Seven was the lucky number of GoodGymmers out to help Lynde House Care Home on a balmy summers evening.

We had a lovely outdoors task prepared for us in the garden; sanding down benches, cleaning said benches, and then painting the benches!

We got to work with the sandpaper, & Liz showing us what a proper sand job looks like, before a wipe down and an eager Chris raring to go with the paintbrush.

As we coloured the benches a dark deep brown, the gang were given an education on the Bristol Stool chart. If you know you know, and if you don’t then you should have been at this task! Sometimes sit happens, especially when it comes to outdoor seating!

Minds expanded, benches painted, the task was finished, just in time for the end of the Brazil vs Japan game. I promise JP did work hard, and wasn't watching the football all evening! A big welcome to Rahul for coming along to his first session, hope to see you again soon!

A beautifully warm and sunny morning welcomed 3 regular Richmond GGers for a follow up session at the Sea Scouts.

The task was to apply another coat of teak oil to the boathouse doors close by to the White Cross pub, after the task of sanding and applying the first coat on Monday.

We got the job done in super quick time and stood back to admire our handiwork. Then it was off for a refreshing drink in the sunshine and the start of the weekend!

It's that time of year when we head to Richmond riverside for one of our favourite tasks! We have been helping with this for the past six years and it's a fast, rewarding mission. We do it in two sessions with the first taking the longest as we sand and clean the doors before brushing on the teak oil and watching the doors come back to life.

This evening we headed to the boathouse via some exercises on Richmond Green: squatting, lunging, bear crawling and side-stepping our way down towards the river.

Upon arrival at the boathouse we discovered they have recently had significant damage on the doors when a van has seemingly reversed into it and left a tear through the wood and pulled off the locks. It was a sorry sight but it made us more determined to complete the makeover!

With so many hands in action, we completed the task quickly which even left time to head to the pub for refreshment, to see Messi score at the world cup and chat before the warm rain came!

One of our favourite places to help, Petersham & Ham Sea Scouts, needed some assistance clearing up after their fence installation. We love this spot because it feels like moving into history as we head along the river path and the scene opens up into countryside, complete with cows!

Task owner Russell always has some great active tasks ready for us too, the kind of jobs the scouts cant get involved with themselves. This time it inolved breaking up small branches into arm-length twigs; ready to be bagged and shifted. And moving heavy concrete posts and larger logs around the site, picking out some for the new loggery. A great workout that really is all about keeping fit by doing good, we look forward to returning.

GG was back at St Christopher's, where we focused our attention to the front driveway. Leaves were swept away and the driveway was also cleared of excess tree pollen and soil. Shrubs and trees were also trimmed. We enjoyed the sunshine and look forward to coming back here to tackle the back garden.

Our June Monday visit to our sponsored riverside plot and we were blessed with a lovely still evening after heavy rain. Chelsea met us at the Tap to run with GoodGym for the very first time, welcome Chelsea! A good stretch and an intro later, we headed off to the riverside with a steady jog towards our lock-up at the arcade.

The grass was dry enough to use for our fitness session: a mix of squats, kicks, walk out push-ups and lunges; a bit of extra oomph before getting stuck into weeding and dusting the arcade, finishing off with a run back into Richmond and a final push up the hill!

We will be back next month for more summer care of the area, and our big 10th birthday!