This evening we ran around 3km to help the Community Garden in Park Hill Rec

12 of us headed out from Solutions towards Park Hill Rec – stopping first to have a quick warm-up beside an office block. I’m not sure what the waiting car driver thought as we circled his car with high knees, butt kicking and swinging legs!

We met Josi and Tony at the bottom of Park Hill Rec then ran up towards the Community Garden which is in the walled garden - well worth a visit in the daylight. We couldn’t decide whether hills felt harder or easier in the dark and opinion was divided between you never know when it’s going to stop to at least you can’t see how far you have to go.

Our task tonight was to plant some of the many corms (crocus bulbs) harvested from Saffron Central recently into some raised beds then cover them with topsoil. At the task briefing Josi said there was one full bed and two half beds but as we worked so quickly she was also able to get us to plant two smaller beds as well. So we divided up into planters, barrow fillers, barrow emptiers and topsoil smoothers and net staplers – team work really does make the dream work! Towards the end only a few runners were needed to finished off so the other runners headed into the park to run up and down hills to warm up then played a game of Heads and Tails with Dom and his magic phone app which only seemed to land on heads – at least we will know for next time!

One new runner came along tonight so welcome to Eleanor, an English teacher – so I’m hoping she’s not checking this report for errors – in my defence it is late!

After the biscuits – thanks Josi – we headed back to Solutions losing a few runners along the way as our route took them close to their homes.

Next week we are heading to another Community Garden in Birdhurst Avenue to help with leaf clearing and their hanging baskets and anything else Amatare and his group can find us to do.

PS in case you are wondering we didn’t see deer in the park but I saw some in my garden yesterday and thought they were very cute and deserved to be seen!