Our task at Ockwells Park could not go ahead due to extensive flooding - wetsuits would have been more appropriate than the wellies we were going to bring! Nonetheless the rangers at Braywick Nature Centre found us an alternative task at Braywick, clearing mud from the paths. The mud has been creeping onto the paths from the sides, and together with leaf mould from fallen leaves, the paths have become slippery for walkers and runners. Garry, Angela, Rosie, Rachel and Sheila went armed with spades, shoves, rakes and a wheelbarrow, and set to work. We managed to widen quite a long stretch of path, and Garry even discovered a whole section of path which had become over-run with ivy, forcing people to make a detour which had become very muddy. He also cut back the tree to allow people to use the path again - see if you can tell which section that was on your next Maidenhead park run! It was a good workout on a very chilly morning and we were all a bit warmer on our way home.

20 goodgymers signed up for this session - the most we’ve had since the launch! We met at the community centre for a briefing about the task from Amy and an exchange of window puns (I’d steal them and pass them off as my own but I don’t want to make this too paneful) and then walked and ran the 2km to Braywick Health Nursery. The task owner Kit had a number of things that needed shifting so we were divided into two groups.

One group helped clear equipment from a very rickety shed (which, despite its intentions, did not fall down) and store everything away safely so the shed could be sent to ‘live on a farm’. As well as the expected shovels and rakes, we uncovered a huge connect four game (sadly only the frame so we couldn’t have a go), a couple of snails, and a lot of wooden Christmas trees, which are about as hard to store sensibly as you’d imagine. We finished that quickly but it wasn’t curtains just yet - we were set to window cleaning, which goodgym has helped with here many times before. We managed to make quite good progress, especially when wet cloths were replaced with Gillian wielding a hose!

The other group stayed inside in the light and helped move furniture, something goodgym started last time we visited, so the space can be used as a new staff area. This required the use of trolleys and a lot of strategic planning to make sure everyone left with the same number of toes. They also replaced some of the old ceiling tiles with new ones, so I think it’s fair to say that goodgym both literally and figuratively raised the roof.

After we’d completed the tasks and regrouped at the front of the nursery, we finished the night with a fitness session involving many creative variations of the Mexican wave. Then we set off home, amazed (and I do hope I’m not jinxing it for next week) that we hadn’t been rained on!

Last night's group session was special for LOADS of reasons:

• Mandy came for the first time and had so much fun we had to drag her off the premises at the end. Welcome Mandy!

• Councillor Jack came to find out all about GoodGym and the awesome things we do and he worked his socks off too. Great to meet you Jack!

• Jenni was wearing her gorgeous, brand new 500 GOOD DEEDS t-shirt. Just look at her halo shining in that photo!

• Ric from climate action group Carbon Copy joined us and helped loads on the task. It is thanks to Ric that we are involved in the brilliant Running Out of Time relay from Ben Nevis to Big Ben, which starts on the 10th of June and aims to highlight the fact that we are running out of time to tackle climate change. Ric and I are carrying the baton on stage #333 from Dorney to Windsor on the 8th of July, and this is such big news that...

• ...Meridian/ITV wanted to interview me and get some footage of GoodGymers in action. Thanks to everyone who came early (we even got Sheila pre-netball!) to this session so we could show reporter Juliet and cameraman Markian our lovely red t-shirts. You all did a great job of working hard (and quietly) while I posed in various locations and tried to explain in 30 seconds the million reasons why I love GoodGym and why we all need to work together to look after our planet. The plan is to get some more footage at the relay and fingers crossed we'll be on the telly in July. I'll keep you posted! Anyone can join the relay run and there are lots of stages to choose from. You can run with me and Ric or pick a different location. Click here to join the fun.

• Also, with a bit of extra time on the task and many hands, we got masses done! Braywick Heath Nurseries General Manager Kit always has great tasks up his sleeves, and this was no exception. The team made rapid work of shifting some pallets from one side of the site to the other and then got stuck into the gritty business of sorting out the floor. This involved weeding and levelling areas, laying gravel-retaining grids and then using spades and barrows to shift gravel from a large outdoor area into the grids. It was heavy work, but the team did an amazing job. I can't take much credit as I was mostly chatting and cheerleading, but I'm still super proud!

• The sun shone and you lot shone! You're all superstars.

Last night we returned to Braywick Heath Nurseries to shifts lots more stuff and make some top notch before and after photos. It was great to welcome Katie to her first big Wednesday evening session, and to see everyone else's lovely faces too.

A very, very special mention to Jenni, who was joining us for her 501st good deed, having celebrated her big 500 with Ealing last month. Jenni was one of the first GoodGymers I ever met (on a Foodbank mission in Acton before GoodGym Windsor & Maidenhead even existed) and she came to our launch. As a Taskforce member and Run Leader, she has not only done heaps of good deeds herself, but she has also helped lots of other people to do good things. She has moved a bit closer to us, so we hope to see lots more of her. Also, well done Anna, for apparently recruiting Jenni in the first place!

The right Kit for the job

Richt, back to reporting on the evening's events: we met at the task to make the most of the daylight, and task owner Kit briefed us on everything that needed shifting.

A hop, skip and a dump

First up was to shift a big pile of old planks into the skip. Taking care of the plentiful rusty nails, Jenni, Garry, Rachel, Diya, Anna and I hopped to it. No one wants to hold a plank for too long, so we quickly (but neatly) dumped everything into the skip.

Pallet cleansers

Meanwhile, Kanika, Gillian, Katie and Emily got stuck into another big job - shifting stacks of heavy pallets through a polytunnel and stacking them on the other side of the site. As the plank crew ran out of planks, we joined the pallet crew and we made the most of our return journeys to shift more scrap wood and chicken wire back to the skip.

Heavy sleepers

We were pretty tired by this point, so it was time for a big sleep(er...or eight)! Garry did an amazing job shifting these huge pieces of wood (and their resident spiders) onto a trolley and through the polytunnel. I helped until I was sacked and replaced by Anna, who did not sleep(er) on the job.

Heavy metal

Last on the to do list was to shift a pile of old polytunnel roof poles across the site, ready to be sold for scrap metal. In this task we showed both strength and balance, just like all good pole dancers, and then we stripped off to show off our...

...GOODGYM T-SHIRTS (of course!) in our final group photos. It was an excellent workout and we made a huge difference. Kit was really grateful for everyone's hard work.

A flying finish

Some of the group then had to fly, so set off for home. Kudos to Kanika and Diya, who were on their bikes. Well done to Gillian and Emily, who joined me for a 2.5km lap of the Nature Reserve. It was a joy except for all the pesky flies!