In the middle of another wet week in the capital and it was time for a Wednesday night Waltham Forest GoodGym. Although the rain held off, we thankfully had another lovely waterproof task at The (magnificent) Mill. A short jog down the high street and we were greeted by the lovely Isabel, whose smile is as warm and friendly as this fantastic community space.

Last week saw the crew cutting out strips of material in readiness for tonight's denouement; finalising our festoons. Festoon making should feature as a mindfulness exercise. It's the sort of repetitive, relaxing activity that lowers the blood pressure. Fundamentally, if you were angry and you made a festoon, you would cease to be angry. Maybe certain users of Twitter should take up festoon making!

Within minutes of the GGWF team receiving their instructions, The Mill seemed to turn into something resembling a Vivian Westwood workshop, with whirls of colour quickly taking shape as the fantastic festoons that will adorn The Mill this festive season.

You might not immediately associate pickles and festoons, but if nothing else The Mill is a hive of originality and creative thought. So these beautiful adornments will be a feature of The Christmas Pickle Party that is due to take place on Saturday, 14th December from 2.30 pm to 5 pm. It's the event of the season folks so miss it at your pickle, err I mean peril!

Returning to the evening and with great difficulty, we prized ourselves out of our lovely, warm and cosy surroundings and onto the street for a bit exercise. With everybody in a state of Zen-like tranquillity, I decided it was time to shock us back to the harshness of the real world with some lamp-post intervals 2-easy, 2-hard for a mile. After that, another mile back to Mirth (uphill) and we were done.

A splendid effort all round folks, well done. Next week we will be starting a two-week project to build another planter with the Wood Street South Gardening Club. The task will immediately be followed by our Christmas party (optional!). Sign-up here

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