11 runners had the most spectacular afternoon clearing leaves and eating curry at the Cranbrook Community Food Garden.

GG Tower Hamlets to the rescue

Runners wasted no time in getting stuck in to the many leaves swamping this award-winning community garden.. This was an SOS mission proper - Janet had been in touch to explain a large delivery of bulbs is due and, owing to the many activities the centre has been hosting, the team haven't had time to clear the leaf debris from the garden for the new bulbs.

Before long, the area by the bins was groaning with bin bags stuffed full of foliage and still the runners worked on. Raking, brushing, gathering, bagging...It was a leaf-gathering like no other.

And so with the borders nearly bare, the vegetable beds once again tidy, and the grass resembling, well, grass once more, the runners were invited in to the community hall for a sit-down vegetable curry dinner, courtesy of the Cranbrook team and Friends. Talk about being treated like royalty. What an addition to our Christmas calendar indeed. With plates piled high with delicious vegetable curry, salad and drumsticks, just as we could barely squeeze another morsel in, out came the cupcakes. But, with two hours of heavy duty gardening behind us, we'd well and truly earned it.

And so before we knew it, we were heading for the tube, but not before lugging our leaf stash around to the bin area.

What a spectacular Sunday. Thank you all for an incredible early Christmas gift to Cranbrook (and watch this space for Part II - as we're invited back to plant the bulbs...).