•••4 Wonderful GoodGym folk gave a community flower bed a makeover in Camden!***

Camden Square Gardens is a special patch of community space a little East from Camden Town. Surrounded by community dwellings, sections of this green space are cared for by the local community.

Jackie, John, Siobhan, and I met the wonderful Annabel, who guided us to a patch with potential! Open and large, the hope is that this space will soon be filled with shrubs and flowers, and our work involved helping prepare this space for planting.

Over 60 minutes, our special group dug and forked, getting deep into the soil to attack the roots of invasive weeds and thistles.

Four of us meant four hours of work, and we collected a healthy pile of natural waste together :)

Thank you, everyone! See you next time!

On arrival, Louise and David rapidly got to know the very chatty Mrs P, and discussed altogether how best to rearrange the furniture to give her the best use of the space available. With a small flat filled with furniture and belongings, moving the sofa and TV table was a bit like one of those old puzzles - having to move pieces out of position, to allow space to move others, before moving the originals back!

Although there is more to do, moving the sofa gave Mrs P a better view through the window,and allowed us space to reposition the fridge/freezer so she could move more easily from the kitchen to the next room. And she found her TV remote under the sofa - result!

Once Mr T had challenged me with this week's cross word ("Synagogue Singers (6 letters)"), we got onto the subject of the mechanics of the accumulator bet in horse racing (Mr T being partial to a flutter every now and then). I found myself taken back to a Friday afternoon maths class as he explained how the odds compounded as each race unfolded, and how he assessed each part of the bet...but still wasn't entirely clear by the end (I fear the fault here is with the pupil and not the master...), or confident I knew how to place one.

Sardines still seem strangely in short supply on the shelves of both Tesco and Lidl, but everything else made the basket, and I was soon back to test whether I'd understood everything from the earlier lesson...

7 GoodGymers made a meaningful difference in Camden this week!

This lovely group headed to one of our usual haunts – Lismore Circus Community Woods in Gospel Oak – and we got busy with pruning, litter picking, hedge trimming, and more!

The photos tell a happy story – 60 minutes in nature with friends – and all while making a meaningful difference in Camden :)

Here's to next time!!

Needed to cover 4 bases this afternoon for Mr T to ensure I got him everything he wanted on his list. It was warm out, so was glad to get it all done reasonably quickly (although Sardines still remain in short supply...) and back to Mr T's to sit by his wind tunnel power fan and catch up on the week's comings and goings.

10 wonderful GoodGym folk made a green-fingered difference in Kentish Town!

Five of us – Alex, Danny, John, Matt, and Steve – started out from Somers Town yesterday evening.

Matt ran from Battersea Park – John sprinted from Euston Station – Danny ran down from Kentish Town – and Steve wove his usual route up from Bloomsbury!

Together we followed a steady route towards Willingham Terrace (situated in a very hot Kentish Town) and met five others – Alison, Caitlin, Helen, Lydia, and Sarah – each of whom made their own journeys (on foot and bike) to our good-deeding venue.

Hilda has lived on this estate for decades and she's transformed the green spaces – there's a bountiful allotment that was once a verge – and it's all thanks to Hilda's perseverance and creativity.

Yesterday was our second visit and we were focused once again on the communal square's hedgerow.

Weeds were pulled – grass edges were established – and four great big bags of cuttings were collected and disposed.

The difference was huge – and all under an overbearing July sun!

Thank you, everyone!! See you next time!!