This was a task of two halves in the Pantry at the Salvation Army Hall in Welling.

After improvising with a broom-handle to mark out some straight borders, then some careful application of masking tape, Lisa and Martin got busy painting a blackboard on one of the walls. This will be used for messages to visitors at the Pantry.

Meanwhile, across the room, Sue and Sarah applied transfers to liven up the wall on one side of the hall. Those sticky letters were tricky little things and it was more of a dexterity- workout and test of patience than our usual physical activities!

Thank you for having us Katy, and kindly providing cups of tea as we worked and chatted.

One of the joys of GoodGym is the many different things that we get to do. Next week it's something completely different... check out the task listing to see what's coming up.

We made quite a difference to the grounds at Welling Library today.

'Make mine a vodka and Coke.' With nearly fifty empty glass bottles there had clearly been a drinking party at some point! They all went into the recycling bin ♻️.

Then we tackled the weeds and brambles, not easy in the frozen ground 🌱 .

Luckily we were working around the sunny sides of the building and all our activity kept us warm despite the minus temperatures in the shade 🌡.

A little over an hour - and nine bin bags-ful later - we headed to a nearby café for hot drinks and more chatting. The hot chocolate was a well-earned winner!

Elsewhere, GoodGym tourism saw Ashton's litterpicking, and Peter's volunteering at junior parkrun take us to 25 good deeds this month. This means we've already reached our target for the January Challenge 💥!

That's amazing, and great work Team GG Bexley! Can we make it to 50 by the end of the month do you think?

On a cold night when it would have been easy to stay at home, our hardy GoodGymers joined the equally dedicated volunteers from Discover Welling to take down the stickers thanking sponsors of the Welling Christmas lights.

Braving the rain and sleet we split into a group of runners 🏃‍♂️🏃🏻‍♀️ and a group of walkers 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️, heading in opposite directions along the high street peeling off stickers along the way. When we got to the end we crossed over and came back along the other side of the road doing the same.

The combination of running and walking gave us all a good dose of exercise, and we got the job done in double-time, even before our hands went numb in the cold. ❄️❄️

If you'd like extra motivation to get out and get moving during the winter months, come and join us!

It was raining cats and dogs but we braved the weather to join the volunteers at the Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods for their first session of the year.

Bracken- and bramble-bashing was the order of the day, pulling up the plants to make way for the spring flowers and wildlife to thrive.

Raking, chopping and pulling up, along with climbing the steep path and steps up to where we were working, gave us a great workout. Plus there was lots of chatting throughout.

It was lovely to welcome Maisie , and well done on your first GoodGym good deed!

Afterwards we enjoyed hot drinks at the Chestnuts kiosk.

We'll be back again next month. Perhaps the spring flowers will be making an appearance by then... come along to find out!

Seven GoodGymers joined the team of volunteers at Lessness Abbey Woods junior parkrun on a damp and breezy Sunday morning.

Our newest member, Corletta, certainly picked a good day for her first task! While Corletta volunteered, two of her children did their first ever junior parkrun, and the rest of the family cheered them on. Well done all round!

Run Director Keeley also notched up her first GoodGym good deed. The rest of us performed timekeeping, barcode scanning, finish tokens and marshalling.

Despite the rain, 25 juniors ran and walked the 2km course which made for an enjoyable morning for the volunteers.

Event completed, we headed to the Chestnuts cafe for a well earned coffee.

We're listing this event as a weekly community mission now, so dive in and join the fun!

This week we were with the Rotary Club of Bexley's Santa Sleigh, collecting donations and giving out sweets as part of the Community Hospice's team of volunteers.

There were other volunteers too, including an exuberant bunch of Police Cadets.

Santa arrived a little late (may have been traffic on the way from the North Pole?) and Faye from the Hospice was on hand to brief us and give out the hi viz jackets and collecting buckets.

Karen and I had a photo with Santa and Faye, then the Christmas music was turned on and after a few pics with some of the children we were off!

People were out on the streets in their hundreds, smiling, waving, dancing and singing along to the Christmas tunes.

Santa was on top form, waving and posing for many photos. One child exclaimed, “I can’t believe Santa is in my street!” Memories to last a lifetime for the local children (and adults!) .

We were so impressed by the young cadets who were polite and confident in their efforts to knock on doors and fill their buckets.

The route covered over 5 miles - that's a pretty good walk on a chilly, drizzly evening!

At the end the buckets were emptied and the remaining sweets were divvied up among the helpers, then we were off home, waving Santa on his merry way.

A great evening was had by all.

That's a wrap for 2024. Merry Christmas and here's to lots more good deeding in our local community next year. 🎅🥂