of Glacé cherries is noted for your 50... 🍒

We were delighted to be going back to support Coton Loves Pollinators at their allotment this week.

Meeting in central Cambridge, we took a lovely cycle out to Coton and were greeted by a lovely sign welcoming us 😊 Naturally, we stopped for a quick picture. We said hi to Bridget and were soon down in the allotment having briefing on the jobs for the evening. We were all struck by the beauty of the pollinator patch with the variety of flowers creating a stunning mix of colours and textures. And most satisfying was seeing the huge sunflowers with hundreds of heads, the result of our last visit were we spent some time planting them 🌻

After many photos, we got started on our three jobs for us this visit:

Caroline and Chris were gathering fresh compost (any excuse to use a wheelbarrow) before planting out allium and irises. Guided by local, Annalise, the result was an incredibly neat bed, pictured beautifully by Caroline under the moon. 🌝

I was working with Becky and Izzy to carefully remove a vast amount of verbena that had taken over one corner of the existing pollinator patch, to transfer to a new patch in the orchard were it will support bees and other pollinators. Being a pretty robust plant, the existing patch will be a burst of colour again next year too. 🐝

The third task was levelling the ground under the polytunnel ready to create growing spaces. It required the big guns, both our own and the tools, to break the very dry earth with a mattock. It was very physical work, so we took it in turns, passing the mattock like a relay baton. In around 40 minutes, the area was looking much flatter, and Izzy finished off the job by covering it in old sacks. We very much enjoyed the stress release nature of this task! ⛏️

We really noticed the season change this evening, finishing the task in the cool twilight, under the light of a very bright moon. Head torch season is coming!

At the end of the task we were treated to tea and delicious homemade scones, warm from the oven. With lashings of butter, they really hit the spot after some hard graft. We enjoyed hearing about bat sightings (we even saw one ourselves 🦇) and the bat surveys that happen in the orchard, as well as Bridget's echinacea purchasing - why by one when you can buy 60?? Exciting plans and we look forward to seeing how the patch looks in the spring.

The last Thursday of the month is social night, so if this wasn't enough fun for one evening, we stopped via the pub on the way home where it was a pleasure to meet new GoodGymer, Giugiu, who came along to meet us before joining a task soon 👋

A truly special way to finish our Thursday night allotment sessions for the season 💛

We were back at Jimmy's this evening for our monthly dinner service. On the menu this week: shepherd's pie & veg, with chocolate cake & chocolate custard! 😋

Keen to make the most of the sunny evening, Christopher, Catherine and I met beforehand for a 3km jog around Parker's Piece. Despite the surprisingly bracing wind, it was a delight to enjoy the last of the sun whilst we caught up and discussed about the task ahead ☀️

Energised by our run and raring to go, we were soon stopped in our tracks: the pies weren't hot enough! And so began the waiting game, checking periodically and hoping for the magic 75 °C. Entertaining ourselves with a game of 'guess the probe', it finally reached 78 °C - not quite the monumental effort of 97 °C the night before, but it was what we needed! Forming a slick 3 person production line, I dished up the pie, Chris served veg and gravy (sometimes a little too enthusiastically) and Catherine was on dessert. We soon made up for lost time and after a decent shift, had everything cleaned up! 🫧

Fantastic work again, team. It took a little longer than usual but we pulled together and did it with a laugh and a smile - as per the GoodGym Cambridge way! 🙌

We had a mighty cru for our visit to SIN Cru's Definately Real Build site for this week's group session, and Lucy had a plethora of tasks ready for us.

After some great relief all round at slightly delayed meeting time Alice, Beth, Chris, Kate and Scott were on route to Arbury. I was held up, and had to run double speed to arrive on time, only to bump into the group (quite literally) round a corner on route. Soon after, we were passed by Becky and Caroline whizzing past on bikes 🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️

We were serenaded by the beautiful huskies as we arrived, which is always a treat 🎶

With a good group and many tasks, we divided and conquered:

🪏 Kate, Chris and Beth got straight to weeding, finding the marrow particularly stubborn. It called for spades, loppers and a hoe.

🪻Becky was weeding the wildflower patch and sowing new seeds, delicately trampling the soil to embed them.

🌱 Caroline was put in charge of heavy machinery and set about mowing the lawn. She then had fun aerating it - there's something very satisfying about stabbing the ground repeatedly with sturdy garden tools.

🍂 Alice and I were turning the compost and disposing of green waste. Thankfully we had proper spades rather than the kitchen forks we nearly ended up with after a little misinterpretation.

🪚 Scott was in his happy place with a saw in hand. In the space of 45 minutes he'd turned discarded pallet planks into planters. They were a sight to behold!

The site was a hive of activity and the time flew! We just had time before heading back to capture some excellent group shots featuring Scott's planters and a very photogenic dog 📸

Movement, good deeds, dog fussing and plenty of laughter, all in all a great evening. Well done team 🙌