Tuesday 22nd July
Report written by George Ttoouli (he/him)
The Phoenix was swarming with film-goers eager for the world premiere of a new documentary about dogs, Dog$piracy. Given the threatening clouds, the cinema seemed like a great place to be, but, never to be put off, our three indomitable Goodgymmers had a mission!
We set off for Coldfall Wood - and into a cold downpour - jogging our way through backstreets. At an opportune clearing in the woods, we stopped for a bit of stretching and, by the time we were back out on Muswell Hill Playing Fields, the rain had cleared up. Crossing the fields, we spied Simone, who met us at the site, and Linda from the Friends of Cold Fall Woods, chatting away around trusty - ploggers and sacks. Great to Simone her back after a hiatus!
After a quick intro, we fanned out across the north field, clearing rubbish and catching up. Beattie got stuck into the brambles, where a few people were out gathering berries. Rachel and the others skirted the perimeter, clearing dog poo bags tossed into the undergrowth because the bin was buried in brambles and nettles. Not a job for us, fortunately - Linda reported that, and a pile of fly-tipping by the gate to the flats north of the fields.
And then, with our work done, we piled the rubbish sacks ready for collection, waved a cheery goodbye to Simone and jogged our way back to the Phoenix. The cinema-goers had only just gone in for the screening by then, so we snuck a quick refreshment in to celebrate a job well done, before trekking home.
Hope to see people next week when we've been asked to help with an emergency watering job for the new planters at Lyttleton Playing Fields.
The Friends of Coldfall Wood and Muswell Hill Playing Fields are an informal group of volunteers who share a common interest in protecting and enhancing these two green spaces
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