Wednesday 6th June 2018
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Report written by Ant Withstandley
Missionaries
Given the biblical nature of tonight's Good Gym Waltham Forest (GGWF) task, it somehow felt prescient that twelve runners embarked on tonight's mission to transform St. Mary's Churchyard back to its former glory.
Those of us who know our way around the Bible (or Wikipedia in my case) will not need reminding that twelve apostles worked for Jesus - presumably in a voluntary capacity too. Iconography aside we did a great job tonight and not just for the Church but for Walthamstow as St Mary's Churchyard must be one of the sweetest spots in the borough and is enjoyed equally by pilgrims and pedestrians.
Nice to see you
It was great to welcome GG veterans Hanna and Rob to GGWF today and a special welcome to Hanna who is now a fully fledged member of the E17 massive after moving here from Saaafff London at the weekend. We also welcomed Good Gym first-timer Lisa to our band of brothers and sisters, nice to see you, Lisa. As well as a trio of new runners it was fantastic to see Ms massive commute, Lorna. Despite living and GoodGyming in the posh borough of Wandsworth, Lorna still makes an effort to look in on us WF folks in her capacity as someone important at the local borough council. Last but definitely not least, it was lovely to welcome Shelly back tonight. Shelly battled through injury and illness to join our mission, even though she didn't even get to enjoy a celebratory cocktail at the end of it. Never mind Shelly, there is always next time.
Anyhoo, name checks aside the work on the task tonight was biblical folks. Watching those weeds fall by the wayside and the compost excavations put me in mind of Moses parting the Red Sea (or was it the Dead Sea?), anyway some sea or other.
Hard graft
Despite the plague of gnats and the broken backs the group declined the short downhill run back to base in favour of a wonderful, windy, wayfinder through the streets of Walthamstow village which more than doubled the distance overall.
Before I go I should mention a couple of upcoming excitements:
The Olympics is set to be a corker of an event. Thanks to Lorna, we have a GGWF team so you must go and represent your borough. Apparently, last year's event was a total blast so don't miss out.
Oh and finally, thanks to Clara, we now have a WhatsApp Group "Goodgym Waltham Forest" so get yourself on that if you want to know what the cool people in E17 are up to.
That's me done for now y'all.
Peace, Ant
The churchyard contains numerous interesting graves and four listed tombs, and is divided into four railed and enclosed areas with public access to only two; it is bisected by paths which are in frequent public use. There are some 1300 visible monuments in and around the church, and it is thought that over 26,000 burials took place here. The first church of St Mary Walthamstow was founded in the early-12th century on the site of an older church. The current building is largely 16th-century with later alterations. The timber-framed Ancient House near the church probably stands on the site of the original Manor of Walthamstow.
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