George and I were proud to represent GoodGym Barnet on a big community mission supporting North London Hospice with their Christmas tree collection fundraiser.

It was a much longer day than our usual GoodGym efforts starting bright and early at 8:30am in Winchmore Hill but brilliantly organised from start to finish. We were paired up with drivers from Redpath Moving, who had generously donated their trucks (and driving skills!). These big vehicles were essential for handling around 70–80 used Christmas trees across Enfield.

The routes looked neat on paper, but in reality required plenty of problem-solving: parking up, running down tight roads, and making sure no tree was left behind. My driver, Chris, was superb calmly manoeuvring into tight spots while we packed up to 45 trees at a time before heading back to unload and start again.

We finished just before dark having seen both sunrise and sunset tired but elated to complete everything we’d been assigned. Along the way we met lots of grateful residents (including one future volunteer for next year!), and we were well looked after with drinks, snacks, and sandwiches.

A long day, great fun, and a real reminder of how satisfying it is to muck in and help out. Huge thanks to North London Hospice for such a slick operation and if this sounds like your kind of thing, get involved next time. You won’t regret it.

A hardy group of Goodgymmers, new and regular, gathered at the Phoenix Cinema for their regular session, only to find... the cinema was closed! Thankfully, the lovely manager was in, and more than happy for us to gather our resolve in the foyer as we prepared to go out into the dark and damp.

Tonight's mission was leafleting for the North London Hospice. Each year they offer a great service collecting Christmas trees and donations to keep themselves going. We had 500 leaflets and many pairs of hands to make light work of delivering them to nearby houses, especially the ones with all their Chrimbo decorations sparkling.

Warming up outside, we welcomed Fanny and Kingsley for the first time, as well as Narina for her second consecutive week (thanks also for bringing Kingsley!). Amazing to see Jacqui also, who can't usually make Tuesday group runs. And, of course, stalwarts Rachel, Subham and Paul making up the numbers.

Then off we went, with Rachel and Paul leading a walking group of 5, and myself, Subham and Jacqui jogging to the far end of the nearby roads, then working our way back to meet them in the middle. Then, after a quick redistribution of the remaining flyers, we set a challenge to see whether the runners could finish and get back to the Phoenix before the walkers. The walkers won, mainly because the runners stopped to take a photo.

Lucky for us, the Phoenix manager was still working and more than happy to open the bar for us! After a round of bevvies (or maybe two for some), we patted ourselves on the back for another job well done.

Looking forward to the new year, on Wednesday 7 January we'll be helping North London Hospice reap the rewards of our leafleting, collecting Christmas trees - a great follow up to start 2026 with!