It was raining last Wednesday, but by 6pm, the rain had cleared, just in time for our group run! Meeting at Old Spike were Mikhail, David, Nelly, Daryl, Nathan and Isaac. We were also joined by newbie Eva. After a quick warm-up and an ice breaker ("What is your favourite fruit?" in celebration of National Peach Day), we set off for a new task, at Lordship Lane Estate.

Meeting at the task were Anna and Maria who were there already by the time we arrived. Liam arrived later - a familiar and friendly face from the past - welcome back! Also there to help were some volunteers from the estate.

The task owner, Lizzie gave us a warm welcome and quickly put us to work. We helped with a wide range of tasks: raking, weeding, tidying, planting and even harvesting. By the end, the garden was looking a lot tidier. We'd filled multiple bags full of litter and weeds. And a date sorted for returning next month!

We ran back to Peckham, with a small detour up Dawson's hill for the sunset. And then to the pub. Great job all!

It was inspiring to visit Ms L’s council-owned eco-home, where cool energy saving features inside – including large double-glazed windows to reduce the need for heating and lighting – are complemented by solar panels outside and a pretty green garden. Proud of her flowering plants and mature shrubs, Ms L wanted some help with pruning taller branches from a step ladder. It was a quick job to neaten things up, and I left the trimmings for Ms L to chop into smaller pieces for composting.

We were joined last minute by Emma, who had heard there were blackberries to rip up. So after a short hop, skip and a jump we set off to Thorlands.

After arriving slightly early we were met by Simon, who explained we needed to move leaf mould and take out the blackberries, which had taken over too much of the community garden. So we got to work and managed to clear a significant area of the blackberry while the other half of the group transported many barrows of mould.

After the hard work and the job back to Peckham we cooled off at the Nags.

On a warm summer evening, we set off from Old Spike and made our way—running the 5.5 km (with a little unplanned detour) to Blackfriars Estate. It was a long group run, but the sense of pride when we arrived made every step worth it.

There, we were warmly welcomed by Corin and got straight to work, shifting heavy bags of soil to clear space for the final stages of their landscaping project. It was serious, sweaty lifting, but as a team we got the job done.

With the task complete, we made the return journey to Old Spike—tired, but with that satisfying feeling of a mission accomplished.

Had some time this morning to help out Andy and Barbara to set up the SE5 Forum market stall at Camberwell Green Farmer's market

It's been a while since I assisted Ms. S, but she was grateful for me stopping by after work to buy her seven items from three different stores and just going slightly over budget, but nothing to break the bank.

A good way to start the weekend.