On Tuesday we ran/walk 3km to and from Park Hill, where Josi had an exciting task for us. Last October we did a few sessions working on our Peace Pole.

Tuesday was going to be the day we planted it along with there others done by other community organisations within Croydon. Armed with post hole diggers, a sledge hammer, a step ladder, bags of postcrete and a spade 5 of us set about preparing the spot that was identified for three of the peace poles.

While 5 of us worked on getting the Peace Poles into the ground, the other four members of the group under the watchful eyes of Ros set about weeding the GoodGym area of the garden. With Ros keeping a watchful eye on them I was able to assist the others in securing the poles into the ground.

It was quite satisfying that while we were busy working, weeding and securing the poles into ground members of the community were showing interest in what we were doing and asking questions. One lady even took some time out to sit on one of the benches to take in and appreciate the artwork on the peace poles.

Are you looking for something to do on Monday in Croydon, between 14:00 - 17:30? Faiths Together is having their annual Big Picnic in Park Hill, all are invited to join the fun, games and fellowship. Also take an opportunity to have a wonder in the walled garden to see our peace poles.

Come and join us next week as we head over to St Augustine to assist Sue in the Church Garden

On Tuesday we ran 1km to assist the staff in the Crisis Charity shop. Unfortunately it wasn’t a visit to help them sort their donations or restack the clothing rails for the new season. Sadly they were closing down the Croydon Branch and they had movers coming on Wednesday to take the stuff to a storage facility, and they would then be disseminated to other Crisis Charity Shops.

We welcomed back a familiar face, Audrey had been a regular runner with us in the past however after starting her family time wasn’t as freely available as it was before, but with the little one not so little anymore she is begging to claw back some time and decided to come out with us. Welcome back Audrey.

When we arrived we were greeted by Jill and Ryan, who had been there all day packing and moving boxes. They were about to hit the wall but they were happy to see 12 smiling faces eager to put in some work and get them over the finish line. Jill/Ryan explained that they had some boxes, shelves mannequins and odd bits and pieces in the basement to be taken up to the ground floor. There were still books on the shelves that needed to be taken off and boxed up. To them it seemed like an endless task as there were only two of them trying to get it done all day. We divide the group into movers and packers and within an hour we had emptied the basement packed all the books into boxes and move everything closer to the door for t the movers arrival on Wednesday. Jill and Ryan was really excited about the 12 hours we were able to cram into an hour.

We said our goodbyes and as it was the last Tuesday of the month we headed off to Box Park for a few burgers and drinks.

We later received the following message

Just want to say Thank you again to you and the team for all your support on Tuesday evening. Ryan and I really appreciated all the help.

Next Tuesday we’ll be heading to Park Hill to plant our peace pole are you coming along?

7 GoodGym members met at Solutions on a sunny Tuesday evening. After a short warm-up, the team jogged to the local refugee centre. Ros joined the group on route and we received a warm welcome at the centre from Ivanka.

Ivanka explained the tasks for the evening and the team decided the role which they would play. The team sorted through new donations, checking the quality. Size stickers were stuck onto the clothing, the clothing was put onto coat hangers and then hung on the appropriate clothing rack. At the end of the evening, the team tidied the racks away into the cupboard before running back to solutions for cool down stretches.

Well done team!