Shortly after our local parkrun events (Hampstead Heath, Finsbury Park and Highbury Fields), four Goodgym Islington runners joined us for a really fun community mission at Market Road Gardens.

We were called by Octopus Community Network at relatively short notice, as their regular building volunteer had hurt their back on another job, and was required to refrain from heavy lifting and physical labour. However, our crew were ready and willing to pitch in, and assist alongside the building team.

The plan is to build a new tool shed for this lovely permaculture garden space, but first we have to lay down some solid foundations for the construction. This involves filling a shallow wooden frame with a mix of sand and cement (turned over efficiently by two Goodgymmers with spades using a circular mixing technique taught to us by Martin, the local building expert), and then applying paving slabs on top of the evenly spread mixture.

We took it in turns to mix the sand and cement, and to transfer the mixture to the frame. Once the mix had been placed in the correct place, Emily volunteered to even out the sand and cement using a long slat of wood (using all of her core muscles to move the mixture across the frame). Paul and Ernestas then very carefully placed the paving slabs into position, while we all silently hoped that we got the dimensions right. Luckily, the final slab dropped perfectly in place! A satisfying end to a smashing task!