7 Goodgymmers were in for a proper biceps workout as they helped the always wonderful Alan from the Meadow Orchard to harvest some clay for a forthcoming session.

CSI: Haringey

Our Goodgymmers arrived at the Meadow Orchard tonight, full of smiles and bonhomie, completely unaware of what a bit of clay harvesting actually entailed.

Very soon we found out it was a matter of get busy living, or get busy digging and as the Shawshank Redemption references rolled out from our Goodgymmers, we shovelled our way into the bit of the Orchard's prepped for us for the task at hand. The area, formerly the site of tennis courts apparently, was tough to get through but once we reached a depth of about a third of a Gramps, we reached the beautiful, sticky, messy London clay. What a sight to behold.

We then began packing it up in bags to be used at a later date in an eco-building project.

Boom.

Then, in true Andy Dufresne style, we effectively snuck out of the Orchard while Alan from the Friends group was distracted looking for more bags to fill! You can read their much better version of this story - here

We made our way to the pub afterwards for beverages and to celebrate in true #BadGym style our Paul's birthday.

Fun.

8 lycanthropic Goodgymmers huffed, puffed, and blew the house down at Wolves Lane.

Spinning Straw Into Gold

Elki from Wolves Lane welcomed us with open arms, loads of cutting utensils, and a mountainous 1.5 tonne pile of hay that needed processing so it could go into the compost piles.

Proving that it would be easier to find the proverbial needle in a haystack than it would be to dampen the spirit of our Goodgymmers, they attacked the pile with gusto and purpose.

Latoya, fashionably late due to Gramps/Arsenal/Newly-imposed tariffs on timekeeping/literally anything else she could blame but herself, regaled us with stories of her exploits over her many years of Goodgym missions after on-field debutant Mark enquired about the ins and outs of this facet of Goodgym. Incredibly enough, stories about flying nappies, accidental pond-dipping, and "kidnapping" by the senior community didn't discourage Mark but in fact it seemed to motivate him to try missions - a natural fit to the GG Haringey fam, our Mark. Boom.

After about an hour of shenanigans, we had managed to make our way through about two thirds of the haystack, much to Elki's surprise and delight, and it was time to go off in search of beverages. But not before a quick pitstop to say hello to the terrapins. It wouldn't be a visit to Wolves Lane without a terrapin sighting.

#LongChip

Shout to Dave and Sarah for tonight's pun action.

Join us next week: Monday at Traid for fashionable shenanigans, and Wednesday at Meadow Orchard followed by a social. Come!

It was back to nursery for 4 Goodgymmers as we ferried plants to a from at Russell Park.

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

A small hiccup with our task for the evening meant that our Goodgymmers had to detour to Russell Park to complete next week's task tonight instead.

LIke the pros that they are, our heroes were lending the Friends group a had as they were salvaging literal hundreds of plants for a certain death (being binned) by transferring to the safe haven of a new plant nursery (Floyde's Garden).

Armed with gloves, a wheelbarrow, and buttery underfoot reflexes, our Goodgymmers made light work of the dark task. Highlight of the chat was the moment when our Julie, returning from some glorious time away, regaled us with the story that she got so excited during her holiday telling someone about Goodgym Haringey that she... check notes... fell off a high rock! We were assured she was ok. But there you go, I suppose I need to add health risks tags to future run invites. Prolonged exposure to Goodgym Haringey may cause clumsiness.

Just before 8, we had successfully saved every single plant and we all headed home, in search of warmth and sustenance.

Join us next week when we'll be actually doing tonight's task instead!

This week, the Achilles International team met up at Arsenal tube station, ready for our monthly session at the Emirates Stadium. 7 Goodgym guides and supporters were on hand to help our visually impaired running friends to complete a variety of workouts around a slightly wet 700m loop. We were so happy to invite 4 first time guides as well- wonderful to have you join us!

We were thrilled to be joined by top Achilles International guides Rob and Philippa - two of our most consistent members who have contributed so much over years. We wish them all the best on their new adventures in Sheffield! And we hugely appreciated the delicious lemon drizzle cake on offer to celebrate your last run with us (for now!).

We were also very happy to catch up with Stephen, who has been away from our sessions for a little while. Stephen has been training for months to prepare for a 54km ultra marathon in Slovenia, while fundraising for Achilles International. Congratulations, and great to have you back!

To finish our evening, we enjoyed a trip to The Brook Gate on Blackstock Road for refreshments, hot food and good times!

Great work everyone. We will be back next week at Paddington Rec Track (Maida Vale). Sign up here:

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/come-and-guide-run-with-achilles-international-paddington-rec-track-f84dc6a2-273c-474c-bd46-5e29cc1d7268