Episode 285 - Better together

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HostsMelissa Ellis Oliver Spake

GuestPippa White

Show notes

From the Facebook post

This week, the parkrun adventurers celebrate the highlights of National Volunteer Week, our volunteers!

Sam pulls up the comfy chair to chat with Pippa White, who recently achieved her 250th parkrun volunteering milestone

Dazza's gets in on the action, with a smattering of volunteer highlights amongst the weekend's action

Mel shares the highlights of last weekend's Festival of Mel,

while our adventurers community offer up a range of great challenge, acronym and achievement goodies!

From the podcast feed

This week the parkrun adventurers celebrate the highlights of National Volunteer Week, our volunteers! Sam pulls up the comfy chair to chat with Pippa White, who recently achieved her 250th parkrun volunteering milestone. Dazza’s gets in on the action, with a smattering of volunteer highlights amongst the weekend’s action. Mel shares with us the highlights of last weekend’s Festival of Mel, while our adventurers community offer up a range of great challenge, acronym and achievement goodies!

Guest

In this episode

• Welcome starts at 0:23

  Ollie Spake on Dharawal Country and Melissa Ellis on Wurundjeri Country, marking National Volunteer Week with its theme Better Together. Ollie RD'd Shellharbour with regulars including Timekeeper Patrick, the Duke of Ed kids, tourist Chris back for a disappointing sausage roll, and first-time volunteer Darwin the rainbow lorikeet alongside Karen; Ollie also enjoyed Eurovision, won by Ukraine. Mel ran and course-checked at Toolern Creek's Festival of Mel dressed as a bee, cycling there in the dark with gnome Floyd (still awaiting rescue at the turnaround) after ED Tracey Donald stepped in for a COVID-struck Mel Oakley; fines followed from Sam Schroder for Cass Castleton's mispronounced surname and for the informant's South Australia/South Africa slip.

• the Frond — Frond of eight at Bowral relaunch: Tim Robbins, Chris Horowitz, Heather Morgan, Sue Smith, Melissa Currie, Jasmine and Ingrid Botha, Richard Karching starts at 14:05

  Two parts. (1) Melissa reads Tracey Wood's proposed backronym for FROND - "Friends Reunite on Neutral Dirt" - which Ollie adopts on air "I'm going with Tracy's [Tracey's] one. It's locked in", and Melissa "We'll just pretend that's what it means now." (2) The week's fronds are then called out as they come up: Andrew Johnston and Martin/Martine Barrot at Toolern Creek's Festival of Mel, Ingrid Botha's tourism outing, Claire Winojic at Bramley Cowfest, and the largest, announced inside the Consolidated Club Report - "there were a frond of eight at Boweral [Bowral] relaunch, which included Tim Robbins, Chris Horowitz, Heather Morgan, Sue Smith, Melissa Currie, Jasmine and Ingrid Botha and Richard Karching."

• Launches and anniversaries starts at 14:39"Where is the cake?"

  A brief anniversary mention rather than a full segment. Melissa "we have to wish a happy birthday... to a certain event, a certain favourite event", Ollie "favourite event not yet done, might I say" and "Happy 250th, Bathurst" - Bathurst parkrun's 250th event. A relaunch is also noted later inside the Consolidated Club Report: "there were a frond of eight at Boweral [Bowral] relaunch".

• Level 2 with a View starts at 20:24

  Sam Schroder's interview slot, recorded away from the studio "from the Comfy Chair on Level 2 with a View". This week, tied to National Volunteer Week, she interviews Pippa White in the UK about her 250th parkrun and 250th volunteer occasion falling on the same day (00:20:24-00:35:41). Sam also opens a shorter Level 2 clip earlier in the episode, issuing Melissa a fine for mispronouncing a surname the previous week. Ollie closes the interview "Thank you also to Sam for being an excellent interviewer" and Melissa "She's got the comfy chair."

• Emails starts at 36:05

  Melissa "But, Ollie, we've got mail." One email, from a listener who signs off "Regards, Patrick": responding to Ollie's earlier wish for an app that gives better directions to a course than a standard navigation system, he points out the 5K app already links through to the event's own website directions "written by the locals". Ollie thanks him "probably should have worked that out myself, but this is what a community is all about" and says he has already used the tip to look up his next tourism destination.

• Dazza's starts at 37:30

  Ollie "Some people we also need to thank are our visitors to Dazza's [Dazza's], where Dazza this week was all about volunteering." Dazza's prompt is read out in full, tied to National Volunteer Week and the Better Together theme. Visitors: Andrew Johnston (with Martin/Martine Barrot) at Toolern Creek's Festival of Mel; Alison King, tail walking at Paringa with Chrissie for her first parkrun since a January ankle injury, 67 minutes and token 67; Michael Charlton, volunteer number 50 at Nathalia Showgrounds parkrun as Tail Walker, backing up as a Marshal at juniors the next day; Carrow Voss walking guide dog Ebony at Woi Woi [Woy Woy] parkrun; Sonja Pohlman RDing at The Beaches with a sunrise beach-flag photo (plus a nod to Michael Sharp's beach flag shots); Judith Baibo, a first-time poster, tail walking at Batemans Bay for her 100th volunteer occasion; Ingrid Botha, at an inaugural with cows, a preteen and dog Paris; Melanie McGregor with Dion at Otaki River parkrun in New Zealand; Johan Duvenhage at Sasselberg [Sasolburg] parkrun in South Africa; Claire Winojic at Bramley Cowfest in the UK; and Belinda Taylor, a soggy walk at Southbank parkrun in Brisbane and junior volunteering the next day.

• the Obi Award — Michael Charlton starts at 45:34

  Melissa "And time to announce the winner of the Obi [Obi]." With the Informant off sick, the envelope has to be hunted down - "the informant's away. The office is on skeleton staff. Did we get an envelope, Ollie?" - and Ollie finds it on the comfy chair. Awarded to "Volunteer extraordinaire, Michael Charlton" for doubling up on volunteering across the weekend: volunteer number 50 as Tail Walker at Nathalia Showgrounds parkrun on Saturday and marshalling at juniors on Sunday. Melissa: "Doubling up this week with volunteering on Saturday and Sunday. So well earned."

• Consolidated Club Report starts at 47:29

  Ollie "We have, however, had the stats come in for the consolidated club report." For Saturday 14 May 2022: of 192 club members, 146 took part at 90 different locations, down about 10-12 locations on the previous week. 15 events in the UK (list read out), one in South Africa (Sasolburg), one in the USA. Locally: 28 events in Victoria, 16 in New South Wales, 14 in Queensland, four in South Australia, four in Western Australia, two in Tasmania, one in the ACT, none in the Northern Territory, three in the North Island of New Zealand and one in the South Island. Closes with the frond of eight at the Bowral relaunch, a note from Jeff/Geoff Glarb in the USA whose travel plans were cancelled (his proposed flag fine disputed by Chris Fraser as "a side-on flag rather than a reversed flag"), and Belinda Taylor's correction that Queen Elizabeth parkrun is in New South Wales, not Queensland - which Chris Fraser calls "a crime against geography" and which earns Melissa another fine.

• International Ugly Christmas Singlet Day starts at 51:04

  Ollie's Ugly Christmas in July update, "could I please give everyone an update on Ugly Christmas in July?" Held Saturday 23 July 2022. Santa's Little Helpers are about to release the design for a new ugly Christmas buff (neck warmer), based on the 2021 Ugly Christmas Singlets and shirts, with $1 from every buff sold donated to Beyond Blue. Orders open at the end of that week or early the next and close Wednesday 1 June, timed so nationwide and overseas orders arrive before 23 July. Available through the adventurers online portal with supplier Ventu; the link goes on the International Ugly Christmas Singlet or Shirt Day Facebook page.

• Sign-off starts at 53:40

  Asked where in the Southern Hemisphere she would be parkrunning next week, Mel said she genuinely had not made up her mind and would spin the alphabet wheel, having multiple events in her radius to choose from. Ollie refused to be pinned down, saying only that he hoped to head south of home to a new event and had locked it in. Mel accepted she could get no more out of him, gave the Facebook and email contacts and closed for another week.