Somewhere beneath a fortress of savage brambles, aggressive weeds, and stray litter lay a secret storage zone. This area was destined to house a special, top-secret item. One that must remain safe, sound, and ready for when Santa Claus himself touches down this December. Failure was not an option; Christmas was literally on the line.

We arrived to find a prickly terrain to which the team just dived right in, hacking through the wilderness.

With fewer tools than we would have liked, we had to get creative. We commandeered a lone, trusty wheelbarrow found nearby for our transport vehicle. As the cutting crew cleared the thorny barricades, others helped Rosemary (from the Rotary) clear the area of litter, ensuring the future festive hub was spotless.

Thanks to the last minute sign ups there is now a Santa-ready storage space. So we left with the knowledge that the December operation is officially secure.

Well done team, you really pulled it out of the bag tonight, especially those who flew in from outside Merton - amazing and of course what we do! Merton Rotary are so very grateful.

A large group of us headed to the Martin Way Methodist Church community garden tonight, luckily there is always enough jobs to go around! We weeded, air-rated clay, dead headed, leaf blowed and watered. A group of us also started painting a fence! It was a very productive hour and we are excited to continue the work next month! A big GoodGym welcome to Jerrold who attended his first session this evening, we hope to see you again soon.

A good sized group of us were put to work picking up all the rubbish dropped by visitors around the perimeter of Deen City Farm. We split up into groups for maximum coverage and over the hour managed to pretty much fill our bin bags. Well done one and all!

With the new school year just around the corner, we were called in for an urgent collaborative mission to support a Wandsworth Council initiative alongside Donate to Educate and The Scrubbery - with Dons Local Action Group stepping in to drive the garments over to Merton.

A massive haul of surplus school uniforms acquired from supermarkets was due for delivery, so our mission was all about pure organisation: counting, sorting, and carefully packing ready-to-collect bundles into cages.

Working batch by batch through piles of trousers and shirts, our energy was uniformly utilised from start to finish!

It was a brilliant effort that will make a huge difference to local children stepping back into the classroom across Merton, Wandsworth, and Southwark. A huge well done to the team for making the trip slightly outside our usual Merton and Kingston boundaries - the extra hands and longer session were greatly appreciated!

It was a welcome treat to return to Ms S’s garden in the warm summer sunshine after a previous frosty winter visit!

Despite running solo today and being a pair of hands short, the mission was a complete success. The overgrown weeds werecleared, and both the roses and jasmine got some much-needed care and attention. Another green space left neat, tidy, and looking better.

Forget the classic jazz song "What a difference a DAY made" - our 16 strong team of Goodgymers did the same in just 1 HOUR!

I can only imagine the startled look on the faces of Mitcham's Citizens Advice Bureau employees as they return to work in the morning to find their garden has been transformed from near jungle to a beautiful clean and tidy oasis in which they can enjoy their lunch breaks.

Everyone got stuck in from the word go and the result was plain to see. We also tackled the front clearing weeds, litter and sweeping leaves.

A huge welcome to Sophie and Laura - congratulations on your first GoodGym session, hopefully see you again soon!

Next week we are at Martin Way Methodist church community garden and it's likely there will be some outdoor jobs 😉. There's also a group run beforehand so sign up here if you are joining us.