5, 6, 7, …14 steps (That's what it took to build a table tennis table).

Wake me up*

After a warm-up we set off on a riverside route to Transforming Lives for Good (TLG for short). Our run to the river was almost as long as the queue to see Evanescence* at Hammersmith Apollo.

Deborah and James greeted us once we arrived and gave us a rundown of what TLG do. They provide support, care and education to children in need. The TLG school we had come to help out at offers holistic 12 week programmes to help excluded teenagers aged 11-16. These centres are a lifeline, giving them the chance to catch up on missed qualifications, raise their aspirations and provide building blocks for a better life.

Divide and conquer

Our tasks for the night were to put together a new ping pong table and clear a store room of old furniture. A team of four took on the table and the rest quickly demolished the other.

Keeping out of mischief

Both Deborah and James were blown away by the speed the store room was sorted in. James then set about finding other things for the team to help with. This included fixing a shelf to a coffee table and starting to organise another cupboard.

I had planned to take this group off for a fitness session, but suddenly the table tennis team needed extra eyes and hands to find stray screws, washers and attach the table top securely.

Finishing later that usual, but with a brand new ping pong table finally complete we dashed back the short way to home and had a warm down.

Thanks to Debs and Jo for your GG touristing, it was lovely to have you along!

Happy running,
PSB out.

This week we were joined by a very special guest, new Norwhich trainer Steven. We were also joined by GG Barnet newbies Jennie, Jack, Prima and Madeleine – give 'em all a cheer!

After a quick intro we headed down to Cherry Tree Woods to warm up on the grass. Steven took the gang through some new moves and got them all limber and ready to go.

Damian helped Steven lead us to Martin Primary, with Freya our trusty backmarker. We then headed 1.2km down the road (the park is 500m away from the cinema) to meet Tristan and Roger at the school and get to work. They had lots of trees in the orchard they wanted us to help. The team quickly got to work in pairs pulling out the weeds around the trunk and digging a neat little ring around the trees ready for bark.

The school has a wonderful pond, that's currently a little low on water thanks to the sunshine. This did mean we had to navigate our way around many frogs, who were hanging out in our digging zones. Great job to Eleanor and Madeleine who helped me relocated some frogs to the safety of the pond.

The school also has a really cool forest bit, which they use as a forest school. Kids can come and hang out there and learn lots of things in six week blocks. It was incredible. They had a huge tent (parachute) and a fire pit and a clay oven.

The gang very quickly finished with the trees and tidied up, ready for a fitness session from our special guest. Graham joined me on the sidelines, while Steven put the rest of the gang through their paces.

We then ran back to base for stretching and biscuits, courtesty of Hazel.

Next week we'll be running to Long Lane Pasture to shift soil. There's loads to do! Sign up here. Joanna has offered to make something delicious.

And there's a mission on Saturday in Edmonton putting up a fence. Sign up here if you can help.

See you next week!