Rain, Resolutions & a Hidden Gem

Our group run to Stephens House and Gardens from the Phoenix Cinema had all the hallmarks of a tough one. It might have been a relatively mild 10°C, but the steady rain and gloomy skies made it feel intimidating. And yet incredibly everyone turned up. Not a single runner was put off by the forecast or the prospect of getting soaked.

We gathered in the foyer of the Phoenix Cinema, shaking off the drizzle and catching up. It was great to welcome Matta brand-new runner, clearly committed to his New Year resolution of trying something different. Fresh back from cold-water dipping in Sweden. we hope to see him at our next challenging event.

Our warm-up chat turned to resolutions kept, broken, or still evolving before we headed out into the rain, easing into the pace with George sensibly anchoring the back. Don’t forget: capture your run or walk on Strava every activity counts for the January Challenge.

About 20 minutes later we arrived at Stephens House and Gardens. By then the drizzle had eased, and we were warmly welcomed by the wonderful volunteer duo Alison and Warwick, who give so much of their retirement time to supporting this historic place.

Our task was a satisfying one: clearing leaves from the front car park and the stable yard — a job that’s particularly effective late in the evening once the cars have gone. Armed with wheelbarrows, brooms, shovels and rubble bags, we soon filled two very large bags of leaves. Jackie was so engrossed she barely seemed to want to stop proof that leaf-clearing can be strangely addictive.

Before heading off, we reflected on just how important this place is. Stephens House is a real hidden gem, run as a trust and heavily reliant on community support. Many people don’t realise how vulnerable places like this are right now. Whether it’s popping in for a coffee, enjoying the food, attending an event or even hosting a wedding every visit helps. Even the Antiques Roadshow recognised its charm, filming three episodes here.

The run back revealed a lovely irony: East End Road was closed to traffic, but on foot we slipped straight past the barriers — yet another reminder of how adaptable (and smug) runners can be.

Most of us finished back at the Phoenix Cinema for well-earned refreshments: popcorn, homemade chocolate, and cider generously supplied by Theo — our resident cameraman for the night.

A wet evening, a brilliant turnout, a great task and another reminder of why GoodGym works so well.

13 GoodGymers welcomed some wonderful good deeding into Camden this Wednesday!

It was the day of the ice. When Londoners slipped and slided. And most (sensible) folk tried to stay inside...

...but this wonderful group bucked that trend!

Charlie, Hassaan (on their first good deed — welcome!), Helen, Jack, Jackie, John, Kareem, Loz, Lydia, Rohan (on their first Camden good deed — welcome!), Steve, and Tam turned up ready and willing to be outside and active :)

After some meeting and greeting and a swift group warm up, we split into two groups to get moving with our task for the evening.

FoodCycle are a special charity. They use donated and throw-out food to make FREE community meals each and every week. They're a lifeline for many and a community for more.

We were out spreading the word for their weekly meal in Camden. A huge pile of leaflets awaited us. And with them in hand...

...off we went!

One group stayed local and targeted estates around Somers Town, and one group went a little further and targeted roads in the southern tip of Kentish Town :)

By the end we had delivered over 700 flyers and enjoyed some lovely connection and conversation!

Thank you, everyone! Here's to next time!

There is a large — possibly huge — tree at Cecil Sharp House.

It must have looked over Camden Town for more years than is possible to count.

It certainly has more leaves than is possible to even imagine.

But our friendly and hardy group have been raking, sweeping, grabbing, and packing this tree’s leaves all season.

And last night — just in time for Christmas — was our final leaf–tackling outing until next autumn 😊

Chandrima, Jackie, John, Lydia Siobhan, Steve, Susannah (our brilliant host), and Victoria didn’t waste any time in donning gloves and getting to work.

First they raked and swept and grabbed and packed, and second they hauled a GIGANTIC number of heavy bags (choc with leaves) to the front of Cecil Sharp ready for collection and composting 😊

Thank you, everyone! Here’s to… 2026!

There was a lot to do for the eight of us, helping set up Kentish Town Farm's Christmas fair. Working as a team, we put up ten rows of bunting: not that plasticky stuff you would buy in a mini-mart, but nicely home-knitted triangles of random colours.

There are a varied selection of buildings in the farmyard: offices, sheds and animal houses, so each row of bunting presented a different challenge: where to hang it from, how to get up to the hanging-from place, and how to stop the things sagging in the middle, where people were walking past, without snapping the thin string

There was much more to do: moving heavy tables to be used for stalls, presents to be wrapped for the £2 children's "lucky dip", and bags to be shifted. DaMarcus and Jackie decorated a whole shed, and we even recruited a potential new Camden GoodGymer!