Chris Cutforth's Blog

Pride, passion and donkeys...    Today I toddled off to Graves Park taking Ailsa and Isla with me - not been there for a while so it made for a pleasant change.   The first person I saw as we pulled into the car park was my work colleague Katy Nunn, one of the nicest people in the whole wide world.   Before the start I got chatting to a young lady named Gill whose tee shirt rather grabbed my attention. After enquiring politely with Gill about the wording on her shirt, she proceeded to wax lyrical about her ladies football club, AFC Unity, describing how it was established a few years ago by a local couple, as well as the solid values of inclusion, fairness and respect upon which the club is based. Apparently everyone is welcome at AFC Unity regardless of age, ability, colour or creed, and the club prioritises fun, friendship and community over winning. Their sponsor CFM, a local Facilities Management and Building Maintenance company, shares these values, so it really does appe

parkrun gives people a sense of purpose No running for me today - bit of a back problem which flared up during the week, so I decided to play safe by offering my services as a volunteer at my local Endcliffe Park event. On arrival I instantly became engaged in a conversation with Frazer and Wendy, one of the longest serving Endcliffe runners and volunteers with 290 runs and 24 volunteering shifts to her name - according to Frazer she's been in it from the start - very impressive. I asked Wendy why she volunteered with parkrun.   "I  want the purple 25 volunteer tee shirt" she replied, tongue firmly in cheek. Relating this conversation back to where it had started, it was clear to me that parkrun gives Wendy a valuable release from the stresses and strains of daily living, as it does for many people. This week I really wanted to share my conversation with Tony, a colleague at the university, who I see most days around the university   campus sweeping the pat

parkrunner goes Green This week's blog is rather different - more serious and reflective than my usual ramblings, but there's a reason for that which will soon become apparent. To be honest, I was in 2 minds about whether to blog at all this week, but I figured you are all intelligent, thoughtful people who hopefully quite like me - so I concluded you at least some of you might be interested in what I have to say.   Today was parkrun's 13th anniversary - 13 years since the founder, Paul Sinton-Hewitt, invited a group of friends to join him for a run in the park in south west London. Little did he know at the time  that parkrun would grow into the global physical activity and social movement that it is today.   Sadly I was unable to join in the celebrations because today was also the first day of the Green Party conference and as a party member I had decided to attend.   The conference certainly did not disappoint. After driving to Harrogate and bidding