12 hardy Goodgym folks joined us last evening (narrowly avoiding the 10 minute hail storm) for what proved to be a lovely double task combo night! Quite a few of our regulars admitted that they were in recovery after some sterling performances at the Big Half on Sunday (too many to list here!), but we still had two super capable teams (including some GG tourists from Lambeth and Camden- welcome!) available to help at Mildmay Community Centre and The Rose Bowl Youth Centre. For the count-off, we asked the question: "Shorts or Leggings- pick one!". The results were:

• 8 for Leggings
• 3 for Shorts
• 1 for "Both, as I am demonstrating tonight..."

MILDMAY COMMUNITY CENTRE

Trainer Simon lead the 3.5 mile run to Mildmay Community Centre, via Highbury Fields, Canonbury (past the Snooty Fox) and towards Newington Green. Upon our arrival, we tentatively introduced ourselves to the staff (who were in the middle of a meeting), grabbed our gloves, and made our way to the distinctive sloped garden behind the building. Mildmay Community Centre is a super unique organisation, and uses a completely carbon neutral Passiv-Haus as their main base. Maintaining a seasonal garden for their visitors is really important to the group, and our job involved protecting the green space after the abundance of storms and bad weather.

Our task involved laying black tarpaulin onto the soft muddy growing patches, to allow the ground to recover after the rain. Half of our group stayed at the top of the slope, and dropped the material down to the rest of the team, who stationed themselves at the bottom, and took it in turns to hammer the sheeting down with pegs. The job reminded a few of our team members of camping with friends, and pitching tents as part of a group.

Mildmay Community Centre were amazed at how much work we covered in such a short amount of time, and have invited us to come back anytime! We even met a few cat friends towards the end of our task, who were curious about the strange red t-shirt people in their garden.

ROSE BOWL YOUTH CENTRE

Taskforce member Aidan took the second group over to the Rose Bowl Youth Centre, just past St Paul's Way (a classic GG Islington task), where the team met up with Dawn, the lovely volunteer coordinator and general good egg!

Goodgymmers set about cleaning and sweeping the main play area ready for various sports groups throughout the week, and a few of our team started cutting down some over-hanging branches near the main entrance of the site. However, the key task that Goodgym Islington will be assisting with over the next month involves helping to build a sensory area for autistic youngsters. Our team helped out with the early stages of the construction (based near the triangular wooden hut near the tool shed, for folks who have visited the centre before), mostly clearing out the space after the recent storms. We have been promised some sawing and hand-on building work for when we return on the 16th March!

Both teams returned to the Arsenal Hub at almost the same time, and we all engaged in some group stretches together whilst chatting. Trainer Simon brought out some accidentally vegan bourbon biscuits, and we set off into the night.

Cracking stuff, folks! See you next week!

NEWS

Monthly Social with GG Islington!

After next week's task at Sunnyside Community Centre (Monday 9th March), we will be heading over to the Victoria Tavern on Holloway Road for a 2-for-1 pizza, drinks and good times!

The Victoria Tavern, 203 Holloway Rd, London N7 8DL

Sign up to this event page for more information!

Goodgym Camden Takeover!

Trainer Simon has been asked to cover Goodgym Camden on Wednesday 11th March- leading the session, and directing our runners to C4WS Homeless Action or to Cecil Sharp House- two great organisations in Central London.

If you fancy some Goodgym tourism with some familiar faces, sign up here for more information!

CREOS March Community Mission (Crouch End Open Space)

If you have never done a community mission before, this monthly project is a great one to get involved with!

The friends of CREOS have been maintaining a green space for over 50 years, keeping it available to the public and allowing the neighbourhood to ensure it is in good shape. Loads of volunteers from around the area will pitch in with gardening projects, and loads of Goodgym runners from all different boroughs will be present for a regular catch up.

A picnic always follows this task, with snacks, hot drinks and occasionally something a bit stronger on offer!

Sunday 15th March, starting at 11am. Come on down, and sign up here!

The Arc Centre Deep Clean and Free Fitness Session

On Sunday 22nd March, GG Islington have been asked to help out The Arc Community Centre with some bi-monthly cleaning and tidying tasks- a great indoor activity to wrap up the weekend.

In return, we have access to the main hall and the accompanying gardens before the the task. Trainer Simon will be offering a free all abilities circuit training session before we start with the cleaning duties. Strength and conditioning are under valued pursuits for a lot of runners, and we will be introducing some simple body weight exercises you can do as part of a group (the best way IMHO!) or in your own free time.

The Arc Centre, 98b St Paul Street. London N1 7DF

Sign up here to get involved! It will be great fun.

Who doesn't love a farm task, working around adorable animals?

20 cheery Goodgymmers joined us on our trip to Freightliner's Farm in Paradise Park last night (including new runner Tess- welcome!). This little volunteer run farm is a bit of a hidden gem, it seems- we had Goodgym runners admit that despite living in Islington most of their adult life, they had no idea this small community farm existed!

Before setting off and performing a small warm up exercise session on the Emirates slope, we did a count-off: Name, number, and "Where are you planning to stay for Christmas?". The results were as follows:

• Manchester x 3
• Sheffield x 2
• Stoke Newington
• Canning Town
• Marylebone
• Devon
• South Wales
• Ireland
• Bulgaria
• Morroco
• New Zealand

I hope you all have wonderful festive breaks, wherever you spend your holiday time.

Freightliners Farm

We ran, jogged and walked to the farm (only 1 km from our start point, Frances lead a walking group to the task), and met up with Liv, the volunteer coordinator (who was interviewing for potential trustees at the same time). Our group was then separated into 3 groups.

Group 1 opted to help out with the mucky task- shoveling hay and compost into bags, and gathering the bags together for use in spring time.

Group 2 grabbed their brooms and swept up the main corridor by the animal pens- lots of mud and hay tends to collect here, so it's a big task. After clearing the surfaces, the team mixed up some bleach, and gave the floor a good wash down.

Group 3 donned their headtorches and spot lights, and swept up the main entrance and yard space. This is a big area with lots of leaves and muck gathered up, but our Goodgym crew made short work of it!

Of course, we had the chance to pet some lovely animals too, including two very friendly farm cats, who were observing all of our activities from a distance.

Zia Lucia

As the nights draw in for 2019, we took the opportunity to enjoy a get-together before we all set off for our Christmas breaks. Zia Lucia is an excellent Napolese-style pizzeria on Holloway Road, and a great spot for a Goodgym Islington social. We'll be sure to return in the near future!

NEWS

Just a reminder that next week will be the final Goodgym Islington run of the year, as GG head office will close over the festive break. Sign up here for some carol singing around Highbury & Islington!

Our first group run of 2020 will be on Monday 6th January, and is likely to be Christmas Tree hunting and recycling!

Mini Mermaids x Goodgym Highbury Fields parkrun Takeover

We had a great time running with the Mini Mermaids running club on Saturday. If you would like to read the report for this awesome community mission, click here.

Crisis at Christmas

We had a super suggestion for volunteering over Christmas last night. If you are still looking for a Goodgym-style task in December, then consider signing up to help with Crisis at Christmas offer some assistance for those in need over the festive period. They are looking for all sorts of volunteers, from creative folks and warehouse assistants, to friendly faces and team leaders.

All the best everyone. See you next week.

P.S. Please add your Christmas song suggestions in the comment box below!