10 GoodGymmers "came together" outside the Braywick Nature Centre on a much warmer evening that we've been having of late to attempt to build stag beetle habitats. Unfortunately, upon trying to locate the equipment we realised that our task owner may have accidentally forgotten we were coming and hence had to think of a plan B(eetle). Perhaps "Yesterday" I should have sent a reminder to say "Don't let me down". Amy and I even tried calling for "Help!", but alas, in the end we just had to "Let it be".

Thankfully our glorious leader Amy had a colony of litter pickers in the boot of her car (sadly, not a VW Beetle!) so we set to work with the intention of having a social walk around the parkrun loop, a very "long and winding road", whilst clearing up any litter we saw en route.

We stag-gered around together, chatted and cleaned up a few bags of rubbish. Great job team! Hopefully we can return another evening to give the beetles a "little help from their friends" so they can "twist and shout" in their new home!

We also congratulated Tony on his 50th good deed this evening! Well done Tony!

What a wonderful morning! Sunlight glinting through the trees, fun playing with the ice on the pond, waders on, which make you feel invincible, lots of laughter, wrestling with roots, and of course buckets and buckets of mud, glorious, stinky, splattery mud!

Thanks to Ranger Tom and the parks team for welcoming me, Sheila and Tony to their work party this morning. We had a brilliant work out and helped with the final push to clear out the pond (for the first time in 40 years!) ready for it to be re-filled.

Tony, Sue and Sheila braved the coldest morning of the season so far to go and help muck out the pond at Braywick Nature Reserve. After donning waders ( all except for Sue, whose neat little size 3 feet would have been swamped in the sizes available) and long gloves, we made our way down to the pond. We had to climb over the fence as the gate padlock was frozen, and break the ice on the pond, but Tony was straight into the water in the partially-drained pond. Together with Rangers Tom and Rosie, and members of the Parks Team, we set to work digging out sludge from the edge of the pond into buckets which were then emptied out on the edge of the area. Always being mindful of not digging into the pond liner. Tom and Tony got the pump going to lower the water level and reveal more lovely sludge. We all ended up covered in mud, but had a great time helping out, and after a hose-down back at base, made our way home for a warm-up Feeling like you've missed out? More mud-moving scheduled for next week https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/help-maintain-the-pond-in-the-braywick-nature-reserve-088520ce-95d4-4ffb-aec3-600e17c6253a

Due to continued flooding at Ockwells, our group of intrepid volunteers were re-deployed to Braywick Park. It was great to be able to welcome Karin to her first ever Goodgym session, and Angela to her second. A warm welcome to you both. We armed ourselves with shovels and spades, and made our way down into the park. Our task was to clear the mud and leaf litter from the sides of the paths to make it safer for walkers, runners and cyclists. We were amazed by how wide the paths really are, and we got appreciative comments and thanks from pretty much everyone who passed by. We have released Braywick's hidden motorways! There is more that can be done, especially along the Cut to make it safer for parkrunners, but we have made a great start.

Our task at Ockwells Park could not go ahead due to extensive flooding - wetsuits would have been more appropriate than the wellies we were going to bring! Nonetheless the rangers at Braywick Nature Centre found us an alternative task at Braywick, clearing mud from the paths. The mud has been creeping onto the paths from the sides, and together with leaf mould from fallen leaves, the paths have become slippery for walkers and runners. Garry, Angela, Rosie, Rachel and Sheila went armed with spades, shoves, rakes and a wheelbarrow, and set to work. We managed to widen quite a long stretch of path, and Garry even discovered a whole section of path which had become over-run with ivy, forcing people to make a detour which had become very muddy. He also cut back the tree to allow people to use the path again - see if you can tell which section that was on your next Maidenhead park run! It was a good workout on a very chilly morning and we were all a bit warmer on our way home.

What an evening! A 6km walk/run, an adventurous task in Braywick Nature Reserve, and above all, a big celebration for Sheila's 500th GoodGym good deed. We couldn't have asked for better for our first group run/walk of the year.

A very warm welcome to Kate and Charlotte, who joined us for their first group run/walks with GoodGym. Hopefully the firsts of many.

A great big group of us met at the Maidenhead Community Centre, and we kicked off the festivities by giving GoodGym Queen Sheila the crown and cape that have always been there in my imagination.

Sheila and the walkers then set off across town, led by Taskforce superstar Rachel. Meanwhile the runners warmed up and then we set off too. Thanks to Claire, Gillian and Juli for offering to back mark, and to Angela and Sophie, who zoomed ahead to show the way.

On arrival at the leisure centre the runners had time for a quick bench fitness circuit before our task owner Ranger Tom and the walkers joined us. Press ups, tricep dips, mountain climbers and squat jumps - lucky runners!

I then handed over to Tom to lead our task. We had planned for planting oak trees outside the leisure centre, but the oak trees hadn't arrived, and a lot of mud had arrived on the Greenway, so Tom asked for our help with the mud instead. Good news is that we will still have an opportunity to plant the trees later in the month.

We went to the Nature Centre, where we collected wheelbarrows full of spades and rakes. Then we turned our torches to full and went into the Nature Reserve, to a stretch of the Greenway near Hibbert Road. An ash tree had fallen during the previous day's storm, and although the tree had been cleared, there was still a lot of mud and debris on the path.

Twenty four people working by torchlight made quite a spectacle amongst the dark trees of the Nature Reserve and there was a real buzz as we escaped from 'normal life' into the alternate reality of a GoodGym Winter evening session. Even Tom, who is used to being immersed in nature, enjoyed the thrill of being out in the woods in the cold and dark.

We dug, scraped, raked, scooped and chatted our way through the task, and the hard standing of the path was rapidly revealed. Tom said the same job would have taken his small team hours, so we made a real difference. Well done GoodGymers!

Then onto the important matter of the group photo. Well done Clara for getting creative and suggesting a spade/rake guard of honour for our queen. Well done Matthew for awesome photography, and well done everyone for holding up those spades for quite a long time - you wanted a work out, and you got one!

We then did the tool collection and running and walking in reverse, said goodbye to a couple of people who had to dash, and re-convened in the warm of the Maidenhead Community Centre for Sheila's big milestone celebtration.

And what a celebration! Georgeta brought her signature black forest gateau, complete with marzipan 'GG 500' lettering, Claire had made some gorgeous GF mini cupcakes, Rachel made some stunning flapjacks and pistachio biscuits, and Jack made lots of hot drinks. I presented Sheila with her sparkliest medal yet, a big card, a GoodGym mug and a hand decorated tin of tea - a nod to (and hopefully step up from) the emoji cup of tea I sent her in May 2021 to congratulate her on first GoodGym good deed at the Baby Bank.

Thanks to Matthew for capturing this all on camera. Matthew's direction of the group photo at this point in the evening was the closest I've ever felt to being at a wedding during a GoodGym session, and too right! Reaching 500 good deeds is a momentus occasion, which deserves to be captured in perfect picture form for posterity.

Sheila, WELL DONE! Not only for 500 good deeds, but for but organising and leading a huge proportion of these sessions too, and in doing so, enabling so many others to join in and and feel welcome at GoodGym.

I have a message from Sue Walker at the Boyn Grove Community Allotment saying that they 'wouldn't have managed to keep going in the last couple of years without you'. You have also made a huge difference to the Baby Bank and Braywick Heath Nurseries through regular sessions. The Craft Coop love you for your enthusiasm and contribution both on the crafty side and the practical/installation side of their projects, and your reach goes as far as Windsor, where you've made a big difference with regular Spital Cemetery sessions.

There are of course a great many other community projects and charities you have supported, as well as umpteen isolated older residents, who you have helped through social visits and gardening tasks. I will never forget the resident who made me cry (happy tears!) at a recent borough event, when she told me what a difference you had made to her life.

Kanika couldn't make this session, but sent a message, which beautifully sums up what we all think:

Sheila, thank you for being such an inspiration without any showboating. You, dear lady, are a bonafide legend 😎 Congratulations on this amazing achievement! 🤯