I arrived at Compton Terrace Gardens on time, but found our three first-timers already hard at work. The co-ordinator from Upper Street Association told me they knew each other. They hadn't - they'd never met before, but were seemingly firm friends within minutes

Jo was very well organised, having already acquired her GoodGym shirt. She was preparing for a wedding trip to Spain, a country Irati knows well. Thea is a community worker with Barnet council, but was happy to help GoodGym in her home borough

This mission was part of the Mayor of London’s community weekend, so having been supplied with a banner and bunting by GoodGym central team I hung these on the railings outside before getting down to work

At first, we swept leaves from the grass, onto the surrounding soil, around large trees, which will act as a natural mulch, providing nutrients as they decompose, retaining soil moisture, and suppressing weeds

Then we took wheelbarrows to the other part of the gardens, where we shovelled compost, which had taken two years to decompose, over to the flower beds. We were up and down many times and got a good workout from shovelling the compost into the barrows. One of the wheelbarrows had a fully blown-up tyre!

I’d brought rainproof clothing, as the weather outlook had looked poor, but the sun shined on our task, and I accidently left my jacket in a bush but was able to retrieve it after breakfast in the café opposite