On a very balmy evening Sarah met Yann and Dave at Blue House Yard, for a very gentle run to Harmony Gardens, where we met Paul, Ed and task owner Mike.

Mike explained our task was to give some very thirsty trees a big drink. He had already filled various bottles, watering cans and a giant Camelbak-style bottle and had them lined up in wheelbarrows and a rickety cart waiting to go.

So we proceeded around the Rec to various trees that needed a boost - serving doubles ) double watering cans that is) to each. We also got stuck in to mulching some of the trees with cardboard and woodchip.

About halfway through it was lovely to see Niamh who had turned up to Harmony Gardens but was guided across the Rec by our voices and our vibrant red t-shirts.

Our work done, some of us then visited the pond in Harmony Gardens to spot frogs and a rather magnificent dragonfly, before heading off to slake our own thirst.

We are back at Harmony Gardens next month - let's hope the drought breaks before then!

On this balmy evening Sarah arrived early at Blue House Yard, and started unwinding some bind weed that had taken over the bed we cleared in a previous task - sadly the people who promised to look after it had not done so. Yann was next to arrive, and it was nice to see him return and congratulate him on his tenth good deed.

Still early, new member Imantha was third to arrive. After a quick warm-up and briefing we were ready to go.

A 2.4km run took us to Abyssinia Court, a sheltered housing scheme run by Hornsey Housing Trust. We were met by Debz, who explained that the courtyards needed a bit of sprucing up ahead of an upcoming BBQ. So armed with gloves and bin bags today's heroes set to sweeping up leaves, picking up litter and pulling weeds out of the cracks in the paving. It was lovely to meet and chat with some of the residents too, who were very welcoming and offered cold drinks for our thirsty team.

Soon it was 8pm and we had filled four black bags. Debz showed us where to put the rubbish, and we scattered into the night.

Three GoodGymers came together to help tidy the gardens at Margaret Hill House.

It was wonderful to welcome Helen to her very first GoodGym session. Welcome to GoodGym, Helen! She worked really hard from the beginning. Dave also did a fantastic job, and together we cleared the garden, trimmed bushes and trees, cut the grass and collected garden waste.

We also enjoyed chatting with the staff and residents, including a lovely lady in her nineties. It was great to see everyone smiling and enjoying the evening together.

A special thank you to Dave for taking some old pieces of scaffolding home so they could be recycled instead of being thrown away. It was a great example of caring for the environment.

Thank you, Dave and Helen, for a wonderful evening. It was great teamwork, and I look forward to the next task! 🌿♻️

I really enjoyed volunteering at the Mulberry Tree Community Garden. I joined the session at around 10:30 and stayed until 12:00. I helped with weeding, cutting the grass and tidying up the garden. Although I had limited time, I was happy to contribute and work alongside the other volunteers. It was a great experience, and I hope to join again in the future. Thank you everyone!

Tonight's task was an annual favourite: distributing flyers to advertise the wonderful Noel Park Festival.

First to arrive at GGHHQ was run leader Sarah, after having run from home in the heat to get there on time. When no one else had arrived by 6:45, Sarah made her way alone to meet task owner Rich, who was clutching a handful of flyers and wearing a suspiciously clean-looking red t-shirt. Welcome back to the fold, Rich!

Sarah had shared a 📍, and she was surprised by the arrival of Clare who hadn't signed up but just happened to be passing by, and decided helping the community was far preferable to a five minute fitness test run. Dave was next up, and just when we thought everyone else was super late Asan appeared.

We split into two teams of two, one each side of the road, with Rich going to flyer a smaller side street. Soon it turned into a little competition between Sarah and Asan on one side, and Dave and Clare on the other. Dave and Clare managed a narrow victory.

On the next street over, Mark appeared. Rich rejoined the group and now it was three on three. Sarah attempted to get a cat to join, but cats are not team players.

Meanwhile Latoya was somewhere in Noel Park trying in vain to catch up with our merry band. Alas, we were too quick for her!

Soon enough we had completed all of the target streets and it was time to melt away into the evening (quite literally perhaps, it's still very hot out there).

This morning's gardening session started an hour earlier than normal to try and beat the baking hot heat. Not much luck on that front - by the time we downed tools at 11am it was already well above 30C and still climbing. Not surprisingly watering was a big part of today's session - for plants and volunteers. Lunch under the mulberry tree was cancelled - we did all leave with a large harvest bag - lettuce, purple sprouting broccoli, courgette, cucumber and herbs - -and before we left we indulged in a lemon meringue pie, baked and brought by one of the team!