6 GoodGymers braved the chill in Camden last night!

While most Londoners huddled in thick coats one special group were busy with wheelbarrows and shovels and hedge trimmers too.

Assembling at Charlie Ratchford Court alongside the lovely Catherine from Green City Projects, Hannah, Jackie, John, Siobhan, and Steve didn't look cold at all!

No task was too much effort for this crew! Together we:

✅ Removed a tarpaulin sheet from a soon-to-be-planted flower bed

✅ Emptied a GIANT sack of sand into endless wheelbarrows for safe depositing

✅ Emptied another GIANT sack of soil into fresh planters

✅ Cut tens (maybe hundreds..!) of overhanging branches

✅ And more!

It is wonderful seeing what 6 pairs of hands can achieve ❤️

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

7 GoodGymers added good deeding and coffee to their Saturday mix!

There are three flower beds on Camden Square that are now cared for by the local community.

Two are already filled with rich colour while one is getting ready for shaping.

And it was this latter bed that caught our focus this morning.

Hannah joined us on their second good deed (welcome!) and Maria traveled over from West London (welcome!), and they joined our regular Camden crew of Imogen, Helen, Jackie, and John.

We grabbed spades and forks and dug deep into the earth to lift a hefty pile of weeds and roots.

After 60 minutes of work and conversation, we left a tidy space and headed out for coffee :)

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

8 GoodGymers made a wonderful difference in Kentish Town!

We took a visit to one of our usual haunts last night.

Nestled in a corner of a cul de sac — away from the usual bustle of Kentish Town — is a very special sheltered housing scheme.

With a winding garden full of seasonal delights, this group got to quick work yesterday evening!

❤️ Alex, Sam (on their first good deed — welcome!), and Steve transformed a weed strewn vegetable patch into a perfect image of fresh soil ripe and ready for next year's planting :)

❤️ Gary and John started off by weeding one flower bed... then two... then three! And then they turned their quick hands to raking and sweeping, making everything better by the minute :)

❤️ Caitlin and Jackie visited a resident's garden and made the swiftest and most efficient work of the fallen leaves, gifting this space back to the very grateful resident :)

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

🎵 "Oh what a beautiful morning..." 🎵

When Goodgymmers John and Jacqueline mentioned they were coming up from London to do a Parkrun in Liverpool, Sallyann quickly mobilised to arrange a warm Liverpool welcome. Despite it not being the usual monthly Goodgym Parkrun date - and therefore no prized stickers on offer to tempt people - she rallied a fabulous turnout.

On a gorgeous crisp bright autumn morning, we welcomed back Laura after her break from maternity leave, it was so lovely to see her again and amazing to see how it felt like she'd never been away. Miriam made great strides in her running, taking place in her second ever parkrun, and after a running break Heetu was back in the game.

Jessica smashed it by running a 5k before she even reached the park, the 9am parkrun was her second that day! Dike casually let slip he accidentally ran an unplanned marathon earlier in the week - he set off to do 15k, but kept going for all 40+! Leonardo did some excellent recruiting and we hope to see some new members soon off the back of his conversations. Lucien remains dedicated to supporting the runners and turned out to cheer everyone on, and Amina & Steph did the hard part and joined us for the run even though they sadly couldn't make it for breakfast. And I frantically tried to keep up with Sally Ann, who - despite having only recently returned to running after injuries - was absolutely smashing the speed and did an amazing job on her return to Princes Park.

After Parkrun and the classic photo, we headed over to new favourite cafe Maw for a well earned breakfast, where John and Jackie were delighted with the vegan cake selection. It turns out they're very well travelled for both Parkrun and Goodgym, and John makes the most of the numerous GG areas in London by attending sessions in several of them. John, next time you're in Hackney, send our love to Dan! We compared area notes and admired the Goodgym sticker adorning John's phone - any chance for a bit of exposure! As we chatted like old friends we were pleased Liam was able to join us for a coffee.

The large group of red t shirts attracted quite a bit of interest and we were approached by several people interested in joining us. And after such a beautiful morning, it's clear to see why. Even the sun shone on us, and with a wide range of running abilities everyone was welcomed and supported, no matter where they were on their running journey. It was a gorgeous start to the weekend and we all left on a high, surrounded by positivity and lovely people doing lovely things.