Goodgym Chelmsford hit the alleyways and streets of Springfield for a very decent run (and some jeffing! https://www.220triathlon.com/training/run-training/jeffing-what-it-is-and-how-to-try-it/ ) before joining the Early Years Staff from Springfield Primary School to fork, pick-ax, dig and turn over a patch of land. Together we were able to de-weed the area and got the planter tyres in place for the children to plant, play and learn from!

The marvelous staff were happy for the help and efforts on a job that would have taken a lot longer without six extra pairs of hands, especially needed for some very stubborn roots!

So, in the spirit of the occasion and the obvious Simpson's link, here is a classic Lisa Simpson quote: "Don't You Think We Ought To Attack The Roots Of Our Social Problems "

This week we were back at St John Church Hall for the first time this year. We met up just at the entrance where we were given our various tasks by Stephen.

Kirk and Russell D were first tasked with breaking down some rather large fallen branches to get them in to one of the brown bins which took no time at all.

Rachel and Caroline joined Stephen with repainting the kitchen, something which we originally did about two years ago, but it needed a bit of a fresh coat after some new cupboards were recently installed.

Russell D put his body on the line to destroy the brambles behind the hall and pull them out from the roots. Taking a few scrapes to his bare legs, he looked like he’d just done a round of the Barkley Marathons. Toby raked the fallen brambles into the clearing, where Joel, Lucy and Kirk broke them down and put them in the brown bin. There was talk of climbing in the bin to compact all the plant matter, which was doing my anxiety no favours!! Thankfully though, Kirk used this as an opportunity to release some stress and knocked it all down with his rake instead, whew.

Thanking Joel for the pun, it really was a great effort by everyone and we finished the jobs in no time at all. Showing yet more of that wonderful GoodGym spirit, Toby and Kirk even took the brown bins back to the church as we said our goodbyes. Thanks for coming everyone, see you all again soon!!

On another hot, hot, hot Wednesday, some crazy GoodGym runners and cyclists decided rather than staying cool at home, to go out and get active, meeting up at the Sanctus allotment to continue our great work so far getting it cleared of all the overgrown weeds. As we were waiting for everyone to show I’m sure a young boy said “thanks for doing good” as he passed us on his way to the playground, maybe I was mistaken but it certainly sounded like that. Anyhow, this week we welcomed Caroline on her first GoodGym session, I hope you enjoyed it Caroline and look forward to seeing you again soon at another session in the future. We also welcomed back Kirk for his first task in some time and David for his first session since he returned from his stay up north.

On to the task and we picked up where we left off last week, clearing more of the weeds from the allotment which is really starting to take shape, but there is still a lot to be done. Using forks, shovels and shears we teared down more of the overgrowth. Andy had bought his trousers with him to protect his legs from all the bitey bugs, even though it was hot it seemed like a smart move. David showed me what a soil sieve is as he worked on turning over a patch of soil, and Leanne taught me how to grow grass so we can make the bits around the any beds we make look nice. And Lucy and Kirk helped identify things that weren’t Rhubarb and were safe for the chop.

The hour flew by yet again. As we got near to packing away we spotted either a Kestrel or Buzzard (where's Rich when you need him) hovering above the allotment, looking like it had spotted something, quite a lovely sight and one I just about managed to capture on camera.

Tools back in the shed we took our usual route out of the allotment via the curious chickens and discussed our upcoming social in July and the imminent return of Group Runs! Oh, the excitement!

Well done for all your hard work everyone, especially on such a hot evening, see you all again soon!!