4 GoodGymers caught sun (and weeds) in Central London!

Our wonderful group – Alex, Majid, Matt, and Steve – joined brilliant host David and made a meaningful difference in Brunswick Square in Bloomsbury!

The flower beds in this special public park are filled with a bountiful range of flowers, plants, and trees, but they're also competing with some over friendly weeds.

And our group grabbed rakes, trowels, and hoes to free the space from the weeds that take over – and across two hours, we filled a huge sack with fresh material for the compost pile :)

Thank you, everyone!! Wonderful work!!

6 GoodGymers ran 8 miles together today!*

This wonderful group – Al, Alex, Jenny, John, Kat, and Steve – caught Sunday morning vibes!

Regent's Park was busy with the strolling crowd, and we wove our way through to rack up three full loops!

We finished with coffee and continued the chats that had been flowing between us the whole way around :)

Here's to July's social run!!

Unfortunately I was not able to complete this mission 🙁. I would like to report few more details that might be useful for reorganising.

It turned out that instead of the chair (which I expected based on the description), it was a small sofa that needs to be assembled. Ms I also mentioned few other furniture that requires the same.

I was really considering making a start on it but:

i) I am not experienced in assembling bigger furniture and got worried I will not get it right;

ii) from the size and the level of complexity of the instructions, assembling it looked like a job for at least two goodgymmers (and maybe someone stronger than me);

iii) the room it's currently in is small and crammed so I think it will be the best idea to complete the assembly in one go (rather than in parts).

I was very sorry I wasn't able to help Ms I today and I think she also knew that this could be a case as right in the beginning she said that she expected 2-3 people to arrive 😆.

I have taken few photos of the sofa that needs the assembly. I hope they will give a good idea on the work required and could be used to rearrange the mission.

This group of 9 gifted joy to Camden's older residents this week!

Our lovely group of Londoners – Charlie, Danny, Gosia, Jackie, John, and Steve – welcomed 2 very wonderful Cardiffians – Dylan and Rosie – this week! It was brilliant meeting you both!

In humid and warm climes, our friendly group started the night with a swift meander through Camden and Kentish Town, and we arrived at Cressfield Close Sheltered Housing in happy spirits :)

Popped between Gospel Oak and Kentish Town, this cul-de-sac hides many a wonderful surprise – some like to visit the city farm (and their friendly goats) and others (like us yesterday) like to explore the (beautiful) communal garden for older residents.

We met our favourite hosts – Marie and Michael – and they were prepared with water and tools, as well as tasks aplenty.

Charlie and Danny turned a patch of planting soil – making it wonderfully ready and waiting for summer bulbs!

Dylan and Rosie tackled a square of weeds and grass – and made the heavy work appear light, leaving it clear and ready for planting!

And Gosia, Jackie, John, and Steve didn't let the hedgerows become obstacles – they crawled and knelt and reached and dug – and they turned a weed-filled patch into a silky-smooth area fit for a flower show!

Thank you, everyone! It was lovely to see you!! And we hope to see you again, Dylan and Rosie!!

Mr A was well prepared when I arrived to clean the windows in his second floor flat, with bucket, window squeegee, cleaner and cloths on a table for me to use. He showed me each of the rooms that he wanted the windows cleaned (two bedrooms, living room with balcony, kitchen) and I got to work.

Accessing the outside of the windows proved a real challenge in the bedrooms where I was reaching the limits of how far I could stretch my arms to just get to the furthest corners. Fortunately the large balcony windows were more accessible, both outside and in, and once they were done (including the small top ones which again required some reaching to get to the corners) it was just the kitchen windows, where I ended up sitting on the sill to get them done.

Mr A proved to be a tough and observant taskmaster, pointing out with his crutch any spots or streaks that I'd missed either on the inside or out, but by the end he was commenting on my "nice work" and thanking me profusely for my efforts. He rewarded me with an almond croissant and a cup of tea with a slice of lime, and we had a good long chat about his early life in London and trips back to his homeland, before I wished him farewell.

A week before the event, we had 21 people signed up. Then the weather forecast came out: rain showers... And even possible thunderstorms in the wider area. On the day, we still had 11 enthusiastic walkers, but two pulled out in the morning, one Northener overslept, and a Southener who was still signed up went to Arsenal instead!

Lily joined us despite being new to GoodGym with just one good deed under her belt so far (welcome Lily, hope to see you at a task soon) and she brought along her daughter. So there were nine of us clutching raincoats, but the rain hardly came,the weather stayed mild with just a couple of brief showers lasting a minute or two. We didn't even get lost, except at the start where we couldn't initially work out how to get onto the river at all.

It went smoothly after that - we stopped briefly at Lee rowing club for refreshments and a comfort break, went past industrial areas, prettier places, the Camden Town Brewery extension, building sites and at one stage were chased along a narrow path by a Super Loop bus!

We completed the whole walk of nearly 18km in less than four and a half hours, finishing at the attractive old market town of Waltham Abbey. We were recommended the Angel pub, where we headed to covered benches at the back of the pub garden, and discussed the merits of salt, vinegar or ketchup on chips.

Then we split up, diverging to Waltham Cross and Theobalds Grove stations, still with plenty of time for evening activities.