Our GoodGym Camden group's work was a touch more visible last night.

This wonderful group - of Emilie, Jackie, John, Rose, Susannah (our brilliant host) and Steve - turned up, ready for work, at Camden's Cecil Sharp House.

Nestled in a grand building in Camden Town, it's a haven for folk music. And the secret has clearly filtered into the community. We started our work amidst a steady stream of people arriving for the evening performance.

There were some marked differences between us. The most marked being:

• It's apparent that folk music lovers don't wear shorts on February evenings (while GoodGym lovers often do)

Well, um, that really was the only difference I could discern.

Anyway! Our work!

This group swept, weeded, pruned, and tidied last night. And the results, for 7 folks happily chatting away, were remarkable. The pathways were transformed, the remaining leaves were bagged, and the flower beds' weeds were comprehensively pulled, and a great pile of bags captured the natural remnants of our work.

Thank you, everyone! We'll be back in March to sow summer seeds!

4 wonderful GoodGymers (Emilie, Emily, Matt, and Steve) and 1 Alex took GoodGym to the West End today.

Explore one of Theatre Land's side alleys and you may stumble across a lush plot of trees, flowers, and calm. The Phoenix Garden has been in the community's hands for 40 years, and it's a haven from the bustle from dawn until dusk every day of the year.

Our brilliant group stepped fully into the GoodGym spirit today.

The garden uses gabion cages to hold raised growing beds. And the cages are filled with Covent Garden's debris from the area's bombing in World War 2. These bricks and this rubble hold a history, and we were moving them to give life to a new structure today.

Our task was to empty the existing cages, move the cages to a new (sunnier) spot, and re-fill them. The new bed will be lined and filled, and the hope is that the sunnier climes will result in better growth this year.

Over 90 minutes, this wonderful troupe emptied, shifted, wheel-barrowed, and re-assembled, and the result was a huge difference :)

Thank you, everyone! We will be back here soon!!

(Check out Gosia's wonderful Insta video here!)

There is a large hall in Tottenham Court Road's American International Church.

It's the sort of hall you can imagine Charles Dickens in - he'd probably say something profound like - this is a nice hall.

And it's usually home to West End casts rehearsing plays and musicals - if you sneak in on a Wednesday night, you'll usually glimpse costumes and sets and a large double bass.

But last night we were tasked with turning the hall into the evening's winter shelter. And by 'we', I mean our wonderful group of our first good-gymers Auriela, Kiera, and Kayla (welcome, all!) and our Camden regulars Alex, Emilie, Emily, Gosia, Louise, Jackie, John, and Steve!

On arrival and having been welcomed by our brilliant host, Brooke, a smaller group of Auriela, Emilie, Kiera, and Kayla headed straight to an empty room that they soon turned into a welcoming dining room!

And while our smaller group were good-deeding, our larger group were doing the same - the hall popped with beds and the beds got dressed with warmth!

After 30 happy minutes, we turned out into evening Camden just as the shelter's guests were starting to arrive - nice one, everyone!!

A strange sight was spotted in Gospel Oak last night.

Small head-bound lights scurried around Lismore Circus. They were doing something good and there was intermittent laughter.

And amidst these lights, some sort of superhero was running around in their cape. We can't know their name for certain, but... we think it was 200!

This wonderful group of Cecile (on their first GoodGym outing, welcome!), Gosia, Jackie, John, Michael (on their first GoodGym trip to Camden, welcome!), Michelle (also on their first good deed, welcome!), and Steve joined Lismore Circus's community champion, Suza, to clear the area of discarded trash and litter.

And we were also celebrating Gosia's 200th good deed - a huge congratulations, Gosia! The cape was John and Jackie's idea, and Gosia was soon running, twirling, and jumping like the superhero she is :)

Over 40 minutes, this group cleared the community garden of bottles, wrappers, and cigarette ends, before exploring further afield into the adjoining Lismore Circus and walkways. Nine people working together can achieve a lot in 40 minutes, and this group's efforts made a visible difference.

Thank you, everyone! Here's to next time!

Our friends at Ingestre Road Estate in Tufnell Park needed a little help yesterday.

They care for a special woodland area - built and maintained by this community for decades - and a few new bins were in order.

And recycled (made from plastic bottles) were what they ordered. Swish and smart, these bins will withstand the seasons and blend in with the surrounding trees.

Over 90 minutes, this wonderful group of Alison, Caitlin, Cherian, Emily, John, Pete, and Steve drilled holes, affixed latches, and applied bases. They did all this while Pete showed me how to use a drill.

And... while the handiwork was progressing, Emily and Steve also took 15 minutes to plant a patch of rescued (courtesy of Pete) plants, giving an underloved tree a little more company :)

Thank you so much, everyone!

It's been nearly a whole month since we last helped the American International Church's winter shelter.

That was New Year's Day when the streets were quiet... restful... contemplative...

...yesterday the streets were positively noisy... thoroughly restless... and (perhaps) quite thoughtless!

Eight of us - Alex, Alison, Charlie, Jackie, John, JC, and Steve - gathered in Somers Town - in a nook of quiet - to warm up with a game of Simon Says, before we navigated our way (while sharing stories and conversation) through Bloomsbury's bustle.

A wonderful group of four - Gosia, Ivar, Jo-Anne (on their first good deed - welcome!!), and Will - met us on Tottenham Court Road and we descended down into the basement from which scents from the evening's cooking were bubbling..!

If I'd set up a time-lapse camera, I'd now be able to see a wash of red t-shirts sifting duvets from sheets, pillow cases from towels, amidst camp beds popping up and out and into place. In 25 minutes, this group set up a welcoming space for the evening's guests.

And while this was happening...

Another group were speedily opening tables, arranging chairs, and laying tablecloths - the empty room became the dining room - and it was fit for the food (also being cooked by volunteers) in the kitchen next door.

A big thank you to you all! As well as to our brilliant host, Brooke! Here's to next time!!