Falling of the Rain

The rain may have scared a few off today, on this, the longest day of the year, the MIDDLE OF SUMMER! But, it actually got sunny just in time for our run and we had a cool 28 GoodGymmers whose skin was waterproof and who know that running is the only sport worth worrying about.

Tell Her (and him) About It

We welcomed first timers Isabel and Antonio, cheered Aidan for doing 100 good deeds, cheered Kike for doing 50 good deeds, cheered Danica and Aidan for running the Westminster City Mile and got briefed.

James

James came tonight. There is no announcement to make, but James is the name of a Billy Joel song, so we had to mention it.

A Minor Variation

So, we had planned to do our longest run ever at GG Islington (10k), but that task was unfortunately cancelled. Worry not, it's still the longest day of the year, and it's ....

The Longest Thyme

Competition thyme! Two tasks tonight and two groups each planting their own little pots of thyme under the instruction of the group's "Thyme Lord". We'll check back periodically and see which group was the best gardeners and who has the longest thyme!

Say Goodbye To Holloway

One group headed off to Barnsbury Community Centre for their evening of good-doing.

Uptown Girl(s) (and boys)

And a small group of girls and boys, led by Aidan, ran uptown to Whittington Park Community Association to help out.

The Giver of Screams

Caroline, doing a run leader course this weekend, led the Barnsbury group and wasn't shy about shouting a bit of encouragement.

All About Soil

One job at Barnsbury was to continue shifting the mound of soil that we started on last week.

New Fork Spate of Grind

Antonio grabbed one of Barnsbury's new forks and started breaking up the soil to make it easier to shift.

It's Still Rocky Soil To Me

Tough work shifting this stuff. Everybody's always surprised by how many rocks and rubble there is in it. BUT, we got it all moved and managed to move the container into its new home.

Big Pot

Well, lots of little pots. A team of four planted various herbs in multi-coloured little pots. Rocket, coriander and of course thyme.

Get It Right The First Time

We did paint the beds right the first time, but the harsh weather meant that the paintwork was getting a little patchy, so Isabel and Bella grabbed a couple of paintbrushes and did a spot of touching up.

The Sliver of Beams

OK, this one's a stretch. but the group at Whittington had to sand down a bench, which was probably constructed from wooden beams and there was probably the odd sliver of wood.

They did a great job. Check out the pics for before and after shots. Looks ready for some varnishing.

Baby Sand

There was also more sand-related activity as they had to move a kids' sandpit inside.

I Glove You Just The Way You Are

Or not. We had all those brand new gloves, but Graham thought he'd given them to Danica, who thought she'd given them to Simon, or something like that. Anyway, the poor Whittington contingent had to do a spot of weeding outside the One O'Clock Club with bare hands.

While over at Barnsbury we were sorted with a giant box of gloves. A team set about removing weeds from the centre piece and then planting some more grass seeds around it.

An Indolent Man

There were none of these tonight. Everybody got stuck in good and proper. Nice job.

You're My Home

Back at the pool we decided not to stretch for the first time ever on an Islington run and see what happened. Report back here.

We Didn't Start the Fire

Beth started the fire! In her oven! And baked FOUR types of biscuits in it! A coconutty one, a shortbread one, a chocolate one, and a plain one. Delicious. Beats stretching.

Hilly Poll

What's best? Short hills or long hills? So that everybody had an informed opinion each group did a set of four short reps and one long hill rep and we then voted on our favourite back at the pool. Short hills definitely won it. There were also votes for "no hills", "one very long hill", "downhill" and line of the evening from Jill: "a flat hill".

The Night Is Still Young

It was still light when we left! Aaah, they're drawing in now though.

Through The Long Night?

So that was a fun pun report on the longest day of the year. Maybe we could do a Billy Ocean themed report on the longest night. Maybe not.

Famous Last Words

See you next week Task will be announced shortly.

My Life

My life is great cos I get to do this for a job :-D,
Simon

The prospect of Camberwell Grove's delightful incline wasn't enough to put off GG Southwark this week. Especially knowing that we were visiting the lady who put the jelly babies in our tagline (the worst kept secret of our borough).

For the first time in weeks, we got to run outside in the dry and ironically, had an indoor task. It was pretty nice to not have to wear waterproofs though. We welcomed Deepak and Chiara along for the first time and had a few regulars to show them the ropes. After a 2.7km run including incline / decline, we were welcomed to the Camberwell Salvation Army Community Centre Church by Janet. Instead of sorting out baby clothes, we were presented with bowls of dettol, cloths, tea towels and lots and lots of toys. They have children's playgroups 3 times a week and the toys don't get a wipe down. So we got to work. Not only were the toys cleaned and dried (and reminisced over - was the green train in Thomas the Tank Engine Percy or Henry?) but they were also sorted into the correct boxes. Please note that kitchen goods and play food are two different categories!

In the last 6 minutes, there was a countdown style rush to see how many vehicles we could wipe down. See photos for an impressive car park of fisher price gangster wheels! As we finished up, in the spirit of Easter, Janet presented us with mini eggs to get us ready for the hills home.

Despite the worry that some people might be sick due to aforementioned mini eggs, we played the chain to make the hill a bit easier. Jogging in single file, the last runner has to sprint or side run up to the front of the group (thank you Simon for that one). Almost to general disappointment, no one was sick and we made it back in time for a quick stretch and a reminder of all of the opportunities for a social drink in the next weeks. tomorrow and next week. In case you were wondering.