Pat yourselves on the back for being part of such a big group of happy runners this evening - it was fantastic to see so many smiling faces turn up in spite of this evening's questionable weather! And a massive welcome to our veritable troop of first time runners - go and give them all a cheer - Luke, Claire, Polly, Raya and Katie (who gets an extra special mention for being dragged along for an evening of being told what to do by her big sister - which sounds a lot like most of our childhood!).

When we finally arrived at Chelwood Nursery (after only a mild diversion - thanks for backmarking this evening and keeping us all together Chloe), we achieved a huge amount this evening, even in the playground's gloomy conditions...

What's long, brown and sticky?

An entire hazelnut tree was felled (before the nuts have chance to grow, avoiding unwanted allergic reactions in the playground), chopped up into bits, stripped of leaves, and the resulting sticks were sorted into varying size categories ready to be used for... den-making! Just think of the hours of fun you've all contributed to in preparing den-making equipment (and the hours of fun you probably had making dens back when you were younger)!

They call it Nutbush city limits

Another hardy group ventured round the back of Chelwood's swanky new building to clear up some of the remaining building materials. It was tough work moving lots of heavy planks and shovelling rubble in the dark (it did look a bit like prison camp back there), but totally worth it to discover the nursery's long-lost story-telling penguin - on top of the den-making and the teeny tiny rakes, this evening's cute levels were off the scale.

Can you twig it?!

That's not even the end of it! An extensive weeding campaign was carried out, with Chloe, Martin and Sarah (who did her 50th good deed this evening, hoorah - more cheers needed please!) delicately foraging for weeds in between the strawberry and pumpkin plants (check the size of that pumpkin!). Tom did a sterling job watering the bamboo plants (yes, even in the rain), whilst Laura and Polly hunted down escaped smooth pebbles using only their sense of touch (like dolphins apparently, which are known for their highly developed sense of touch due to the nerve endings in their skin - who knew!).

"We're like dolphins!" - Polly

Fuelled by bananas, we set off back to Glass Mill taking the "scenic" route via a sprint up Hilly Fields (it would be rude not to!). Thanks to keeping us together. Don't forget to check out this Saturday's community mission planting bulbs at St Mary's Primary School in Lewisham, and get yourself signed up for next week's fizz and cake bonanza to celebrate adding the finishing touches to the Sensory Garden at Beecroft Garden Primary School.

Happy running!

P.S. Please excuse the really dark photos! 😬 P.P.S Thanks for the puns Oli!