Goodgym Haringey got together last night with a very special purpose in mind - to celebrate a departed friend, whose love for life, disposition for a good laugh, and thirst for just a few more Ks was intoxicating and contagious. The thing about death is that it doesn't care about fairness and sometimes it takes from us people who just had too much damn living ahead of them, leaving those of us still around with such a deep sense of loss. Nurj knew this and last time I saw her at the hospital, she made me promise her in that matter-of-factly kind of way of hers that I needed to make sure her Goodgym lot as she called us would be ok afterwards because after all she wouldn't be around to do so. Bloody strong to the end, our Nurj.

So, as a way of keeping a promise, the Goodgym Haringey family decided to bring some new life into this wonderful London borough that she so loved. We planted a baby tree, which will be around for many years to come, and where us Goodgymmers can go and share a quick laugh or the latest juicy goss with Nurj. A Royal Beauty by name, this tree will be all colours and fancy things as seasons change so we know Nurjehan would have approved. And also, as her Goodgym lot got together last night for the customary rummage through a community garden on a lovely warm Wednesday evening at the end of another Summer season, sharing a laugh, some memories, and some tears, I know she would have smiled at her favourite Goodgym in the country and felt proud. We'll never stop missing you on Wednesday evenings, good friend.

11 Goodgymmers rooted for glory as they lent a hand at Floyde's Garden to help them prep the site ahead of a very special landscaping project.

Many hands...

With the recent passing of our GGHaringey Stalwart Nurjehan, the good folk at Floyde's Garden have kindly offered to host a tree planted in her memory, which will become the focal point of a brand new landscaped square for the gardens.

First order of business was digging up a number of deep-rooted dead trees and a multitude of brambles to create a blank canvas of sorts for the new planting scheme.

To that end, our Goodgymmers gathered at Blue House Yard where we kept warm with some light exercises, including introducing some of the new folk to the wonderful world of wall sits, before running a cool 2k to site together. Once at the gardens, we were met by Laurie - from Noel Park Big Local who look after the site - who talked us through the tasks at hand.

Before you knew it, we had lept into action and were digging and leveling to our heart's content.

We were also tasked with helping to rescue some bricks from the works on the adjacent playground so they can be recycled as a small plaza around Nurjehan's tree.

Within an hour our Goodgymmers had completely cleared the site and helped the pile of recycled bricks grow even taller so we had a little nosey at the progress on the playground works next door.

We then did the only reasonable things on a cold night like this and ran to the closest watering hole for much-needed refreshments.

We'll be at Traid next Tuesday and all being well, we should be planting Nurjehan's Tree on Wednesday - watch this space.

Sarah, Veronika, and Euclides met for an old school leafleting session this. It is fair to say that flyering is not GGH's favourite task and numbers backed up the claim!

Undettered, our three Goodgymmers worked as hard a crew of 10 and flyered two of the very, very long avenue in Noel Park N22 ahead of their festival this weekend.

Heroes.

8 Goodgymmers fought the elements to rescue a fun task out of the jaws of a very stormy night in Wood Green as they created a pond in the lovely Moselle Meadow Community Garden.

Kudos Corner

Everybody make some noise for Hamad who joined us for his first ever GGHaringey task. He was aces. Hope the rain and general GGHaringeyness of it all hasn't scared you away - come again!

Crisis At Drowning Street

In a day filled with political intrigue, electioneering stratagems, and general election shenanigans, it felt perhaps quite fitting that the skies had opened and not stopped raining for about two days.

Undeterred, our unflappable Goodgymmers signed up for an evening of digging deep as the lovely folk at Moselle Meadow had been gifted by a pond by a neighbour that needed to be installed at this picturesque community garden. The task was two-fold: firstly, Dave and Charlie were entrusted with working out the ins and outs of the solar-powered pumps while the rest of the team took turns at digging up a frankly really massive hole for the pond.

Our Goodgymmers made good progress and once the pump was in perfect working order, Dave was joined by Veronika for a light weeding, while Sam, Sarah, Charlie, Hamad, and Ed took turns at digging, transporting the dug up soil across the road to create a path around some lovely community-made planters, and lining up the pond.

Once we were satisfied the hole was the right size, we installed the pond, filled it up with the rainwater collected by the team at Moselle Meadow, and then proceeded to feng shui rocks and sticks from the Meadow to make the pond look nice while the MM team is able to get a planned rockery installed to surround the pond.

All in all, not a bad night of volunteering in the rain.

The Moselle Meadow was created by the wonderful folk at Noel Park Big Local, whose motto is 'Neighbours Helping Neighbours' and if that doesn't describe what we do to a T, I don't know what does. So it's always lovely to be able to lend them a hand whenever we can. Boom.

Next week, we're helping the Friends of Lordship Rec get the paddling pool by the Hub in shipshape for summer so that it's ready for action for all kiddies in our community when the skies finally decide to turn sunny. Come!

#DoGoodGetFit

Four Goodgymmers helped the folk at Russell's Park Hub carry out a risk assessment and a thorough litter pick ahead of their Easter Egg Hunts on Saturday.

Kristina and Patrick joined Gramps nice and early for a litter pick of the area in the park, surrounding the cafe to ensure that there weren't any little things that could hurt any of the scores of children that were expected to join the Hunts.

Later on, Rosa joined them to finish completing a risk assessment and support Euclides run the Easter Egg Hunts

Happy Easter

9 Goodgymmers braved the yellow warnings of Storm Ciaran to lend a hand at the Noel Park Estate for a bit of tree maintenance shenanigans.

So long, suckers!

Our Goodgymmers arrived one by one to Blue House Yard to find out that Gramps - not content with spending two weeks with his feet up getting fat and watching the telly while allegedly in the sick bin - had also mixed up his dates and the task advertised for the evening was not actually until next week. Our Goodgymmers, as always gracious and accommodating, didn't make him feel bad about it and were in fact eager about the prospect of trimming suckers from plane trees in the middle of a powerful storm. 😅

Thankfully, the rain and the wind held out long enough to keep our Goodgymmers dry while they concentrated their efforts on a lovely tree-lined road in the Noel Park Estate. Dave, Sarah, Julie, Raj, Latoya, and Charlie wasted no time and in getting rid of suckers from the mature trees while Clare and Nurjehan took charge of a thorough litter pick of all the tree beds and pavements, including some newly-installed rain garden planters outside the Noel Park school.

It was a smooth operation and within the hour, all trees along the .5 mile long (!) Lymington Avenue had been sorted and the road was looking impeccable. Big shout out to the local residents who came out to provide some light for our Goodgymmers while they trimmed the tree outside their house. They did look at us like we had just landed from a different planet but were very enthusiastic and supportive about our efforts.

Once we were done, we took all cuttings and rubbish back to Noel Park Big Local's HQ and as always, we made time for some selfies, hugs, and high fives.

Boom

Join us next week as we visit Tottenham Green for some bulb planting!