The prospect of a return to the GoodGym bosom loomed large on Saturday morning, an expectedly brisk winter's day was met by 10 of Newham's finest. I arrived at the gardens, had a good old catch up with Mel and Brad, then thought "where the hell is everyone?", we quickly realised we were standing like lemons at the wrong gardens, 30m down the road was the real Permaculture haven. An oasis of calmimg green hues, a fluid design structure in harmony with natural systems, a charity that connects urban dwelling youngsters with nature....a place to drink mulled wine and talk nonsense with our mates.

Kieran's a bit of a fountain knowledge, having worked restoring ecosystems all over the world, he's now plonked himself in Bow, to the benefit of the locals. We had multiple groups doing their own tasks, some trimming /cutting back tress and bushes. A drilling team, not quite sure what they were drilling, definitely something into something else, it looked important. A clearing team, never to be underestimated (they can get tetchy). High calibre carpentry also occured, securing a large plank of wood to seperate a bed. Onions were planted too and netting was tied down to keep out cunning squirells.

Blimey, when you write it all down, you did quite a bit!

Concluding the task standing around a fire, drinking mulled wine and having a giggle was just the ticket. A dose of normalcy, it just so happens that our normalcy is absolutely class. It's easy to forget that, personally as I haven't been able to come along every week, like the 'before times'. A highlight of my week for my sure, hopefully you can say the same.

See you all again on the quiz, this Thursday 17th December. Message me if you have problems with the word doc sign up.

Till then

B