This week 16 incredible GoodGym-ers ran 2km (ish) to dig a moat around a pond and chop some sticks.

As ever, the team met at the Phoenix for intros and sign-ins. Thanks to an unexpected level of traffic along the North Circular, I was running a little late. Luckily, Freya and Damian were on hand to welcome the gang until I got there. Two new faces this week: Ves who works with me in Finsbury Park and Anja who is new to Barnet but not to GG. Give 'em a cheer!

After a super speedy intro and headcount, we gently jogged to Cherry Tree Woods to warm up in the park before heading off on a little loop to Archer. The Hammerson Nightingale care home we were supposed to be helping wasn’t ready for us yet, so Maaike at Archer came to the rescue with an extra Archer Task. This week was all about digging a moat around the pond to tuck the lining in to.

The team quickly got to work, with several people taking a go on the mattock. The ground was hard as hell today, so the mattock was the only thing to break past the solid upper layer of mud. Louis let me have a go, so I could demonstrate how to generate more power and Damian made a Buffy reference (where I was Buffy), which basically made my day.

Kim and Paul arrived slightly too late at the Phoenix and ended up running to the other Archer by mistake, meaning they ended up running an extra km. They sure made up for it on site though, with some super speedy digging.

Once the moat was dug, we tucked the pond liner in and filled the gap with mud. I even added a ceremonious branch to kickstart the decoration phase. Chris did a wonderful job filling a particularly deep bit and Phil did some great stomping.

It was soon time for finisher photos and a game of football before heading back to base.

Barnet Biscuit of the Week: White chocolate chip cookies AND Jaffa Cakes courtesy of Freya.

Thanks to Jody for this week's pun.

Next week we are running back to BFC for more upcycling of old furniture. Sign up here

Two first time missioners - Lina and Sarah - and mission veteran Rodney, ran on a splendidly sunny Saturday morning to do good in Hackney by giving Mr V's garden some TLC.

Mr V has a great garden space but he hasn't been able to look after it lately due to some health problems. Nothing a few gloved up GoodGymmers couldn't fix. With rakes at the ready and instructions to leave anything that looks like mint alone, we got stuck in. We cleared away tons of rubbish, binned piles and piles of weeds, and raked loads of leaves so Mr V's garden is now ready for him to plant some beautiful flowers and tomatoes in for the summer. We even managed to fill a little hole under Mr V's fence to stop some cheeky little foxes that have been getting in!

We loved chatting to Mr V and hearing all about his travels. He was so pleased with the job we had done and told us how great he thought GoodGym was. To quote him directly, "GoodGym is an amazing organisation full of amazing people!" Well, we think Mr V is amazing and we hope he enjoys his new garden!