27 Hackney GoodGymers ran 6k to Abney Park Cemetery to get it Spring ready with Bulb planting, ivy chopping, path mulching and Lion cleaning.

Great to see the Bakehouse bursting with energy ready for our run!! Nice to nearly be running in the embers of day light to, not to mention the double digit Spring warmth creeping through.

After a brain teasing Question of the day from Quiz Master Ros which we didn’t get around to answering. Or no one really understood the question??

We were off on our well trodden path to Abney Park lead expertly by Katie. 3k of pretty speedy running up to Stoke Newington to me Park Manager Tom at the enchanting Abney Park Cemetery.

After we were locked into the cemetery to got to work, marching the tools down deep into the Park. Splitting up into 4 groups to get the most out of our energetic endeavours. We had Ivy clearing from grave stones to allow the 2 year grace mapping project to keep going at full steam. Wild flower bulb planting along the main paths edge to look pretty and to encourage park users to stick to the paths which helps to keep the park growing in the right places. After the snow the first path we mulched in January was looking worse for wear so we had a 100 metre sprint to re mulch it with half a tonne of Hackney’s finest mulch. And finally the historically listed Lion from a very famous and some would say unforgettable local hero’s grave. Needed to be gently cleaned to restore Larry the Lion to is shimmering glory.

This was an all action no stop furious 40 minutes of portable light action!! We had snipping, pitch forking, wheelbarrowing, roping, planting, scrubbing and of course a lot of singing to Larry!!

We really used every possible second to get as much work down even requiring a super Bolt like sprint finish to get the mulched path complete with expert mulch manoeuvring from Patrick!!

With the task complete and time slipping away we said our good byes to Tom and zipped back to base at Pace!! Katie spearheading the charge to finish off the task perfectly(ish) on time!!

Great session everyone!!

Next week we have the second half of Soil mountain to contend with and we need all hands on deck to complete the task! Be great if you could come along for more fun on the Run Hackney style!!

Have a great week

Smooth Running

Joel

P.S not sure who to credit but thank you fir the Pun!!

24 speedy GoodGymers ran 3k to Gascoyne Estate community garden and shovelled a cubic tonne of soil!!

Some new faces to Hackney this week, giving our GoodGym and Hackney first timers a warm welcome! Our returning Big Half Heroes we’re out in force after their magnificent efforts of Sunday morning, legs a bit tired but huge smiles from a massive achievement!!

With a little condensed time time to play with as the Bakehouse was closing up slightly early so we set off at pace to Gascoyne Estate, 10 minutes and we were in! Meeting up with Derek from the garden we set to work trying to make a dent in the monstrous pile of soil that the council had given them on Friday.

Thanks to Peter for bringing along extra wheelbarrows and shovels to allow us all to be as productive as possible!

Our help allowed the community garden to accept the 3 tonne soil delivery from the Council which allows not only community gardens to prosper but also residential Gardens to thrive with a little extra growing magic soil. Without the soil being moved away from pavements and parking bays it would be impossible for the soil donation to be accepted. Paying for the amount of soil to keep a community garden blooming is not viable.

We got stuck right in ferrying the soil to all corners of the community garden, using wheelbarrows, bins, big pots and anything else we could lay our hands on! Speedy shovelling and precision tipping made light work of this heavy duty task!

Making use of every available second we managed to squeeze in 55 minutes of soil shifting action before we took advantage of the local hospitality comprising of fruit and water then zipping back to base to grab our bags before they were locked in!

Great to see a big contingent head off for the monthly social to celebrate our Half marathon success as well as Mireille’s 50th Good Deed!!

Next week we will be heading off to Abney Park look forward to seeing you then!!

Smooth Running

Joel

Big shout out to GG First timer Ali for the epic pun!!