Spring shared brightness and heat this morning.

Eight wonderful folk - Alison, Cherian, Emilie, Marek (on their first GG outing - welcome!), Matt, Pete, and Steve - met by the (soon-to-be-public) Ingestre Community Woods for a morning in the sun.

Alison, Emilie, Marek, and Matt grabbed pencils, saws, and drills to remove old signs, shape and cut new signs, sand everything, and apply blackboard-style paint. Over 90 minutes, this group made a technical task look quick and easy!

Cherian, Steve, and Alex meanwhile descended on a pile of wood. Some wood looked fresh and simply needed sorting and moving to a new pile. Other wood looked less fresh and needed shifting to the other side of the estate for collection. Over 90 minutes, this crew made tidy work of everything.

And across it all, the brilliant Pete coordinated and organised everything.

Thanks, everyone! See you soon!

Our friends at Ingestre Road Estate in Tufnell Park needed a little help yesterday.

They care for a special woodland area - built and maintained by this community for decades - and a few new bins were in order.

And recycled (made from plastic bottles) were what they ordered. Swish and smart, these bins will withstand the seasons and blend in with the surrounding trees.

Over 90 minutes, this wonderful group of Alison, Caitlin, Cherian, Emily, John, Pete, and Steve drilled holes, affixed latches, and applied bases. They did all this while Pete showed me how to use a drill.

And... while the handiwork was progressing, Emily and Steve also took 15 minutes to plant a patch of rescued (courtesy of Pete) plants, giving an underloved tree a little more company :)

Thank you so much, everyone!

This Saturday, Camden GoodGym members Nivia, Pete, Gabrielle, and the dynamic duo, the Super Twins Alex and Steve, dug deep into their gardening powers at the Ingestre Community Centre's woodland oasis. With trowels in hand and determination in spades, they turned the space into a blooming masterpiece!

Our green-fingered heroes got stuck into the dirty work, spreading fresh soil to nurture new plants and rejuvenate the woodland area. It was a muddy mission, but their teamwork and humor made it feel less like a chore and more like a garden party! 🌟

Once the groundwork was laid (literally), the group replanted herbs and spruced up the space, leaving it looking vibrant and inviting for the local community to enjoy. A daunting task at first, it was no match for their can-do attitude—they absolutely nailed it in a jiffy!

The morning wrapped up with well-earned teas, biscuits, and chatter, as everyone shared laughs and stories from the week. 🍵🍪

A huge thank you to everyone who lent a hand and to Ingestre Community Centre for the warm hospitality. Together, we’re not just planting seeds—we’re growing community spirit! 🌷💚

Who's up for round two next time? 😉

We witnessed a beautiful late summer sunset yesterday, and I had the joy of enjoying it alongside 15 wonderful folk :)

Ingestre Road Estate was where our group in red descended. Nestled a few minutes from Tufnell Park, this community housing is set amidst mature trees, lively flower beds, and a great-huge-magnificient (and hidden) woodland. We've helped out here a few times this year, and it was special to come back as we look towards Autumn.

Several of us (Alex T, Chalomi, Ivo, Jack, Jackie, Jenny, John, Marta, Sarah H, Steve, and I) started our evening with meandering run up and through the evening hubbub of Kentish Town - whilst several others (Darren, Emily, Jacob, and Sarah A) had made their own ways on foot and pedals.

Met by the wonderful Pete (who used to head up GoodGym Camden), we swiftly split into teams, each tackling a much-needed task.

We had Team Cut-the-Crap-Out-Of-The-Over-Grown-Area (consisting of Ivo, Jenny, Sarah A, and Sarah H), who absolutely transformed a patch of overgrown weeds and brambles across 30 strenuous minutes!

We had Team Tap>Water>Walk>Trees>Water>Repeat (consisting of Alex T, Darren, Emily, and Steve), who gave a newly planted woodland orchard of apple trees the water they deserve :)

We had Team Turn-Bog-Into-Pond (consisting of Jacob, John, and Marta), who shifted bucket after bucket of fresh sand to a natural water-draining pond, gifting it robustness ahead of the wetter months to come!

We had Team Bramble-2-Wheelbarrow-Ramble (consisting of Chalomi and Jack), who cut back oodles of overhanging bramble and who then traversed ramps, gates, and keen photographers as they carefully transported their towering barrow of cut thorns!

And we had our very own litter-picking maestro, Jackie, who bagged a huge pile of litter from both the estate and woodland :)

To top off our evening, a few of us headed to The Vine for a social natter, where we were also met by the wonderful GoodGym Greenwich AA, Rachel :)

Thank you to Pete for organising such a brilliant suit of tasks - and thank you, all, for your energy, work, and time - I appreciate it!

See you soon!

It was Election Eve and all was well.

Camden was aflutter with the sounds of sharpening pencils, ballot-snipping scissors, and huge printers used just once every half-decade to print the 'POLLING STATION' font.

And amidst these sounds of democracy, a group in red was making its gentle way up through Camden and towards Tufnell Park.

Our wonderful regular group of Jackie, John, and Steve had welcomed the equally wonderful Emilie, and we were sharing stories of work, life, and politics as we cut our way through the evening hubbub.

Arriving at the special communal garden areas at Ingestre Community Centre, we were met by the brilliant Emily, Pete, and Sarah, and (under Pete's expert tutelage) we quickly split into Team Cutting-All-Weeds-Completely-Back, Team Water-Dry-Ground-Until-It-FINALLY-Accepts-The-Water, and Team Litter-Pick-Pick.

It was wonderful seeing how much work we can do in 40 minutes when we do it together, and our tasks simply slipped away to being completed.

Thank you, everyone, for a lovely evening, and I really appreciate your work!!

See you soon!

Camden is a special place under a summer evening sky.

Jackie, John, and I met in St Pancras, where we started our evening limbering our limbs and catching up on the week past.

We worked our way northwards past Camden Market and through Kentish Town, sharing election chatter, dodging passersby, and pausing to pass a peaceful protest just south of Tufnell Park.

Arriving at the special Ingestre Community Centre, our old friend (and former Camden AA!), Pete, welcomed us with fresh blooms donated from the Chelsea Flower Show. Our new friend, Faye, arrived soon after, and we collectively got to revitalising several weed-heavy flower beds bordering the estate's roads.

I cannot tell you the names of the donated blooms. But I can tell you they looked floral. And bright. Some were colourful, others were leafy.

Across 50 minutes, we pruned, dug, planted, and watered, and these beds looked very special under a fading summer evening sky.

You check out our Instagram post from the evening here!!

Nice one, and here's to next time!!