Gardening for the Record Books

Last night’s group run took us to Shepherds Hill Gardens, where we helped Pat and the Friends group look after this lovely local park.

We gathered outside the Phoenix Cinema for our warm-up and chatted about our favourite Guinness World Records. We started with Ethel Caterham, who recently became the first British person to reach 117 and is currently the world’s oldest living person. She still has a little way to go to match France’s Jeanne Calment, who lived to an extraordinary 122 years and 164 days.

Other records included Usain Bolt’s remarkable 100m time of 9.58 seconds. Richard, who has a good head for UK temperatures, correctly recalled our highest recorded temperature: 40.3°C at Coningsby in Lincolnshire in July 2022.

It was all very topical as GoodGym Barnet set off in slightly above-average temperatures at a significantly faster pace than usual with the vein hope we might all live a little longer!

We took a slight detour through Highgate Wood, making the most of one of our last opportunities this year to run through it before the earlier seasonal closing times. It was beautiful running beneath the cool, green shade of the trees.

We kept up a good pace and eventually reached Shepherds Hill Gardens, where we met fellow GoodGym members Nicole, Fanny Sonya and Lucy. Together, we assisted Pat by clearing around the benches, cutting back ivy and tidying an area further down the park where somebody had started a fire.

As usual, Pat rewarded everyone with some lovely refreshments: fresh mint tea, fizzy water, fruit juice and delectable chocolate biscuits.

After a welcome drink and chat, it was time to head back through the warm evening.

Thanks to everyone who came along, enjoyed a good run and helped care for this valuable community green space.

GoodGym Barnet headed to the churchyard at St Mary’s, one of Barnet’s oldest and most historic buildings.

We met Helen and Julian, who are working to photograph and catalogue some of the churchyard’s fascinating protected gravestones. Armed with loppers and saws, we cleared away the vegetation that was obscuring them, ready for the photography to take place the following day.

It was a satisfying evening helping to uncover and record an important part of Barnet’s history — well worth protecting for future generations.

Barnet Community Harvesters gathered a crack team of pickers for a run on the Gordon Road Allotments in Finchley, and Goodgym was there to cheer them on. Cherian, Paul and I rocked up in the weirdest flash rainstorm, with a rainbow glowing overhead and a wild mix of sun and rain still spitting down. But Daniella was there with fruit pickers, harvesting sacks and crates, along with 5 other volunteers, rearing to go.

We started on the two big community apple trees near the top of the allotment. The ground around them was already littered with windfalls, but there were plenty more nestling in the branches. We gathered nearly three full crates, one of a perfumed pink apple a bit like a Discovery, and another two of an unknown green cooker. Then, mid-way through climbing into one tree, the allotmenteers confirmed permission to pick a plum tree deeper into the grounds.

In all, we gathered over 40kg of apples, and around another 5-10kg of plums. We also gathered some of the windfall and stuff we knocked while wielding the fruit pickers, and left it on the allotment sharing table for others to enjoy.

Ten Years of GoodGym Barnet – Back Where It All Began

Ten years ago GoodGym Barnet held its first group run to Long Lane Pasture. Yesterday we went back to where it all began with old friends, new faces and over 30 people joining us to celebrate a decade of doing good in our community.

A big group set off from the Phoenix Cinema after our traditional warm-up but this time we also went around the group remembering some of our favourite GoodGym moments from the last ten years. Gardening, clearing graffiti from the Phoenix, Halloween runs in fancy dress, Tiny Forests, litter picks and countless community missions. It was a lovely reminder of just how varied GoodGym has been.

We ran through the back streets of East Finchley, keeping everyone together with the occasional stop for squats, exercises and a few questionable drop kicks!

At Long Lane Pasture we met Donald, other volunteers, councillors and GoodGymers who had made their own way there. Donald told us a little about this wonderful nature reserve, saved from development and now looked after by volunteers.

After gathering around the Green Flag for a photo, we squeezed in some gentle yoga breathing and mobility before getting down to business , clearing litter from the footpath alongside the reserve.

Then came the important birthday business: cake and beer!

Huge thanks to Donald and everyone at Long Lane Pasture for hosting us and providing plenty of cake, Richard for the vegan cake, Athletic Brewing for the beers and Theo for some additional refreshments with a little more kick!

There was another milestone worth celebrating too: congratulations to Subham on reaching over a 100 good deeds. What better evening to do it.

Most importantly, it was wonderful seeing people who have been part of GoodGym Barnet at different times over the last decade. Some we see every week, others we haven’t seen for years. You’re always welcome back even if it’s only once a year!

One message we received afterwards perhaps summed the evening up best:

“The energy is infectious. You have created a wonderful community, and Barnet is richer for having you in it.”

But GoodGym isn’t really about what we have created. It’s about supporting people like Donald and the volunteers at Long Lane Pasture, and all those people across Barnet who quietly take responsibility for our green spaces, charities and community organisations.

Sometimes a couple of hours of our time gets a job done. Just as importantly, hopefully it reminds those people that they aren’t doing it alone and that what they do is noticed and valued.

And it does something for us too. Getting outside, being active and doing something useful alongside other people is pretty good medicine for life.

We might only make a small difference each time but a small difference is considerably better than no difference at all.

After ten years, we’re still running, walking and cycling into our community, getting our hands dirty and seeing where we can help.

Here’s to the next few years and hopefully plenty more familiar and new faces joining us along the way. ❤️

Happy 10th birthday GoodGym Barnet!