There are easier ways to spend a wet November evening. But would they be quite as rewarding?

Some GoodGym evenings run like clockwork. This wasn’t one of them!

Buses were late, plans were changing, people were running, walking or limping, and we hadn’t even started the task. But there was something rather wonderful about everyone’s determination to get there.

Theo appeared at Finchley Central just as I’d assumed nobody was coming. George and Patricia, walking from the Phoenix, somehow managed to arrive shortly after me. Subham sailed past the entrance and had to retrace his steps. Victoria battled the buses and then the locked park gates, but wasn’t going to be defeated. Sadly, Daniel’s earlier commitment overran and he couldn’t join us.

And then the rain started. Perfect!

Meanwhile, Andy, known to GoodGym as simply Savage (a rather misleading name for such an erudite gentleman!), and Richard, another of the wonderful regular volunteers at Stephens House and Gardens, had already been busy preparing our task. Bags and equipment were ready, and the leaf clearing was underway.

Eventually, our scattered GoodGym troops assembled, armed mostly with rakes, and got stuck in.

There was something quite special about working in the park after dark. Some had torches powerful enough to search for lost aircraft, while others made do with the glow of the city sky. The rain kept falling, but strangely nobody seemed particularly bothered. We chatted, raked, gathered leaves and filled bags.

Seven enormous builders’ bags in all! Not bad for an evening when simply getting everyone through the gates had felt like an achievement.

I think there’s something important about evenings like this.

We live in a world where it’s increasingly easy to choose comfort. Stay indoors, keep warm, avoid the rain. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

But occasionally, getting ourselves out into the cold, wet and dark, overcoming a few obstacles and doing something useful for others makes us that little bit stronger.

Not just physically, but mentally too.

Perhaps when we face the challenges of the modern world the following morning, they seem a little less daunting. After all, we’ve already battled the buses, negotiated locked gates, survived the rain and shifted seven bags of leaves!

and you know what? You’re always glad you’ve done it! We turn up. We help out. We go home a little stronger.

A big thank you to everyone who made the effort, and especially to Andy and Richard for welcoming us and preparing the task.

And the lovely thing? Andy had already sent his thanks before the evening was over:

“Many thanks. A great job in not very clement weather. I appreciate it.”

Seven bags of leaves, a few wet jackets and another little GoodGym adventure under our belts.

See you at the next one!