Suns out guns out

On a warm and balmy evening we traded in our normal meeting place at Splashpoint for its close relation, Worthing Leisure Centre, so that we could be a little closer to the task this evening.

We welcomed back Roxy ( two weeks in a row! ) together with 2nd timer Emma. Also Belinda on her bike (but very nearly back to running ! ) Barbara, Paul, Anne and Nick. It was a near miss for Gill and Duncan who almost made it together with Tamsin who sadly had to pull out at the last minute. We missed all three of you.

This evening we were returning to support our friends at Breathing Spaces . This time we were continuing our tour of their projects with a visit to the Keystone Community Centre where Lisa and Claire have a beautiful garden together with a huge field to maintain. I had a sneaky peak at the woodland garden before heading to our focus which was on a large expanse of overgrown beds at the far end of the field which we were asked to clear and mulch to try and add some definition and control.

Taking the bind out of bindweed

The beds were incredibly invaded with the dreaded ( but strangely pretty white flowering ) mass of bindweed and long grass. It was difficult to imagine that anything was living underneath but we were soon to find differently.

Paul and Belinda set about wheel barrowing the first load of bark chips whilst Roxy , Emma ,Anne, Nick and Barbara got stuck into clearing the bindweed and long grass.

Claire and Lisa directed proceedings as well as piling in to help and filling up watering cans ready for mulching.

Monday night ( hay ) fervor

The grass and bindweed were every hay fever sufferers night mare. Poor Emma, only on her second task with us, realised just how badly she suffers but despite that she continued pulling grass and bindweed and getting showered in pollen until her she was forced to stop due to her throat starting to constrict and lumps coming up on her arm. Massive kudos and sympathy to you Emma. We were all relieved to hear that you recovered quickly after a good dose of antihistamine and hope to see you back to best next week.

A haw thorny issue with blood, sweat cheers and even some nobbly bobbly’s

Meanwhile underneath the wilderness the team were definitely winning the battle of the bindweed . Miraculously hawthorn shrubs started to appear and long grass was manually shredded and piled up. At one point I lost sight of both Nick and Roxy who disappeared ( not together ) in the middle of the bushes !

Everyone was particularly energetic with their efforts with a lot of scrapes, bumps and bobbles appearing over legs, arms and clothing. My first aid kit had its debut appearance for Pauls arm that had suddenly become ripped ( and that was in addition to his muscles! ) Anne was grateful that she had stuck to her leggings after having been teased about wearing them on such a warm evening.

Barbara and I did the final barrow run of wood chip and commented how easy Paul had made it look in comparison to our lengthy efforts ! As much watering as possible followed to mulch up the beds as much as possible.

Finally and a little later than the normal 30 minutes we called time on the task . Everyone re grouped apart from one absentee ( Roxy ) who found the addictive nature of pulling bindweed tricky to detach from! With a group photo and a promise to return the group split into 2 groups for the extended run back.

Life’s a beach

Very cleverly ,both groups ended up at Goring Green right near the beach where we had previously ( on what date Nick ?!! ) sowed wild flower seeds that we were delighted to see where looking healthy and growing nicely for some summer blooming. At this point we waved goodbye to Belinda on her bike .The rest of the group were poised and raring for the penultimate quarter of the evening.

Despite a few ( ignored ) comments about what a physically hard task it had been this week we repeated similar strength work to last week with the emphasis on technique and core. Burpees, squats, planks, v sits and oblique ab curls were all completed in the usual good spirits with the occasional moan.

The finale

We split into 2 groups again with some pace at the front and great chatter at the back with both groups ending back at the Leisure Centre at the same time. Whilst everyone caught their breath I updated everyone on next weeks plans where the group will meet at Splashpoint with Tara before heading off for our second visit to The Rowans, a rehabilitation centre for brain injuries.

When I uploaded the photos I took a minute to reflect just how happy everyone looked. It certainly made me smile looking at the images. What a lively,entertaining and good humoured bunch you all are despite it being a challenging , messy and dusty task. Happy times :)

Special mention and good luck vibes to Gill for this Wednesdays marathon at the 5 in 5 endurance event. Gill will be running 10 times around a circular route of Highdown hill. Wow ! That’s quite a mind and body challenge . If anyone can get up there to support Gill I’m sure she would love a GG cheer !

I'm still on the case about a social date in honour of the July Birthdays . It would be great to get a full house !

See you in two weeks team !

Julia x