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!

4 Goodgymmers flocked to Noel Park for this year's RSPB's Birdwatch survey and helped enhance the habitat for our feathered friends along the way.

Chirp Chirp

David, Rosa, Euclides and Euclides' mini-Goodgymmers met at Turnpike Lane Station for a lovely walk to Russell Park in Wood Green where we met reps of the new Friends group for a bird-friendly task.

Rosa, the mini-Goodgymmers and halfway through the task E Snr took on the job of doing a couple of laps of the park, surveying and tallying up the number of all the birds they could see within an hour. Pigeons and tits were the most popular, while a real lack of any parakeet sightings was reported as a big regret.

While the birdwatching was happening, David, Euclides, and Laurie and Bex from the Friends group installed seven new bird houses, three new bird feeders, and replenished the already-existing all-you-can-eat avian buffets.

A flocking nice way of spending a Sunday morning

5 Goodgymmers proved they weren't afraid of the dark by lending a hand at a very spookily lit Floyde's Garden on a lovely, wet autumn night.

The turning of the worm

The good folk at Floyde's Garden are having some work done, creating a paving area to frame a whole bunch of new natural planting. However, the ground was chockablock with a multitude of very illegal and very aromatic three cornered leeks that needed to be dug up.

Our Goodgymmers brought their own lights as the proper pros they are and were on their knees even before slow ol' Gramps had a chance to do a proper risk assessment. Ain't nobody got time for that.

Conversation on the night included weighing the benefits of wild foraging against the use of fox urine as a cooking ingredient, the likelihood of finding Lord Lucan in one of the many holes we dug up, the futility of life expressed quite dramatically by the unnamed Goodgymmer who attempted to use a rusty paint stripper and a screwdriver in place of a trowel, and one of our regulars spent most of her evening engaged in very one-sided chat with every single worm we dug up. It takes all sorts.

Join Dave and Latoya at Traid next week for more fun and games!

Goodgym Haringey got together last night with a very special purpose in mind - to celebrate a departed friend, whose love for life, disposition for a good laugh, and thirst for just a few more Ks was intoxicating and contagious. The thing about death is that it doesn't care about fairness and sometimes it takes from us people who just had too much damn living ahead of them, leaving those of us still around with such a deep sense of loss. Nurj knew this and last time I saw her at the hospital, she made me promise her in that matter-of-factly kind of way of hers that I needed to make sure her Goodgym lot as she called us would be ok afterwards because after all she wouldn't be around to do so. Bloody strong to the end, our Nurj.

So, as a way of keeping a promise, the Goodgym Haringey family decided to bring some new life into this wonderful London borough that she so loved. We planted a baby tree, which will be around for many years to come, and where us Goodgymmers can go and share a quick laugh or the latest juicy goss with Nurj. A Royal Beauty by name, this tree will be all colours and fancy things as seasons change so we know Nurjehan would have approved. And also, as her Goodgym lot got together last night for the customary rummage through a community garden on a lovely warm Wednesday evening at the end of another Summer season, sharing a laugh, some memories, and some tears, I know she would have smiled at her favourite Goodgym in the country and felt proud. We'll never stop missing you on Wednesday evenings, good friend.

11 Goodgymmers rooted for glory as they lent a hand at Floyde's Garden to help them prep the site ahead of a very special landscaping project.

Many hands...

With the recent passing of our GGHaringey Stalwart Nurjehan, the good folk at Floyde's Garden have kindly offered to host a tree planted in her memory, which will become the focal point of a brand new landscaped square for the gardens.

First order of business was digging up a number of deep-rooted dead trees and a multitude of brambles to create a blank canvas of sorts for the new planting scheme.

To that end, our Goodgymmers gathered at Blue House Yard where we kept warm with some light exercises, including introducing some of the new folk to the wonderful world of wall sits, before running a cool 2k to site together. Once at the gardens, we were met by Laurie - from Noel Park Big Local who look after the site - who talked us through the tasks at hand.

Before you knew it, we had lept into action and were digging and leveling to our heart's content.

We were also tasked with helping to rescue some bricks from the works on the adjacent playground so they can be recycled as a small plaza around Nurjehan's tree.

Within an hour our Goodgymmers had completely cleared the site and helped the pile of recycled bricks grow even taller so we had a little nosey at the progress on the playground works next door.

We then did the only reasonable things on a cold night like this and ran to the closest watering hole for much-needed refreshments.

We'll be at Traid next Tuesday and all being well, we should be planting Nurjehan's Tree on Wednesday - watch this space.

Sarah, Veronika, and Euclides met for an old school leafleting session this. It is fair to say that flyering is not GGH's favourite task and numbers backed up the claim!

Undettered, our three Goodgymmers worked as hard a crew of 10 and flyered two of the very, very long avenue in Noel Park N22 ahead of their festival this weekend.

Heroes.