Emily

Today, at least 5 GoodGymmers met up to help The Friends of Canonbury Square Gardens with their open community gardening session (I mean, I spoke to 4 other people, but I'm sure there were more of us!). This is a monthly event, occuring on the 3rd Saturday morning of every month.

There were a range of jobs on offer today.

John volunteered for composting duty with an alacrity that suggested that last year's Covid has yet to release its grip on his sense of smell (or that he's possibly done enough composting with manure to be ambivalent to the scent of Canonbury's offerings).

Natasha started off by aerating the lawn using an intriguing rolling aerator. Despite looking simple enough, the struggle was real, and I was glad not to have volunteered for it myself. After the lawn was done, she joined Emily with a general potter that somehow included killing a tree (I was assured that this was intended 😎👍🏻).

Finally, Harish and I swept blossom off the paths of the Eastern gardens. This was incredibly satisfying work (and I'm not just saying that because I somehow commandeered the better brush at the start and bragged about the fact with every push of the broom). Harish enjoyed it so much, he wanted to take home the leaf grabber we used to transfer the piles of blossom to the compost bins. Ultimately, we decided that he would be too conspicuous carrying it off and so he's been forced to add it to his Christmas list.

Apologies to anyone I didn't speak to (& so haven't included): please do drop a note below to say which bits you worker on today 😊

So it’s been along time since Camden Good Gym have been to help out at Clean Break in Kentish Town.

They have a loverly outdoor space that like a lot of places because of the pandemic is in need of a little TLC

Tasks for this group run will be clean the patio, which will involve weeding, scraping, sweeping and pressure washing!

We’ll also be taking on a refresh of the out door furniture, giving them a guide sand and varnish to get them look good again and to make sure the last longer.

Meet at the Living Centre at 6:45pm, you can leave your bags there and collect when we return. It’s about 2.1km distance each way.

Or meet at the task around 7pm: Clean Break 2 Patshull Rd, London NW5 2LB. (First right behind the job centre)

Clean Break is a women’s theatre company changing lives and changing minds – on stage, in prison and in the community.