Monday 23rd October 2023
Report written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
Our job for our Monday group session last night was one that didn't come without its own challenges - a dearth of tools, drizzly conditions and more than a little bit of mud - but it was one that promises to bring great joy in a few short months!
First we had the pleasure of welcoming Christine and Hannah to their very first GoodGym session, and to give Andrew a big shout out as we didn't have a chance last week. Really great to have you all join us!
After a quick warm up where we discussed our favourite meal (brunch and breakfast were the clear winners), we headed down to the Falcon Estate in Battersea to meet Senia, who heads up a local community group. The organisation had several hundreds bulbs donated to them in a bid to make the space as welcoming to local people as possible, to curb antisocial behaviour and create more biodiversity. It was our job to get them in the ground - and deep enough that the little squirrel shaped thieves couldn't get their paws on them.
We were raring to go, but our first hurdle was that there weren't quite enough tools to go around. So while half the group got stuck into planting, the other half went off with Senia to find the elusive palm tree somewhere on the estate and give it a good prune.
The planting team soon got into a good rhythm and were joined not long after by the others. This batch of bulbs are sure to be a blooming success as we had the benefit of the expertise of a soil scientist uncovering several worms who were making a quick(ish) getaway from our trowels and forks.
Great job everybody - we'll take a run down there in Spring to admire the fruits of our labours! If that wasn't enough work, we took a short jog over to the local park to take on a Every Minute On the Minute fitness session. This involved trying to fit in a certain number of reps of different exercises every minute and finished with a brutal squat thrust or squat challenge. Brilliant effort from everyone.
Next week we have our monthly run to Doddington, this time with a spooky theme followed by our pub quiz social.
We also have a junior parkrun takeover coming up, plus a special women's safety night run https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/women-only-night-safety-run - I'd love to see loads of you there!
Wandsworth
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