Brrrrrrr... that was a cold one!

13 brilliant people joined me in Brent to run all the way to Barnet to help NW2 RA and get Cricklewood cleaned up!

Well what a night, I arrived at the Queensbury to a large group ready and waiting to get fit and do good! We were joined by Paul and Freya who joined for their first ever GoodGym run and we were also joined by GG Lambeth regular Samantha who is embarking on a mission to run in every London GG area before the year is up - we're glad you went for the best area first!

With the Queensbury being rather busy we headed outside for the intro:

• The January Challenge - 10 more days to go - can we get to 8k deeds and 100k km run?
• Community mission tonight - get another deed with some clothes sorting in kilburn - details here
• Starter session on Saturday (25th) - tell all your friends - helping out at Clitterhouse - details here
• parkrun volunteer session - get another deed by volunteering at Gladstone parkrun or just come along for the run and then join us for the starter session - details to come!
• This was actually decided later but next Brent social is on Feb 12th, the Quiz at the Queensbury!

Once that was all dealt with we got ourselves warmed up and then we headed up to Cricklewood. We met Marie and the guys from B & Q who had lent tools and hot water. The task at hand was to wash down the painted sections of the bridge walls leading up to the station!

We split into two teams, one for each side of the road, split the tools and headed into place with our buckets of hot water. It was quite the sight to behold and the traffic going past certainly couldn't take their eye off us! A number of encouraging toots and people slowing down to take pictures and videos were noticed by us!

It was hard work, not least because it was so cold but everyone worked really hard and despite some initial hiccups with the equipment you could really see the difference we made! Well done for the effort especially as the night got colder and colder as we went on.

After some co-ordinated cross road photos we gathered ourselves and then headed back to base, stretched and then headed inside for some warmth, to head home or have a drink! Lovely stuff.

Cheers,
Pritesh

On the last GoodGym Brent of December, of 2019 and of this decade TWELVE awesome folk joined me to help Willesden Green Residents Association and Town Team with a litter pick down Walm Lane and Willesden High Road.

Once everyone had gathered we went out for our intro, news update, health and safety briefing before splitting the group in a running a walking group.

Tabitha led the walkers who were covering Walm Lane from the Queensbury down to the High Road. I took the other group down to Willesden Library and we worked our way up to Walm Lane.

We spent a good 45 minutes working away and we all filled our bags full of litter.

With that all done we headed back to base and headed in for our Christmas dinner!

Thanks to all for a wonderful year of doing good and keeping fit! Here's to even more as we go into a new year and decade!

Cheers,
Pritesh

p.s. Big kudos to Helen for our GG gif made using a cracker present!

TEN fantastic fellows joined me to run over 8km on a cold November night to vist the Brent Feeder and help out our old friends at the Canal & River Trust

We were joined tonight by James who was at his first GoodGym run. We welcomed him and did a quick run through of the new... it's all about Christmas parties!

• GG wide Christmas party - details here
• Brent Christmas social (at the Queensbury) after the run on 16th December - fill in details and send money to Tabitha by Friday this week. Spreadsheet here

With the news done whilst jogging on the spot we threw in a quick warm-up and then we were on our way. We kept a good pace mainly to keep warm as we wound the 4km to Stonebridge! We there met Emilie who told us a bit about CRT and told us about the task in hand - a litter pick of the canal.

Everyone donned high-viz, gloves and armed themselves with various tools from grappling hooks to litter-pickers of varying sizes! The new hawk lights from GG Central (thank you!) got their first outing and were much needed. We work hard for 20 minutes and fished out a load of un-opened shopping, many many tins, cans and bottles AND...

• TWO supermarket trollies and
• a full suitcase

Quite the haul. Once that was all taken in and loaded up into the van, we all anti-bac'd our hands and then said our goodbyes to Emilie before another quick run back to base! After that long run, despite the cold it was important to stretch out and then we headed home/for a drink!

A fun night and a really wortwhile task.

Thanks all,
Pritesh

Five wonderful women joined me in Brent to run 7km and help out at Queen's Park Gardens!

We gathered at the Queensbury and once it hit seven we headed out for the intro! We welcomed Liz back from her trip to South America - top points for coming straight from the airport! In the news, we mentioned the 10th birthday party at City Hall next week and the social on Thursday too.

Once that was done we headed off - we were lucky (or not) as we managed to hit green at most of the lights and made a fairly steady run till we were close to the Gardens. Once we negotiated the lights at the bottom on Kensal Rise we made our way to the garden and there met Astrid.

She laid out the jobs - deadheading roses, weeding some flower beds and a general litter pick - and we split into pairs and donned gloves and went on our way. After about 30 minutes we downed tools and said goodbye to Astrid who was very grateful for all our help.

Before we left the park we did a very quick session on the public exercise machines and posed for some photos too. With that done and with the light fading fast we headed back to base, taking a different route for a bit of variety. We made sure to stretch properly and then we were done. Next week we are helping out in Willesden with a litter pick to help with the Best High Streets bid!

Cheers,
Pritesh

Ten wonderful runners joined me in Brent as we headed over to Clitterhouse Farmhouse to help with three different tasks and run 5km in the process!

We said a big welcome to Pippa who joined GG for the first time, we heard all about the GG Brent Olympics effort – big thank you to Amy, Liz, Pete, Samina, Tabitha – our wonderful team! And… we cued up the fact that it was Tabitha’s 100th good deed!

With a long intro over we let Tabitha lead the run for her 100th deed and I backmarked. Once at Clitterhouse we met Patrick who kindly offered everyone water and then set out the tasks for the night:

• Rob, Vinay and Sadhana were helping to take some amazing pictures and other paraphernalia down from inside the café that is going to be demolished and re-built
• Liz, Amy and Georgie were on painting duty
• Samina, Pippa, Karen and Tabitha were helping to build trenches for a willow dome

We set everyone off working and before we knew it we had been hard at work for 40 minutes and it was time to go! We had a group photo by the lovely sunflower and then with Patrick’s offer of freshly baked scones if we come every week (we’ll see what we can do!) ringing in our ears we set off again!

On the way home Amy and Tabitha did a mini good deed helping a lady whose shopping bag had split by picking up at least a few hundred aubergines for her and then we continued on our way. Once back at base continuing the treats for Tabitha we let her choose Rob to lead the stretch which was very eventful as only one of his stretches matched anything that I would normally do – top work and thanks Rob!

With that all done it was time to finally congratulate Tabitha on her 100th deed – an amazing achievement and from one of our most dedicated and certainly the most fun of our runners here in Brent – congratulations to you!

With that done we headed to the pub for some cake and some well deserved drinks.

Cheers,
Pritesh

Ten brilliant people joined me in Brent as we ran nearly 7km to help Queen's Park Community Council deliver their newsletter.

Having forced everyone to drink some water to ensure we were hydrated in the heat we headed outside for the intro. Liz gave us a quick summary of the shindig, I reminded everyone about the Olympics on the 3rd and the social on the 8th before I went through the task info and health and safety.

We then headed off to the task - it was about a 3km run and we kept up a good speed through the heat and made it down to Queen Park in good time. It was on the run that spotted a friendly cat and it became a bit of a theme as you'll see from the pictures!

Once there, Lindsey soon arrived and we unpacked the boxes, split into teams and then began our work to distribute the newsletter.

We had 25 minutes and before we knew it we were done and had covered all the areas we needed, and weirdly, met many more cats!

Once everything was sorted we had a group photo and made Lindsey promise she would join us for a run soon and then we headed back to base. The run home is always a bit harder as we have a big uphill but everyone worked hard and managed to get up the hill without stopping - well done!

Once back at base, yup we did see another cat, we stretched and then it was time for a drink and for our flag designing session. Many ideas were thrown around but I think we've got a great design planned. Make sure you come along to the Olympics to see it!

I'm away next week but Tabitha is in charge, make sure you come along!

Cheers,
Pritesh

14 wonderful people joined me in Brent to run 5km and help Clitterhouse Farmhouse!

On a beautiful summer evening we met at the Queensbury and boy there were a lot of you! We welcomed Matthew who was at Goodgym for the first time and then went thru the intro and news (GG Olympics!) before going through a quick warm up!

It was quite a stop start journey, not least as we passed through the hustle and bustle of Cricklewood but we kept up a good pace and were soon at the Farmhouse! There we met Patrick and Elizabeth who were incredibly grateful for our presence and the fact there were so many of us!

Our task was to do some clearing and weeding in around straw bales that were being used to grow all kinds of plants from mange tout - to luffas (yes apparently you grow a luffa/loofah!), we did some watering and we generally made everything look lovely!

Everyone worked hard for 30 mins in the evening sun and before we knew it it was time to go! Thanks to the team for leaving some water and snacks out for us! We had a tour of the main garden and then had a group photo before heading back to base!

After a speedy run back, with some traffic light squats thrown in we were back at the Queensbury! We stretched and then headed for home or a deserved beverage! Fantastic night everyone!

Next week we head down to Queens Park to deliver Queen Park Community Council's community newsletter - all the details here.

Cheers,
Pritesh