On a warm summer evening, we set off from Old Spike and made our way—running the 5.5 km (with a little unplanned detour) to Blackfriars Estate. It was a long group run, but the sense of pride when we arrived made every step worth it.

There, we were warmly welcomed by Corin and got straight to work, shifting heavy bags of soil to clear space for the final stages of their landscaping project. It was serious, sweaty lifting, but as a team we got the job done.

With the task complete, we made the return journey to Old Spike—tired, but with that satisfying feeling of a mission accomplished.

Last week, 7 Goodgymmers went to Peckham Rye Tiny Forest to do some weeding.

First to arrive at our meeting point, Old Spike, were Steve and Nelly. I arrived late to find them waiting outside, having a jolly natter. David arrived next, followed by Rosemary and Goodgym tourist Pippa 👋

After a quick warm up and ice breaker, we set of for an artificially long run whilst Steve walked there - this was a smart move since in the humidity, running felt surprisingly hard! A slog around the park, but worth it because it will make us stronger..

We arrived at Tiny Forest - James was already there, and Steve too. They'd already got stuck in. We followed suit, wading and weeding in between the trees. It was a chilled out kind of task, with chatter about recent news reports (someone got arrested for carrying gardening tools?!) and where to go for a drink after the task. The consensus was Franks cafe, which coincidentally was also someone's answer to the ice breaker question: "Whats your favourite place in London to go to in the summer?" 🌇☀️

Today I volunteered as a #9 marshal at Peckham junior park run route.

I have summer house on Fridays so I cycled over to Bermondsey to help Mrs C.

I joined Clive and some of the wonderful volunteers at BFC cleaning, chopping and rotating existing stock before the afternoon delivery.

This was slightly less efficient as usual given that my baby boy woke up the moment we arrived and decided he wanted to be part of the action, and as such was strapped to my chest throughout. The extra pair of tiny hands were gratefully recieved, making him the youngest volunteer they've had to date at just 9 weeks old!

This week’s group run took us on our regular 3km route from Old Spike Café to Thorlands Gardens, where we met Simon for another productive evening of gardening.

At the gardens, the focus was on clearing brambles and weeding. Armed with gloves. forks, mattocks and plenty of energy, the group got stuck in, making a visible difference in just under an hour. Simon was, as ever, grateful for the support and progress.

With the job done, we jogged the 3km back to Peckham. A big thank you to everyone who joined—great running, great teamwork, and great impact!