High energy, positive vibes and a big impact - it's all in a night's work at GoodGym Westminster!

It was amazing to welcome members of North Paddington Youth Club to our session last night. Waleed, MJ and Hussen have all been making some incredible stuff happen, from foodbank collections, to walking cricket for the elderly, big cleans ups and more. Why not check out upcoming sessions and join them?

We also gave a big welcome to Vita who came along to her very first group run - great to meet you Vita!

We met up in a busy Hyde Park with no sign of the predicted storm, and found a place away from the army of bikes streaming in for our warm up. We tested our brains as well as muscles which was a challenge - and resulted in some 'interesting' high fives! After a quick discussion about our chosen super power (super strength rated very highly, although you all already seem to have that) we set off for the task.

The Abbey Centre in Victoria is an important resource for local people, offering support in the form of hot food, legal advice, somewhere warm, therapy and classes. Our job was outside in the garden, so we made our way through the building and divided up the jobs.

Laura and Catarina got straight in making sandwiches for rough sleepers, Waleed, MJ and Hussan grabbed gloves and cleared the weeds (I think that geranium survived!), Kush gave everything a good water, Ciaran and Vita were in charge of clearing and sweeping, Emma and Lydia were on banister and fire escape duty, while Jacob worked with photographer Simon to capture some fantastic shot for the evening. You can see the whole gallery here - what a lot of happy, energetic faces!

Before long the jobs were done and the place was transformed - brilliant work everybody. That wasn't all though - there was just enough time for a fitness challenge which saw us test our balancing skills. Turns out they were very impressive, even when I threw in a few dynamic exercises to test you all! We finished off the night with a leg burner in the form of a progressive squat.

While some of us went for a delicious curry, others opted to add a few miles, and we also managed to catch the Under One Sky Team to hand over the carefully prepared sandwiches. They had run out of food to hand out to rough sleepers, so we were there in the nick of time!

Great to see you all last night, thanks for all the effort and smiles. We run as a group every single Tuesday in Westminster at the same time. Next week we're off to the oldest youth club in the world to help out - would love to see you there!

Mr R unfortunately fell outside his home last week (but thankfully not too badly injured), so much to catch up on this afternoon before I headed out with list in hand. His one specific request was that I only get British asparagus, and if there wasn't any then not to bother. Initially it appeared the only available asparagus had flown in from Mexico, but after a good root around in the box (curiosity got the better of me...), I uncovered some UK grown spears hidden below their Mexican cousins, and all was good for another week.

Joined Gurseva in front of ZImbabwe House to set tables up and hand out hot food. Lovely lentle soup and curry with rice and samosas. to top this we handed out plums and some chocolate cakes as Easter. The curry went down like a treat and one customer said it was hot 🔥...too hot for him to handle?Hot or not, all the food went in an hour.

Mrs S was strangely apologetic about the shortness (?) of this week's dictated list, albeit it did contain all the usual suspects, and just as I was leaving she said "tomatoes, put them on the list too", so still a few aisles to explore to get what she needed for another week. The highlight though was her inclusion of a jar of both runny and set honey, which neatly set up this week's report title...if only she'd added a swede to the list it would have been perfect...

It was an evening full of purpose and productivity for GoodGym Westminster tonight. We kicked things off by welcoming back Laura after her time abroad. It’s fantastic to have you back running with us again — and in slightly cooler climates too! Great to have Denzel join us for a first session in Westminster. An excellent start to the Tuesday task!

After a quick warm-up in Hyde Park and the usual gauntlet run of determined cyclists, we set off on a steady run down towards the Abbey Centre. This community centre in Victoria is a cornerstone of the local area, providing vital services, support, and a welcoming space for many. Our task there focused on the community therapy garden, where we got stuck into weeding, planting, and sweeping. A satisfying transformation and a space that will continue to benefit everyone who uses it.

But the evening didn’t stop there.

Realising we were just around the corner from another of our regular task locations — and spotting an opportunity — we decided one task simply wasn’t enough. So off we went again, running round to a busy youth centre where a room needed tidying and reorganising. The result? More usable space and more room for resources to support the young people who rely on it.

With two runs and two tasks under our belts, there was just enough time left for a quick core blast to round things off — even though some of the crew had already squeezed in a gym strength session earlier in the day. Special shoutout to Denzel for doubling down on the effort — impressive stuff!

Not one but two tasks, two runs, and a workout all packed into 90 minutes. You don’t get more GoodGym than that.

Great work team — and if you’re up for more, you can sign up for the next session here

GoodGymer Chandrima delivered 4 pints of whole milk to Mr R, who suffers from memory loss and limited mobility due to old age, after a referral from Age UK Westminster. This small yet vital delivery ensures he has essential dairy for his daily needs, helping him stay comfortable and independent at home! ❤️