Thirty Seven delightul Islingtonians were raring to get out there and be good, do good and look good last night. Let's give our first timers, Katy, Ranj, Selina and Colleen a massive cheer.

So, THREE tasks means three mini reports. Here we go:

WHITTINGTON WANDERERS

John and Steve led a crew of 10 people up to Whittington Community Centre for a spot of weeding. A place we journey to every couple of weeks. I don't know what they put in the soil in Whittington, but the weeds seem to grow with ferocity, so there's always plenty to do. That said, there was a bit of uncertainty over what was a weed and what wasn't. A debate ensued, which is just as well because we had forgotten all about Simon's debate......oops!) Weeds? Some said anything green, some anything not pretty. The superficiality of modern life won through, and we yanked out all the ugly weeds and left the pretty ones in place to brighten up the place. Job done, we jogged back a bit early just to make sure nobody stole our seats in the pub.

GORGEOUS GRENVILLE

It's been a while since we've been to Grenville and a few of us had forgotten that's it's quite uphill to get there. But having not been there since the winter, it was lovely to see it in the sun! We had three tasks to tackle at the garden. The most popular was varnishing the raised flower beds, but with only six brushes to use the task was taken by the quickest to grab a brush! We also had a classic task for GoodGym...shovelling and moving soil. The guys eagerly grabbed some forks and shovels and got it all cleaned up, sieved and into bags, ready to be used in the garden. The third was to rebuild a bug den (no we didn't know what it was either) that had fallen down. After a bit of creativity and a balancing act the bug den was rebuilt as a 5 star hotel to house all creatures great and small, see photo. After a quick team photo we started a much nicer downhill run back!

BARNSBURY BEAUTIES

A lovely outing to Barnsbury Community Centre for 12 of us. We had two jobs: Del, Will and Mel planted an olive tree, which looked simple, but wasn't so straightforward when they realised they had to dig into what was practically concrete. The rest of us set about painting a couple of wooden seats (constructed from pallets) with preserver. the job was done in next to no time and Colleen even made sure the grass was free of spills with some paper towel positioning. Following a bit of core while Kike and Dina cleaned the brushes (hurry up!) on the journey back we played our favourite game of secret surges, which included a cheeky road crossing surprise from Dina and Caroline trying to get us all run over. We then did various skipping and sprinting bits and bobs before passing one of the groups already on their way to the pub! Arrgh!

OTHER BITS

Biscuits were chocolate oaty things from Tesco. They were pretty good.

The big debate question was about the true start of the week. Sunday or Monday? Strava forces you to start on a Monday, Garmin defaults to Sunday (but gives you the option of changing to Sat, Sun or Mon). Some university timetables start on Sundays. Traditionally the working week starts on a Monday. Sunday is part of the weekend* surely? Well, we put it to the vote and poor old Sunday only got a couple with the vast majority loving Mondays. Del said Wednesday. Naughty. Of course, Monday must be the correct answer since your week doesn't truly start until you've GOODGYMMED

Post-tasks it was down the Famous Cock for a pint, a platter or a smoothie. Thanks to Kike for organising this. Word on the street is this will become a monthly event!

Loads of good done all over the borough this evening. See you next week (that's the start of the week, which is Monday). It's Bank Holiday, but we still have two tasks on the go. A choice of Barnsbury Square Gardens or Thornhill Square. Oooh.

Love, hugs and kisses xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
Simon

10 Girls, 1 Guy, a 6k run, 30 Petunia's, 2 odd encounters and 1 big fun night at GG Brent.

Rain, rain go away, at least by 7pm anyway...... oh great you did thanks for that! After a thankfully dry end to the evening and No April Showers in sight, GG Brent and it's merry band of women and one man, congregated at the Queensbury Pub on Willesden High Road for a joyful and high spirited start to the week.

Sadhana's upcoming first marathon led the discussions as the crew planned the logistics of getting to Brighton to support...... and to eat fish and chips hurrah, but obviously the first thing more important LOL the fact Sadhana will be running 26.2 Miles in 6 Days!!!!!! Woo HOO.

With housekeeping in check and a warm welcome outstretched to our 2 new ladies - Andrea and Gillian, we set to work, pounding the pave the 1.8mile route over to Harlseden High Street to link with our favourite pastor Marcia Tull for a spot of planting after our galavanting.

Leading from the back and welcoming the new starters coach Ellie was lucky enough to have coach-runner Clairey-Bell on hand to step up to the plate and lead from the front and putting the leading pack through their paces by the sounds of things!! The back pack cruised the streets and were joined by a local character on a bike who invited us in for tea and a slice of his Battenberg...... We hope he meant cake!! Declining we powered on!!

In no time at all the flurry of red tees had descended onto the high road and were greeted with the best smiling face ever - Marcia, with boxes and boxes of beautiful spring flowers that we would be tasked with planting in the front garden of the church!

Harlesden Methodist Church is a crucial part of the community and serves the people of Harlesden in more ways than one, offering guidance, a safe space and worthwhile outreach to the community on a regular basis. What better way to give back then to brighten up their surroundings as the Spring comes in!

Off to work we set, to the soundtrack of Mariah Carey and Tom Petty, a musical feast for the ears, while we Got Diggy with it on task.

30 minutes of hard graft included: * The discovery of 10 foot worms * Laura's rat cage * Hidden Treasures - Gin Bottles and Cork Screws to name but a few

Before long the time was up and the merry band of Do-Gooders were on their way once more, but not before some lung busting sprints up and down the high road and star-jump squats for good measure!!

On route back and there was sharing and caring, thrills and puddle spills, giggles and gumption...... But just a typical night for one of the best groups of people in the land, where the running and the do-gooding go hand in hand with the community and friendship that's blossomed over the year.

A Fabulous evening, terrific task and job well done from the Brent Brigade

Until next time folks........

Do Good. Feel Good. Inspire