Barbra Streisand celebrated her birthday on Wednesday - Happy Birthday, Barbra!!

I know this because of the OnThisDay website. And Wikipedia. I double checked on Wikipedia. I trust Wikipedia, but I didn't trust OnThisDay.

But now, of course, I do. And they tell me that Wednesday would also have been William of Orange's 491st birthday - big numbers, Will!

Then there's Lou Thesz - who was a wrestler; and Philippe Pétain - who was a French general; and the list goes on and on. But...

...does it mention GoodGym Camden... why heck, it doesn't! What would Barbra say, OnThisDay, hey?

Because it was big news as our merry group met outside the Francis Crick on Wednesday evening - GoodGym Camden was 11!!

Dan, Faye, Jackie, John, Lucy, and Steve met in spring light and we started the evening with a gentle warm up game of Get to 33!

Warmed and chatting, we strolled next door to the special King's Cross Story Garden. Housed above the British Library's car park, the space is a cared-for curation of nature and crafts, sat snug and peaceful amidst King's Cross's hub-bub.

Chimen (who was on their first good deed - welcome!!), Emre, and Louise joined us on site, where we were welcomed by the lovely Holly, the Story Garden's Manager.

Our task was simple - get things out of the way - preparing the way for the removal team, who will be taking stock over to the garden's new permanent home a stone's throw away.

We got to it, dismantling gazebos, shifting pallets, lifting portable saunas, and then making things tidy and neat once again.

Over 45 minutes, this team of 10 made such a difference, and we did so whilst sharing our own stories and laughter.

Thanks, everyone, I really appreciate your work, and I hope to see you at another session soon!!!

One week on from our first visit, we spent last night taking care of the special communal space at Kilburn Vale Estate again.

Amidst a long spring evening holding a sharp chilly wind, Jackie, John, and I made our leisurely way through Maida Vale's rush hour streets over to our evening of green-fingered work.

Met by the lovely Zosia, we took 45 minutes to completely weed and prepare a patch that will soon house growing wild flower seeds, and we also pruned the ivy, trunks, and canopies of three overgrown trees.

Spending time with earth can be so therapeutic, and yesterday felt like such a welcome break from the bustle of the city and day.

Thank you, Jackie, John, for joining again to make a real difference in this space :)

Three of us made a big difference yesterday evening.

Meeting in the April early evening light, Jackie, John, and I took a gentle and chatter-filled run through Maida Vale and over to Kilburn.

We talked about Scotland, far-flung parkruns, trains with glass roofs, and even... Donald Trump, and it was a joy to jump across these eclectic topics with the wonderful Jackie and John.

It was just past 6.30 when we arrived at Kilburn Vale Estate, where we were met by Zosia, who heads up the residents' tenants association.

With tools to hand, we caught the first glimpse of our tasks for the evening. Two trees had been blocking the sunlight in the communal garden area, preventing the grass and flowers from flourishing, and our task was to cut them back. One patch of ground was also awash with weeds, and we were also tasked with digging them out ahead of spraying wild flower seeds.

Jackie and Zosia got to digging out the weeds. My attention was with the trees and when I turned back 40 minutes later, I saw a transformed space, clear and clean ready for planting!

John and I took an evening of sawing, and we chatted GoodGym, studying, and working as we chopped branch upon branch. We finished with a healthy window for the summer's light.

We'll be back next week to do even more, and thank you, both, for a wonderful evening of much appreciated work!!

It was yesterday evening. I made tea. I sat on my bed. I opened my computer and went to YouTube.

how to DIY fill hole in wall

This was what I searched, folks. I was still scarred from my last attempt at using polyfilla. Which was 20 minutes before the check-out-scary-inventory-deposit-reducing-meeting at my last rental. They took the deposit, folks, they took it to do the holes again.

Yet... this evening was different! And certainly because I was surrounded by the wonderful Alice, Faye(who was on their first GoodGym good deed - congrats!!), Jackie, John, Liz, and Steve.

We'd grasped the spring worm this evening, enjoying the longer light to traverse the bustle between Barbican and the Brady Arts and Community Centre, where our task awaited us.

Social Action for Health are a gorgeous charity working within the community in Tower Hamlets, and they need their volunteer room at the Brady spruced and enlivened, and we'll be doing just that over the coming weeks.

Our task this evening was to get the ball rolling, which we did by removing brackets from yesteryear and filling their left-behind holes.

This group took the tasks and ran with them to completion. Amidst a setting twilight, this room became a happy space filled with screwdrivers, pliers, hole filler, putty knives, and hoovers. And 40 minutes later, we'd gotten this space a short span away from being ready to paint.

Thanks, everyone, I had the most wonderful evening, and you made a real difference this evening.

Nice one!