Packing a punch for Mr P

Subham and I came together at short notice for a GoodGym community mission to support Barnet Council’s Wellbeing team.

Mr P was being transferred to more suitable accommodation to better support his needs, and he needed help boxing up his belongings ready for collection on Monday. We met Mr P, along with others involved in his care, and quickly got stuck into the task.

It was a simple but useful job: packing clothes and personal items carefully so they could be moved on smoothly. As ever with GoodGym, we also managed to combine helping out with a bit of exercise — I cycled over and Subham ran from home, making it a very local active mission.

Afterwards, we stopped for a drink at a nearby Italian café and reflected on how small practical actions can make a real difference at moments of change.

We hope Mr P settles well into his new home — and that he does not have too much trouble finding the clothes he needs when he gets there!

Mrs R was very welcoming and Jack got right to it to get her otherwise very nice garden which has fallen into a bit of disrepair into better shape for the warm weather. Jack mowed the lawn, Subham cut back some trees and cleared the beds of weeds and Jack rounded up by doing both in the front garden . She was very happy and wanted us back asap!

Clearing the past for the future

Today three GoodGym members came together at St Mary’s Church, Finchley, to help Helen with the careful task of clearing vegetation from around the churchyard memorials.

The aim is to uncover the stones so they can be properly photographed, recorded and categorised. Many of these memorials are Grade II listed, and each one offers a small but powerful glimpse into the lives of people and families who were part of Finchley’s past.

On a beautiful day, we spent a couple of hours working through the churchyard, gently cutting back growth and clearing away ivy that had started to cover some of the stones. It was simple, physical work, but with a real sense of purpose. Every cleared memorial became a little more visible, helping preserve both the history and the dignity of the space.

Helen shared some fascinating details with us as we worked. We learned that some of the smaller burial plots could contain up to six members of one family, and that many of the names recorded were children who had died very young. It was humbling to be working so close to these stories, and it gave the session a quiet sense of history and grounding.

As always with GoodGym, it was a mix of useful outdoor activity, community help and connection to place. We made good progress, but there is still plenty more to do, so we hope to return soon for another session.

A big thank you to everyone who came along, and to Helen for guiding us through the work and sharing some of the history of St Mary’s with us.

Judd and I took on a classic GoodGym mission, each cycling in from our respective homes to help get a property ready for a hospital bed to be installed.

With the patient still in hospital, we collected the key from a helpful neighbour and got to work. The main task was moving some furniture to create the space needed, which we managed nice and quickly, with a bit of extra tidying and cleaning thrown in too.

These are often simple practical jobs, but they can make a huge difference at exactly the right moment. It felt a privilege to help, and we’re hoping the patient is soon able to return home comfortably and continue recovering there, with the company of his cats.

This mission was also a reminder of how valuable DBS-checked GoodGymers are for this kind of support. We’d love to have more people signed up and ready to help with these important jobs in future.