GoodGym Barnet Starter Session & January Challenge Good Deed

A dull January day, but thankfully the rain mostly held off just the odd light mist to keep things atmospheric.

We gathered at Stephens House & Gardens, chatting and welcoming everyone along. Huge thanks to today’s heroes , and a big welcome to Joyceon her very first GoodGym run she did magnificently and fitted right in from the off.

We spent a bit of time talking about why Stephens House & Gardens is such a special place. As a charitable trust, it relies heavily on volunteers and community support, and it’s somewhere we help throughout the year with a wide range of tasks.

From there, we headed off to Long Lane Pastures, a local nature reserve we support occasionally. It’s a fantastic spot to explore, but the path alongside it was looking pretty tired, so out came the bags and litter-pickers. With limited time we didn’t quite finish the job definitely one to return to.

We then ran on to visit the Tiny Forest, giving our newer runners and walkers a flavour of the kinds of community projects we support on GoodGym runs.

After the session, some of us rounded things off with well-earned snacks and drinks at the Stables Café back at Stephens House & Gardens a perfect way to end the morning.

Another great example of getting active, doing good, and enjoying each other’s company. Well done everyone

This morning I volunteered at parkrun Hampstead Heath, helping out as a barcode scanner. It’s a surprisingly easy role, just an app on your phone .but it puts you right at the heart of the event. You meet everyone: from the front-of-the-pack speedsters to those finishing with a big smile at the back, scanning their parkrun ID and position token and sharing a few words as they pass through.

After the weather we’ve had this week, it felt like a gift of a morning. I took Gus along ,he loves anything sociable , and the whole atmosphere was relaxed, friendly, and quietly joyful. I even got chatting to an Austrian woman who’s recently moved to London and is still getting to know the area; she asked me to take a couple of photos for her, which felt very much in the spirit of parkrun.

Before the start, the race director gathered everyone together and spoke about how much parkrun relies on volunteers. Quite soberingly, he mentioned that Victoria Dock parkrun has recently had to close due to a lack of volunteer support. His point was simple: if everyone volunteered once for every ten runs they do, parkrun would never struggle. Even Hampstead Heath — with its 400–500 runners this morning — sometimes finds it hard to fill the roster.

Luckily today, three young women completing their Duke of Edinburgh Award were also helping out, which made a real difference. The whole thing wrapped up quickly, meaning Gus and I were back home by 11am — a dog walk, a social catch-up, and a bit of community contribution all rolled into one.

If you enjoy parkrun, or even if you’ve never done one, I’d really encourage you to take a look at the parkrun website and consider volunteering. It’s easy, welcoming, and genuinely uplifting — and without volunteers, it simply doesn’t happen.

Dark Arts, Woodchip & New Faces 🌙🌲

Last night’s group run reminded us why GoodGym is such a brilliantly odd and rewarding thing to be part of.

We gathered in the welcoming glow of the Phoenix Cinema foyer, chatting and catching up while meeting a couple of new faces a warm welcome to Jack and Jamie who both dived straight into the spirit of the evening. Numbers were handed out and, in keeping with January tradition, we briefly checked in on how everyone’s New Year’s resolutions were going. The verdict? Not much to report but crucially, everyone had turned up, which already counts as a win.

A quick warm-up followed outside the cinema, making full use of the uphill gradient for kick-ups, crossovers and skips ... proof that you don’t need fancy equipment when you’ve got gravity on your side.

Subham kindly volunteered to back-mark… and within about two minutes found himself at the front of the group. To his credit, he noticed before anyone else did, which gave us all a good laugh!

We headed off towards St Martin’s Primary School, only to arrive to a scene straight out of a mystery novel: locked gates, no lights, and a very quiet school. Just as we were wondering whether we’d taken a wrong turn into a spy film, John appeared to open up and set us to work.

Tasks included improving paths around the forest school area particularly near the fire pit and outdoor kitchen with the added bonus that we managed to tackle some extra path work too. A bit of digging, some wheelbarrowing, and a lot of purposeful activity in near darkness: exactly the kind of thing that makes GoodGym feel refreshingly different from an indoor gym session.

Before long it was tools down, a steady run back and gentle stretch.

Running, digging, and volunteering in the dark on a cool January evening turns out to be just about perfect: short, sharp, effective exercise with real purpose. For Jack and Jamie and anyone else wondering whether to come back this is what we do. Different every week, always friendly, and always worth turning up for.

Same time next week?

A few GoodGym members came online to do yoga.

Yoga talk Holding a posture engages the muscles, fascia, and nervous system, stimulating mild stress that builds strength and stability. But unlike many workouts, yoga follows this with a deliberate release a moment to soften, breathe, and recalibrate.

In beautiful winter sunshine, George Peter ( welcome great to see you!) and I (Paul Salman) had the pleasure of representing GoodGym Barnet at a wonderfully uplifting community orchard planting day, organised in partnership with The Orchard Project and Earthwatch. It took place in a small, little-known park one of those hidden green spaces that reminds you how many surprises still exist close to home if you’re willing to step slightly off your usual path.

Around 20 people came together, from children to seasoned GoodGym runners, all drawn by the idea of turning an underused space into something vibrant, productive, and shared. Lizzy from The Orchard Project guided us with infectious enthusiasm and crystal-clear explanations not just what to do, but why we were doing it this way. Square holes (not round!) to help roots spread, fungal powder to encourage healthy growth, careful staking, and making sure the graft union sat safely above soil level every detail felt purposeful.

We planted a rich mix of fruit trees and bushes designed to encourage biodiversity and community use for generations. An Apple Discovery, ripening early in August and kept low so children can reach the fruit easily. A beautiful pear tree, tall, long-lived, and potentially standing here for 150 years now that is a legacy. Plums, greengage, Golden Drop (ready in September), plus an edible island of fruiting bushes and herbs, all adding layers of colour, food, and habitat to the park.

Fuelled by an astonishingly generous vegan lunch (so plentiful people were encouraged to take food home), we returned to finish the planting and then gathered for wassailing singing to bless the trees and wish them a strong harvest. We used a traditional song sheet from Hackney Wassailand while I can’t guarantee my singing will help the trees grow, let’s hope it doesn’t do the opposite.

A new green space has been gently nudged into life, with the hope it draws people in, grows food, builds connection, and maybe even inspires more singing next yearafter a fantastic harvest.

if you’d like to visit Freehold Community Centre 9 Alexandra RoadLondonN10 2EY London England N10 2EY GB

Also, if you’d like to do your own orchard singing

https://hackneywassail.org.uk/songsheet/