It was a return to the Lee Vally tonight for a bit of litter picking on the verges of the Lea Bridge road that bisects this important nature reserve. Apart from the aroma from the pungent sewer and the budget bakery, the run to the task is a pleasant one and also one of our more extended efforts. So its a big thumbs up to Jim who joined us for the first time tonight. Great work, Jim, I am sure you will have no problem with the Hackney Half in a few months if you keep this up. It was also great to welcome Fergus back to GoodGym after a short absence.

Thankfully it was slightly warmer than our last visit to this place, so we didn't have to worry about freezing solid as we began our work. After distributing litter pickers and bags, we headed out to the road to rid it of the pesky rubbish. With slim pickings on the north side, some of the group headed over the other side to find a truly apocalyptic scene. This was litter on steroids, and I'm not talking about a few packs of Quavers, folks. This was Chernobyl after a visit from Mr Messey and friends. Detritus included bits of car, Vodka bottles, even a departed fox.

Of course, all this, or perhaps some of this, is a litter pickers paradise and the plucky red t-shirted folk did some admirable work getting rid of the more manageable pieces of rubbish. I think a few more visits will be required here before we can put in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty application.

After filling our bags, we went back on the jog and back to Mirth, Marvel and Maud and eventually home.

Well done folks, excellent work tonight as always you have made the world a better place today.

Join us next week for a return to St Mary's, sign-up here

☮️