Wednesday 3rd November 2021
Find out about GoodGym TaskForce
Report written by Redbridge runner
Jogging and Chatting - this is what it's all about!
We had a good turnout with an earlier start time, with some people coming after being away for a long time - Welcome! The runners (Tony, Rachel, Francis, Ercole, Kat and Julia) met up at our base and with a warm-up, we went on our way to explore the area, specifically to see if the Lloyd's Park is open! And it was - we got our torches and camping lights out for a jog in the dark, it was really lovely, if spooky to jog around but the banter was strong so we really enjoyed running through the park and we finished strong with a pretty much a sprint up the hill before arriving at St Mary's Churchyard to meet the rest of the crew (Saj, Ramon and Nerys).
Hugging it Out
There was plenty of GoodGym good cheer in the air that resulted in lots of welcoming (cautious) hugs in the graveyard - that's just how we roll;) Tim, the wonderful St Mary's gardener, already got all the tools out for us and explained the task - digging and weeding a very dense patch of ground to prep it for the spring bulb planting bonanza (you can sign up for that here)
Getting our hands dirty! And trainers...
The energy levels were high so everyone grabbed a shovel, a spade, a fork (after somewhat lengthy conversation about the different between a shovel and a spade...) and got to it! The ground was super hard! But the lean, mean, digging machine that is Ramon couldn't be stopped! In fact he managed to unearth a hidden grave stone, thankfully we stopped the actual grave digging;)
Looking proud
This was no doubt a great arm workout but we feel like we made a lot of progress, bagging up two huge bags of weeds and if the ground wasn't exactly left tidy and even, it definitely is a lot easier to finish up;)
Well done everyone and see you next week!
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.
See moreMon 8th Nov 2021 at 2:08pm
Go team GGWF! 😊