When I was a child I think I was middle-aged.

Other children liked Pokemon - or Power Rangers - or other popular past times like playing.

Not for me - I knew what I liked - and what I liked was the 8pm-9pm slot on Monday nights on BBC One: Ground Force and Changing Rooms.

And last night - thanks to the frost-beating efforts of this wonderful group - I felt like my childhood friends (Alan Titchmarsh and Carol Smillie) were present in shaping our very own garden makeover at Cecil Sharp House!

Seven of us - Alex, Gosia, Jackie, John, Rose, and Steve (and me) - met in the King's Cross buzz and we became the only group (of adults) in London to be outside playing Simon Says whilst icicles formed.

Taking our smiles (like Carol Smillie) with us, we started our journey up and through Camden, meeting Emilie early en route!

Arriving at Cecil Sharp House, we met Natalia and Yumei, both of whom were on their first day of GoodGym good-deeding - a huge welcome, both!!

And then our makeover started. I am not certain how it happened. All I do know is that I turned round to find my gardening gloves and a million scattered leaves had already been placed into a neat pile.

It genuinely was miraculous - the lawn and paths were a sea of fallen leaves... and then they were grass and paving again - it could even have been a spring night :)

Thank you, everyone, for your work, time, and fun - it was great to see you!

Here's to next time!

Tonight we were leafleting for Age Exchange's Christmas fair alongside promoting GoodGym!

We started out by sharing our responses to Trump's election victory which ranged from sticking fingers in our ears and going la la la la laaaaa and mine which was a compiled video of my three year old whining 'I don't like Donald Trump on 20 different occassions.'

Tonight was special for two reasons- the twins were back in Greenwich! AND we were marking Marta's mammoth 800th good deed!

That's 800 times she's... donned some gloves to do planting and pruning, or gained some guns from digging 💪🏼 or avoided the dogs while leafleting, or got splattered from painting, or filled a bin liner litter picking, or put ceiling panels up after guilding.

In short, she done a lot of stuff! 🏅 🏆

After securing the sash of glory on a well deserving Marta, we had a quick round of Simon says and ran up the hill to split into 2 groups and dashed round the streets posting as many leaflets as we could. And quick work we made of it too, with lots of good GoodGym chats on our way. Another task complete and one step closer to Marta's 1000th which she'll probably achieve in the next couple of years!

Nice work team. Next week we're weeding at Charlton URC.

Until next time!

Every garden has a story... there are the soil and the seeds, then the shoots and the leaves... and I really didn't intend on that rhyming, but as I'm here... perhaps you grew veg next to the hedge, turned vines into wine, cut blooms for your rooms... and maybe you planted an orchard of trees, together with new friends... your community!

But whilst every garden has a story, not every garden is the Story Garden! Which was our own place of community yesterday evening.

Our wonderful group of Alex, Anne, Cat, Chloe, Jackie, John, Nivia, and Steve met by the Crick, warmed up whilst reciting the alphabet, and swiftly turned on our heels towards the British Library and the green space we'd be helping.

GoodGym has a few tasks that epitomize GoodGym. These include bramble bashing, moving unwieldy objects together, digging large holes, and (as was our task yesterday) filling skips!

Met by the brill Holly - the Story Garden's Manager - we got swiftly to our skip.

One group (Alex, Anne, Chloe, and John) took command of one area, sorting and then shifting an assortment of cardboard, wood, and metal.

Whilst one group (Cat, Jackie, Nivia, and Steve) headed to the garden's far end, sorting and wheelbarrowing an assortment of... cardboard, wood, and metal!

Over an hour, our fabulous group filled the skip under the evening's darkening sky - amazing work, everyone!!

Thanks so much for your company and work, and see you next time!!

Tonight's GoodGym mission saw us racing against a (frankly beautiful) setting sun as 11 GoodGym-ers headed to the gardens outside Trinity Hospital in Greenwich, with the aim of helping tidy this area by the Thames Riverside.

Our tasks included a lot of weeding of plant beds, clearing away fallen autumn leaves, as well as a good pruning session to chop back overhanging trees/shrubs including the aforementioned Buddleia. A tough battle was fought but all too soon, the setting sun gave way to a Harvest Moon, signalling our task was done for the evening and we could head to the pub!

Hopefully we had a positive impact on this lovely area by the river. Thanks all!

Next week we're at the Prince Maritime Collections Centre. Until next time!

We explored a special (and new) space for us this week.

Tucked in the shadows of Kentish Town City Farm, Cressfield Close Sheltered Housing is a private haven for its residents.

There's a peace and a quiet in this space, and this tranquility was a welcome calm for our group as we arrived in red on Wednesday.

Met by the super-experienced Cathi, our wonderful group of Alex T, Jackie, Sarah, and Steve swiftly split into groups to tackle overgrown weeds, grasses, and foliage in the residents' private gardens.

Sarah joined Cathi, and they transformed a space across 45 minutes, pulling weeds, scraping moss, and bringing tidiness to the garden!

Alex and Steve went to battle with a hedge that had started to consume a garden - and their work returned the overbearing mass to orderly beauty!

And Jackie and I got to stripping back long grasses and brambles, filling a refuse liner before agreeing to come back soon with more hands and tools!

Thank you, all, for your work and efforts - I really appreciate it :)

To next time!!