A team of GoodGymers headed to John Innes Park today expecting to tackle the tricky job of digging out some bamboo. A change of plan meant a slightly less exhausting hour as we instead got stuck into weeding flower beds, which were in need of a good tidy-up.

It just goes to show that at GoodGym, you have to be ready to go with the grow!

From alkanet to dandelions, and a few things we couldn't identify, the team dug in to help get the flower beds looking much neater, helping to make John Innes Park bloom a little brighter.

For Monday's group session, we were deployed across Merton's Community Fridge and Morden Baptist Church for a multi-front mission!

Working with strict tactical coordination (especially in the limited storage space), our three squads executed:

📦 Operation Storage: A military-precision evacuation of the shelves. The space was cleared, swept and scrubbed in controlled phases before items were strategically redeployed back into formation; a masterclass in spatial logistics.

💄Donation Sorting: Interception of a massive influx of makeup, systematically categorising items including lipstick and nail polish and boxing them up ready for the Christmas distribution period.

🧽 Kitchen Recon: Cleared drawers and shelves, scrubbing every surface to leave things fresh and inspection-ready ahead of an upcoming wedding.

Mission accomplished - a swift, highly organised operation that left the space deeply grateful. Well done team and welcome to Camila, Sarah, Usaama, Su and Robert on your first GoodGym session. We hope to see you again soon.

We headed over to the Friends of Lavender Park Action Day to roll up our sleeves and give the somewhat forgotten space a much-needed clear out.

Armed with gloves, tools, and bags, we got stuck straight into the overgrown edges, tackling thickets of stubborn brambles, clearing persistent weeds, and picking up litter across the space. The sun was beaming and as we pruned away and pulled up deep vine roots embedded along the wall a lovely local resident stopped by with bottles of water to keep us all hydrated.

It was fantastic to see so many members of the local community pitching in. Our efforts have hopefully given this hidden gem a real boost ready for the friends group to keep things in check ahead of the planned planting. No doubt we will be back when needed.

Three GoodGymmers joined veteran allotmenteer Lisa Marie for a morning of rock and roll at the Phipps Bridge allotments. Our opening number was a Rolling Stones tribute, carefully pulling the substantial stones edging her pond outwards and away from the pond to avoid any splashy solos.

With plenty of time left for the second act, the four of us formed an unlikely folk-punk supergroup and, with perfect pitch(forks), took on a chart-topping mat of mint and nettles. By levering underneath and working our way around the edges, we rooted out the long underground stems and gradually rolled the whole tangled mass over on itself. After much sweat, stabbing and lifting, the weeds’ farewell tour finally came to an end, thankfully with no encore!

We headed over to Faith in Action to lend a hand with the post-lunch cleanup, stepping in just as the busy meal service wrapped up.

Our team got straight to work clearing tables and chairs before getting stuck in with a thorough mop of the hall floor. It’s always brilliant to know our help makes a real impac, this time giving the wonderful staff and dedicated volunteers a well-deserved breather. After being on shift for most of the day, our clean allowed them to finish up early or tackle their admin while we took care of the heavy lifting. Another fantastic session in the bag, leaving the space spotless and ready for next time. Well done team.

Another shift at Merton's Community Fridge to lend a hand with the post-distribution cleanup.

There was plenty to do wiping down and sparkling up the fridges before turning attention to the inevitable chaos of leftover boxes, rubbish, and recycling. Fortunately, with an extra pair of hands plus two additional family members pitching in, we made light work of the mess and had everything sorted in record time.

It was a squeaky clean session topped off with a milestone with the fantastic Merton/Croydon combo in action. It’s always great to team up with the superhuman Brenda - looking forward to our paths crossing again soon!