A cosy start

26 of us gathered in a small hotel room this evening to welcome one another, including our new runners Anna and Xinyi.

Everyone was very tolerant of our small space (filming was taking place in front of the hotel in our usual stretching spot this evening, alas), and my endless 'shush-ing' as we ran through announcements and task details.

And bang on 7 we headed down Cambridge Heath Road to one of our favourite tasks but also to the one with possibly the most, traffic lights, and the longest traffic lights. Good for nattering; less good for fitness.

After what seemed like a less busy route than usual, we breezed into the Royal London to meet task owner Nancy, of Barts Volunteers, and the brilliant Bernadette and Richard.

3 crews

3 teams were soon formed: those who'd previously completed dementia training headed up with Bernadette to the 14th floor to chat and read to the patients.

A second team, led by Richard, took surveys and Evening Standards to staff receptions and patients & families on multiple floors, while a third team, our biggest team, headed out to the hospital's John Harrison garden to prune and water roses and conduct a large litter-pick.

Sacks were filled, recycling bins blitzed, bushes beautified, patients PALS-ed...Oh, and residents rolled. Yes, three strong runners kindly helped a local motorist who asked for a hand giving his car a push. A task within a task. Ace. What an evening's work. What a hive of activity.

And then shortly after 8, just as we were headed to Reception to say our goodbyes, Nancy raced off, returning with the most delicious cake for the runners, to continue the Volunteers Week celebrations.

What an ending.

And then we were racing back to base playing our (my) favourite greyhound-and-hare game with all runners giving it their all. An unexpected fitness teaser - well done to you all.

Thanks tonight to Charlotte, Polly and Joel for fab pics and Rachel and Liz for backmarking.

What's coming up...

And the Tower Hamlets week isn't over! On Thursday it's the GoodGym social, close by in the heart of Shoreditch, perfect if you fancy a quick end-of-week drink with some friendly faces. Details can be found here..

And on Saturday, we have a fab Community Mission happening: we're heading to Cranbrook Community Food Garden to join in The Big Lunch! Help out in the garden and then join the team for some food. Janet & the team are thrilled we're coming. So don't miss out - sign up here.

See you soon, and have a really wonderful week.

It was another incredible effort, when 20 Goodgymers from Brent, pounded pavements, crossed boroughs and gave back some more time in memory of four weeks since the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire in West London.

On an incredibly hot and muggy evening in July, we came, we grouped and we began, what turned out to be an epic journey over to Latymer Road Church, to meet up with sister Ruth to see how we could help one more time.

Joining the group this week was many a familiar face and to my delight Dinesh and Simon who had returned for more! Also in the mix were some newbies too, in the shape of; Alex, Amy's little brother.... Keeping in the theme of Brent's family affair and Pete, who upon my arrival was sipping on his vital fuel and pre-workout drink ready to rock the roads... Okay, this may have been a half a pint but it seemed to work as he was quick on his feet, swiftly gaining the nickname -Pistol Pete.

As the team set to work on the first leg of the tour, it becomes clear quite early on that we had some pace splits among our epic crew. Therefore the faster team were sent off ahead with sister sledge at the helm. Unfortunately in their rapid response, 2 were caught short and nearly lost their way - Alex and Amy! But luckily with some quick thinking from big sis Amy and a lot of urban orienteering they found their way back and regrouped upon arrival. Phew!!

After Group two had sped into the evening, we agreed to meet at the Church, which is exactly what we did! Me leading the back-packers and of course having my usual chats and love-in with Pushpa AKA mum! But it wasn't long before we were nipping at the heels of the first pack and meeting with Sadhana at the location, who had joined us straight there.

Met with a much less crowed and quieter site this time around, we took the time to soak up the true gravity of the situation on Latymer Road and read the messages on the walls. This truly brought home, how many lives have been not only lost, but affected by this awful tragedy and just our attendance alone felt like we were supporting the acknowledgement of this unbelievably sad and unnecessary event, one which we hope will never happen again in our lifetimes in London.

After a much needed moment of silence and contemplation, the larger than life character that is Sister Ruth arrived and with not much time left on the clock, she asked two things of us - 1) To help clear some of the older flowers away, making room for the many new ones coming each day and 2) Sing. Of course we obliged both requests and wished whole heartedly that we had more time to help and perhaps had more tunes in our voices, as we weren't up to her high standards sadly.

Even though, we knew we were finishing a late one this eve, the time we had for the tasking was unfortunately at an end and with that, the teams split once more. Some got the tube, some the bus and a handful of adventurers chose to run the last laps with me.

Now there has been many a long run at GG Brent since our inception, but this by far was the most challenging run I've ever personally partaken in! Hot, muggy, sweaty and hilly, but let me tell you, this incredibly courageous crew did not complain. Okay okay - Maybe Dinesh was vowing never to return, but he said that last week too and hey presto here he was once more! pow pow

These warriors, smashed the last of the miles coming into home base with a massive 10k under their belts for good measure!! And with copious amounts of water guzzled, the final few rehydrated and assessed the epic challenges that we had overcome. It felt big, it felt important and we felt like a true team!

Next week the run won't be as far only a few short miles in fact, however I have no doubt that the efforts and energy will match this week, because of course this is GG Brent, a true and wonderful team and everything that comes with it.

See you next time.

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE

9 GG Brent Familia, hit up a couple of K, to; Break up old beds, manovoure matresses, lift chairs, move massive mounds of old furniture & whack some weeds. All For the community regeneration of the Old Police HQ in wonderful Willesden!!

Intrigued.... yes it was a weird and wacky one I can tell you!! Read on for the full report

Delighted to be back with my west London fam, the GG Brent brigade didn't disappoint, with a courageous crew of nine, ready to rock the roads and pound pavements for Willesden Town Team's Police Station regeneration project. POW POW!

Back in the mix for a second week in a row was the absolutely awesome Coralie, one of the GG Brent originals back from her travels, all gorgeous and brown. Joining Coralie was our gaggle of gals: Sisters Beattie and Rachel, Debs and Tabs, Clairey-bell and Awesome Amy. And holding down the fort for the Brent, brilliant blokes was always jubilant Joe!! YAY.

So wasting no time..... OKAY We did waste a bit with catch ups and banter We stepped out to run the short distance to our destination for the eve on Walm Lane! On route we heard some very exciting news indeed that our very own beautiful Debs, received a proposal at the weekend...!!!! Amazing and we were so delighted to hear her wonderful wedding news! x x x

The run was fairly short, so arriving on time was no problem at all! Meeting us a the door was our ever brilliant host Colin, who, like the stray cats he fostered lurking all around the yard, has had nine lives himself! Which we heard all about over the course of the evening The being swept out the sea escape being the most dramatic swerve of death story he told! WOWZER and there's you thinking cool-cats didn't like water!!

Wanting to maximise the time we decided to stay for the duration of 60mins as there was plenty to do!! Most notably the smashing up of old bed frames and mattress stacking as this old station used to be haven for a very large community of squatters and copious amounts of sleep aids were not needed for what was in store for this place's future! FYI - You couldn't stop the enthusiasm of Beattie and Tabitha as they launched straight into the bed-bashing and wielded their hammers until the final stopwatch chime! Girl Power Hour for real!!

Rachel, Amy, Coralie, Claire and I focussed on the chair stacking and heavy lifting of the debrit varieties from the shed to the yard, while Joe became Colin's right hand muscle man! And despite his looks of dismay and self doubt, turned out to be quite the handy-man, spending some of the night perched on top of a van!! LOL

Although it's fair to say this was definitely a physical task of the highest decree, in order to get in some legit fitness fun, I integrated some leg circuits into the mix, with break-out squads tackling: Split squats, sumos and jump lunges X10 Reps for 3 rounds and I'm hoping there's gonna be some well toned, aching muscles waking up in West London this morning as a result!!

Although it seemed like only a few moments passed, the time had unfortunately etched away and once more we had to bid farewell to our excellent host and worthy task. However, this one is one where there is much to be done and we will be back for a visit in the next coming weeks!

Fast feet took us back to base with speed demon Debs (as always) pushing pace at the front and giving me a sure-fire run for my money! Stretches to finish and with a genuinely pooped possey we called it a night! but we'll see you next time Brent brigade!

DO GOOD. FEEL GOOD. INSPIRE!