Itching for change

On the eve of Election Day, we were all getting Election fever. Momentum, a shift in dynamics, something was in the air... nope, it was just Sam opening Old Spike Peckham to the seven other runners that decided to come and help out.

We had two tasks tonight, so Sam was glad Paulin came along as she could lead the second group. The two tasks on offer were woodchip moving and...woodchip moving, but in two different spots. Sam welcomed not only Paulin, but Steve, Rosalind, Daryl, Cecilia, Isaac and Benjamin. Everyone arrived before 18:45, so Sam got going with his usual speech and his ice-breaker question. Tonight's ice-breaker was about the Elections, so he asked: "Who do you think will be the top 5 parties (in order)?" and he also did a ice-breaker poll: "Yes or No, will Nigel get the Clacton seat?"

Most of the predictions went Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems, SNP and Greens whereas unfortunately, most of us predicted Nigel would get a seat in Parliament...

A chip on our shoulders

We headed out to a different part of the Green to warm-up and after getting everyone's heart rate elevated, Sam led the whole group out with Paulin splitting with Steve, Rosalind and Cecilia off down Barry Road to head to meet Earth Tenders at Roseberry Lodge in Dulwich Park. Where they moved 30 wheelbarrows of woodchip to lay it down in the community garden at the back.

The rest of us ran along Peckham Rye Park and up Dunstan's Road, Underhill Road and Overhill Road to meet Ellie and two other Dawson's Heights residents. Our task? Similar to the other group, but we had to clear an area by the compost as it was overgrown by nettles and weeds. Benjamin and Sam concentrated on this clearance minding the itchy and stinging nettles whilst Daryl and Isaac used the one wheelbarrow to take it in turns and bring woodchip to cover the space to prevent the weeds from growing back.

The election playlist from Spotify kept us going, but time catches up with us. Before we knew it, it was almost 20:00, so we had to pack away our tools back to the storage unit and run back to Old Spike to meet the other group.

Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out last night. Two tasks done in quick sessions and both task owners were very pleased with the results. Great to have a little impromptu social afterwards too. Kudos to all and if I don't see you next week, see you soon!