This evening we returned to one of our favourite task locations - the Maidenhead Community Allotment. We started outside the Windsor Castle pub with a warm welcome to Clara for her first group run, and a chat about sports events that led to the revelation that Juli once ran a race with Mo Farah!

The runners and walkers then headed to the task via different routes, sucessfully hurdling speed bumps and arriving at the allotment within moments of each other. Thanks to Jess for back-marking the running group and Juli for walk-leading.

The original to do list for the evening included weeding and digging over two raised beds and clearing some leaves and litter. Weed did it all pretty quickly. Manure hands made light (and aromatic!) work of the beds and Steve did a rubbish job in the car park (in a good way), collecting a heap of cans, bottles and cigarette butts.

Luckily I had anticipated weed need more to do and contacted our task owner Sue, who provided two more jobs. First up re-planting of a tipsy Cavolo Nero, which Ruth righted in no time, and then digging in a new bed between the two sheds. Sue suggested this would be hard work and might take several sessions. Now there's a challenge we couldn't resist!

Georgeta and Clara did the design work and then got stuck in around the perimeter with a spade and fork. I was next to join this cutting edge team, and then the Tiller Girls arrived and before long we were working together like a well choreographed dance troupe. Turf was flying, Steve was cheering, Georgeta was running back and forth wheely fast with the wheelbarrow, and we managed to remove all the turf.

More work will be needed to prepare the ground for the potatoes that will grow there in the Spring, but we really had fun between the sheds and we are so proud to have made the bed.

To finish and warm up I took everyone to the really c-hilly spot at the top of Punt Hill and invited them to run up and down it and do a ton of squats, jumping jacks and a plank. Incredibly they all stepped to it with smiles on their faces and still had energy to spare for the run/walk home.

Today was the deadline for this community mission, where GoodGymers were invited to create green hearts to be part of a window display for climate awareness. It is always good to see friends on GoodGym sessions, but this evening was made even more special by a handful of them literally giving me their hearts.