Five wonderful GoodGymmers assembled last night for a thorough litter pick around Finsbury Gardens.

The One Where Sarah Tried (Twice)

The gardens are riddled with mess, we had been assured but at first glance after our arrival, the place looked suspiciously spotless. You know that moment when you arrive, gloves on, litter pickers at the ready, and think: Have we been pre-cleaned? Well, appearances can deceive, and our Goodgymmers are nothing if not determined. Give us a patch of grass and a bit of shrubbery, and we will find rubbish. And sure enough, we did: three whole bags of it, thank you very much.

But the star of the haul was not the crisp packets, the bottles, nor even the mysterious orphaned shoe. No. The true crown jewel of the evening was an old, slightly tragic scooter bravely rescued from an overgrown bramble as if it had been waiting years for exactly this moment.

Naturally, Mark and Paul immediately recreated their BMX-driving, non-helmet-wearing glory days with gusto. Happy to report that despite some questionable driving, no Goodgymmers were harmed in the making of this report.

Meanwhile, James stole the sartorial spotlight with the most important debut of the night: his brand-new red GG T-shirt. Fresh, vibrant, and worn with the pride of someone who has absolutely been waiting for the postman like a kid on Christmas Eve. At one point we’re pretty sure he was modelling it more than he was litter-picking, but honestly? Fair enough. It looked great. All along, Veronika kept us all ticking along and on task with the patience of a saint. Hero.

Special shout-out goes to Sarah, who heroically attempted to join us not once but twice. Unfortunately, the universe , and London buses, had different plans for her. Two failed attempts, two disappearing hopes, one determined Goodgymmer foiled by public transport. We missed you, Sarah. Your perseverance deserves at least half a bag’s worth of credit. Also honourable mention to Ellie, who in true GG Haringey form, absolutely stacked it at her run club and is currently in the sick bin. Heal soon, Ellie.

In the end, Finsbury Gardens was a little cleaner, we were a little happier, and Paul and Mark were a little wobblier in the knees than when we started. A successful evening all round.

Come next week.

*Six splendid Goodgymmers ran to give the Westbury Banks Nature Reserve a much needed tidy up. *

Kudos Corner (The Big 2-0-0 Edition)>

First and foremost: JULIE!

The woman, the myth, the 200-task legend. Whether she’s singing “Choppy Choppy Choppy,” finishing evenings in bins, or simply rocking up with unstoppable enthusiasm, Julie is everything Goodgym is about. She is also everything that Badgym is about. And for that we salute you. Rock star.

For Fox's Sake, Paul>

Our mission for the evening was clear: give the Reserve a hardcore tidy up so that it doesn't look too shabby from the main road. Armed with rakes, litter pickers, and loads of gloves, we got on with the task. Well, most of us did. Julie spent her evening trying to pull Paul's trousers down with her litter picker, while serenading us all with a song that described how she would eventually succeed in pulling down Paul's trousers. Reader, rest assured this was all consensual and done in good spirits. #Badgym4Eva

Paul nearly added dramatic flair to the evening too by almost falling into a fox’s den. One moment he was running away from Julie, one assumes; the next, gravity tried to stage a coup. Thankfully, agility won. Paul escaped unscathed, dignity intact, and the foxes presumably grateful for the unexpected entertainment.

By the end of the evening, the Reserve looked a bit better and Dave had won himself another SuperHero badge by running two bags fulls of dripping can down Westbury Avenue to find the closest recycling bin. Apparently a recycled beer can can produce around 4 hours of telly viewing.

We then went to the pub to celebrate our Julie with pub shenanigans.

Apologies for belated report but our AA managed to land himself in hospital for a few days pretty much straight after this task. He's on the mend now and hopefully back with us next week. But rest assured our Goodgymmers were absolute heroes last week, lending a hand to the Friends of Finsbury Gardens following a lovely community event the weekend prior. We litter picked to our heart's content. Also, normal service will continue as Sarah takes to crew to Wolves Lane to lead them on a good howling session - join them!

9 Goodgymmers took a fine-tooth comb to the Hidden River Path tonight as they lent a hand to the Bowes Park Community Association.

Can I get a Woop Woop?

Welcome back to Frankie, who hadn't run with us in so long she even managed to shed her old profile and get a new one. She came, she litterpicked, she crushed two hamstring-punishing rounds of Sally in the rain, she broke one of Gramps's litterpickers - all in all, a perfect fit for GGH. Glad to have you back.

Also back tonight was Carolina for her second run this week! This doubles her overall Goodgym tally in record time and she didn't let a late work finish get in the way of that. Boom!

Eddie Lizzard

Accusations of nepotism were levelled at Gramps from the start when our Goodgymers found out we were litterpicking the area surrounding Gramps's parent's house. After assurances were given that this was merely serendipitous happenstance and this was indeed the task set by the BPCA, accusations turned instead into requests for tea breaks. Alas, Gramps's mum, fellow Goodgymer Rosa, is still recovering from Covid so we had to make do without tea. Get well soon, Rosa.

Satisfied that this was a bona fide task, our Goodgymers dived into it with gusto. I'm pleased to report the Hidden River Path, Nightingale Gardens, and Finsbury Gardens were all looking really good. The BPCA runs a tight litterpicking ship, it seems. Nevertheless, we managed to fill up a few bags of rubbish along the way.

At some point, we attracted the attention of the local police team who upon driving past us were immediately arrested by our sense of purpose and hawt hawt hawt demeanours. After a quick chat with Gramps, details were exchanged and we'll hopefully be joined by a few officers of the law at some point for what will inevitably become a future run report paying homage to 90s cop buddies films.

We met a wooden lizard, tried to litterpick a squirrel's nuts, and had a natter about a few things that, quite frankly, shouldn't be committed to print.

We forced latecomers (and poor Frankie) to complete another round of Sally in the rain and everyone stopped Gramps from walking into the pub. For shame.

Join us next week for more shenanigans.

BILLY SHEEEEARS