Tuesday 19th June 2018
Report written by John Hunter (he/him)
32 runners ran 5km to help out Bee Urban by beeing distinctly un-urban and getting on with a variety of garden tasks.
Bees!, said Oprah.
Close. Stuffy. Claggy. Your thesaurus will tell you that these are all acceptable synonyms for the weather on the evening of GoodGym Lambeth's trip up to help Barna-bee (B for short) at social enterprise Bee Urban. But, hey, sweat is just fat crying (was it Richard Simmons who first said that?) so you didn't hear any complaining from our raring runners.
We kicked off with a warm welcome (partially because it was already so warm) to newcomers Luke , Felicity , Eleanor , Gavin, and Suzi - HIYA! Then Issy and Vic led half the group on a slightly longer run up Clapham Road, while Elise led the other half slap bang up Brixton road.
Fortunately for the bees and perhaps less fortunately for the runners and riders of GG Lambeth, there was a surplus of help to be had on arrival at Kennington Park, and so the group split into two - with one half being subjected to GRUELLING PHYSICAL EXERCISE. But don't worry readers, the groups swapped half way through.
"PHEW" thought the readers.
One half got straight to the rural urban bee-saving tasks such as watering the plants that the bees get all that sweet nectar from, or moving bits of wooden structure that support the hives. Someone even gave Tim and some others little hammers, and they could be found making bits of honeycomb hive inserts for the bees to run around in and somehow turn plant juice into delicious honey.
"I made a thing" said Tim, holding a hammer.
The other half lined up, with 'really up for this exercise' at one end, and 'not feeling this at all' on the other end. Four groups were then made along the line and different circuits were given to each group, varying in intensity from 'ooh that's hard' to 'ah that's quite manageable'. The idea being that all groups should finish their circuits at the same time. It largely worked. Lucy wasn't convinced, but she was still a bit sad about Murray getting knocked out of Queen's and no amount of jump squats was going to change that.
"I am sad that fellow Scotsman Andy Murray has been knocked out of Queen's" said Lucy, lunging.
Bees helping and concerted squatting done, it was back to Brixton for a trip to the pub's lovely beer garden. Cheers!
BeeUrban is a honeybee-centric social enterprise based in Kennington, South London, which aims to positively influence the urban environment through supporting local people and promoting positive, ecologically sound practice around urban greening, building, farming and particularly bee-keeping. It’s not just about bees, people are equally important to Bee Urban. They work with everyone, whatever your age, level of experience or need. BeeUrban are particularly skilled in working with vulnerable adults, including those with mental health needs and learning difficulties.
See moreSun 24th Jun 2018 at 8:12pm
Excellent run report name
Lambeth
Providing food distributions to those in need