7 GoodGymers made a festive difference in Camden

This wonderful group — Emilie, Harvey, Louise, Olympe, Suzie, and Steve — congregated in a very festive room at Compton Lodge Care Home in Camden.

We were there to help the residents decorate umpteen baubles, and the only limit was our dexterity and creativity!

Emilie's wonderful daughter, Olympe, was our standout bauble artist in residence. She turned a whole array of crafting materials into beautiful creations. Thank you, Olympe!

After 90 minutes of laughter and connection with Compton's residents, we headed out into some very special winter sun :)

Thank you, everyone!

6 GoodGymers caught some good deeding vibes amidst London’s festive fare!

Settled in the heart of Piccadilly sits St James’s Church.

At this time of year, it is a favourite of tourists and Londoners alike (arriving for carols and services aplenty), and we had to bustle our way through the crowds to arrive on time last night.

Yet we were soon off and away to a peaceful garden, where this special group — of Alex, Charlie, Imogen, Kush (new to GoodGym — a huge welcome!), and Steve — made a wonderful difference.

Huge and bountiful trees border this green space, and they’ve been shedding their summer coats since October. Our task was to rake the lawns and sweep the paths, clearing the leaves for good for another year.

The brilliant Catherine from Green City Projects was our host, and alongside her we turned a leaf strewn garden into a clear, safe, and tidy spot in just 60 minutes.

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

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!

12 GoodGymers dodged the rain and helped a Central London winter shelter!

Our friendly group visit the American International Church every winter to help out at their wonderfully important winter shelter.

Coordinated by C4WS, homeless people can get access to at least a month of shelter and support. Warm, safe, and supportive spaces.

And last night was our first trip back this season.

This brilliant group — of Caitlin, Chandrima (on their first good deed — welcome!!), Danny, Emily, Helen, Imogen, Jacqui, John, Loz, Sarah, and Steve — made a healthy difference in the swiftest time.

Beds upon beds were dressed and made, a dining room was brought to life, and gifted toiletries were set out ready for using.

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

I spent 90 minutes with Mrs N today, helping to clean and reorder her flat. I shifted some heavy boxes, rearranged furniture and organised several cupboards to make the space more open and easier for her to move around.

As we worked, we chatted about her life and it was lovely to hear more of her story and connect over a shared enjoyment of music and art. The time passed quickly as the flat gradually transformed into a calmer, more spacious environment.

By the end of the visit, Mrs N was sitting comfortably on the sofa I’d repositioned, smiling to herself as she took in all the new space around her.

It felt like a small but meaningful change and I left feeling grateful for the chance to help make her home feel lighter and more comfortable.

Almost the moment I'd got through the front door, Mr T was clearly itching to tell me something - as I parked myself in the now familiar wooden chair, he mentioned he'd had a winner at 40/1 this week, his best ever odds - even with my limited (but ever expanding courtesy of Mr T's weekly teach-ins) knowledge of the turf, I knew this was a good thing - the fact that Mr T couldn't stop smiling made it clear he was also pretty chuffed. He'd also got his Christmas tree out, so it all felt very cheery and festive in his flat today! I also discovered that £4.99 buys you an inordinate amount of toilet rolls in Lidl...