Today I had the pleasure of joining George for his 100th good deed a brilliant milestone and a testament to what GoodGym Barnet is all about.

We met on the walk over (he’d come by bus as usual!) and headed together to help a Barnet resident whose garden had become completely overtaken by brambles. (She risks compromising her tenancy agreement if it’s not kept tidy) Armed with her tools, we got stuck in: clipping, clearing, chatting, and enjoying that simple but powerful feeling of doing something useful for someone else.

What always strikes me about Community Missions is how little the “who” or “why” matters. It’s the giving that counts the small act, the short visit, the bit of sweat and fresh air that somehow leaves you walking away lighter than when you arrived. They’re usually local, quick, and strangely satisfying in a way that’s hard to explain until you try it.

If you’ve ever thought about joining a Community Mission, give it a go. You’ll need a DBS (details on the GoodGym website), but after that it’s easy and you might be surprised by how rewarding these moments are.

Ask George who really enjoyed his hundredth good deed!

We gathered at the Phoenix Cinema, full of festive spirit and only slightly intimidated by the kind of rain that looks like it’s been booked specially to test our resolve.

But, as every seasoned GoodGymer knows, the weather is never the boss of us. Sure enough, by the time we set off, the rain eased just enough for us to get moving in good spirits towards Grange Big Local estate in East Finchley.

We were meeting Emma and her brilliant volunteers from Hope North London, who are working hard to support families on the estate with Christmas lunches and festive essentials. Our job: deliver their Christmas packages to every home across the estate.

Once paired up, we were off. I teamed up with Rachael, and between us we somehow managed to do three blocks — popping back to reload like festive posties on a mission. Other teams powered through their routes too, and in no time the whole estate had received their Christmas deliveries.

With the job done and the warmth of good deeds carrying us home, we jogged back to the Phoenix for our stretch-down,

Then it was straight on to the White Lion for our Christmas get-together — good food, good chat, lots of laughter, and plenty of cheer to round off a brilliant year. let’s shout out for Narina on her first outing what a great one to be involved with!

⭐ Milestone Shout-Outs

A big festive cheer to: • Daniel M. – approaching 100 good deeds • George T. – also closing in fast on the 100 mark and for sorting out the Christmas meal! • Narina](/v3/profile/narina-bira) first ever GoodGym session (welcome!)

A fantastic outing and a reminder of what GoodGym Barnet does best: turning up, supporting our community, and having a brilliant time doing it.

A special yoga morning at Stephens House & Gardens

Instead of our usual online Tuesday session, Stephens House kindly offered us a beautiful room to host a live class — and what a treat it was. A huge thank-you to Malcolm the manager for making the space available.

We had a lovely mix of GoodGym members and local supporters of the House & Gardens, whether through volunteering or donations. It was great to see everyone gather in the Stephens Room — once Sir Samuel Stephens’s own laboratory — with those stunning views across the gardens.

For anyone who couldn’t make it in person, I broadcast the class online as usual, so I hope you still felt part of it.

Thank you to everyone for coming along and supporting the House. Let’s hope we can do it again in the new year.

Have a wonderful Christmas — keep moving, stay well, and here’s the yoga thought for the day:

Yoga Talk : Encouraging Healing Through Gentle Movement

Yoga uses controlled, low-impact movement to gently “wake up” muscles and tendons. This stimulates healthy blood flow, supports tissue repair, and helps reduce stiffness. By balancing effort with rest, yoga becomes one of the most effective ways to maintain mobility and recover from everyday aches or longer-term injuries.

About a dozen volunteers gathered to clean up the lovely little green once more this year, with me representing Goodgym. After a bit of a hiatus, fly tippers have been back, dumping a sofa and some bits of furniture, as well as heaps of wrappers, bottles, cans, cartons and plastics.

We wheeled a recycling bin down from a neighbours' house, then spread out around the area. A team of six made their way up and down Buxted Road, then, having finished in double time, cleaned Ashurst Road all the way up to Friary Park. Grabbing a rake, I helped another volunteer scrape leaves from gutters along the roads as well, to help stop them flooding. The rest of our hardy team cleaned the area up to the back entrance of the Wren Academy, the verge outside Woodhouse Allotments, and the green.

At the end, we gathered about 13 sacks, plus a string of cans of nitrous oxide, reporting those and the sofa to the council.

7km!! of Leafleting Long Roads & Loads of Good: Supporting Citizens Advice Barnet

It was a cool, crisp evening in East Finchley perfect weather for a purposeful GoodGym group run. This week we teamed up with Citizens Advice Barnet, a charity doing vital, often unseen work supporting people across our borough. Many don’t realise that our local CAB is a standalone fundraising charity, completely reliant on grants and donations to keep offering free advice on debt, housing, benefits, employment issues and more. When people hit crisis, CAB is often the first and only safety net so helping them reach more residents felt especially worthwhile.

We met in the foyer of the Phoenix Cinema, where Louise from CAB (and keen runner!) joined us with a quick intro and a giant stack of freshly printed flyers — 1,000 of them to be exact. Our mission: get as many as possible through local letterboxes to spread the word about their current appeal, which also has a match-funding sponsor doubling any donations. If you’ve got a spare few pennies, this is the moment they go twice as far.

Before setting off, we shared the meanings behind our names from Georges to Louises to those of us named after 60s bands which set a relaxed and cheerful tone for the evening. It was also great to welcome Sonya ( meaning wisdom) , joining us for the first time in awhile!

Beattie took back-marking duties as we warmed up with a gentle jog through the cool East Finchley streets, looping past the station and into the long, straight roads around Brim Hill prime leaflet territory with plenty of front gardens, long driveways, and a fair few tempting glimpses into cosy houses on a November night.

We split into two teams of three and got to work. There’s something uniquely satisfying about a leafleting mission: a rhythm develops, steps rack up fast, you admire (or survive!) people’s front paths, and you always spot an impressive number of parcels on doorsteps.

Despite our best efforts, 1,000 leaflets was a tall order but we managed around 450, which was an excellent push for one evening. We’ll look to return for a follow-up mission to complete the rest.

A big thank you to everyone who came, to Sonia for joining us, and to Louise for bringing the materials and the motivation. Great cause, great company, and a great night.