Saturday 8th July 2017
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Report written by Lambeth runner
Arriving at St Martin's Church to represent children's charity The Rainbow Trust, GoodGymers Qiao and Shona quickly donned some colourful t-shirts and were introduced to the Symphonic Wind Orchestra of North London, a group of talented musicians from East Finchley who had organised a fundraising concert on the charity's behalf. Through a mixture of advance and on-the-door sales, 80 tickets were bought and the two GoodGymers relaxed and listened to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.
Just before the first half ended, Qiao and Shona sprang back into action, discreetly sneaking off to the kitchen to bring out some pots of hot water and plate up some chocolatey treats. Donations before the concert had been low, but when asked to give generously for tea, coffee, wine, beer, juice and cookies, the spectators really dug deep. After a busy snacks service, the second half started and the two GoodGymers began darting back and forth as quiet as little church mice to wash up the wine glasses and bag up rubbish. All to an utterly gorgeous backdrop of songs like Feed the Birds from Mary Poppins and A Friend Like Me from Aladdin!
If anyone hadn't already kindly surrendered all their change to Qiao and Shona, they donated what was left in their pockets on the way out. At four hours, it was a longer mission than usual, but bucket donations came to approximately £303, making it a Saturday well worth spent GoodGyming. With many thanks to all the generous people of North London! A great time was had by all - the band, the guests and the volunteers.
Camden
The refurbished area is becoming a hub for food growing, gardening and wildlife activities