Last night we had a very special Sunlight Society x GoodGym collaboration in Westminster — bringing together two communities with plenty in common: getting active, getting outdoors, meeting people and feeling good.

Sunlight Society helps women in London move their bodies, spend time outdoors and make genuine connections and founder Caterina is herself a GoodGymer! So it was brilliant to bring the two communities together for an evening of running, volunteering and plenty of laughs.

We met at Hyde Park for some warm-ups, introductions and a chat about what the evening had in store. Then we were off!

Our route took us across some very busy central London crossings before we found ourselves running away from the traffic through Green Park. The final stretch involved us encountering a slightly spooky alleyway and an invitation to join a ghost tour - which we politely declined despite how close we are to Halloween! 👻

From there it was past some very swanky bars, followed by some very expensive-looking shops. We managed to resist temptation and arrived at St James’s Church Garden, where Catherine welcomed us and told us more about this fascinating place.

The church has a long connection with social justice and provides space, support and resources for a range of community groups. Even the ground beneath our feet has a story to tell — what is now the garden was once a graveyard and was later used as an air-raid shelter during the Second World War.

We divided into groups and got stuck into the gardening jobs: clearing leaves, shifting bags of compost and leaf mould, managing kitchen waste, chopping branches and twigs ready to be composted, and generally giving the garden a good tidy-up.

There was plenty of work, but also plenty of chat, plenty of laughs and plenty of teamwork. It was brilliant to see everyone getting stuck in and making such a positive difference to this little pocket of green in the heart of Westminster.

After half an hour of hard work the result was a cleaner, safer, more welcoming and more biodiverse green space for local people and the wider community to enjoy. 🌱

With the task complete, we headed back towards Hyde Park — with that all important stop along the way for a quick fitness blast featuring several stations and several different exercises. There were perfect planks, super squats and even some creative use of a tree. 🌳💪

Then it was back to Hyde Park for stretches and goodbyes. Great running, great impact, great company — and a brilliant reminder of how much good we can fit into an evening when we get together.

Thank you everyone for coming, for getting stuck in and for making the evening such fun. It was lovely to spend it with you all. ❤️

And next week...

We're off to the oldest youth club in the world! Join us!. We also have plenty going on during the week, including picking up surplus food, making sandwiches for rough sleepers, and helping to reduce waste going to landfill. Check out all our sessions here

Two GoodGymers were perfectly suited to this task, helping TRAID keep its rails on track by sorting and hanging stock in their bustling central London shop. There was just enough time for a little window shopping between wardrobe workouts, but this task is about more than looking good, it's doing good too. Every garment rehung is one less heading for landfill and one more helping fund projects that support the people who make our clothes. It's a quick session, a sustainable fashion statement, and a great way to give fast fashion the boot. So if you're looking for a task that's always in style, don't leave it on the hanger, sign up and join the fashion-forward force for good

Two South London GoodGymers ventured north of the river to collect surplus food from GAIL's in Victoria and deliver it to the lovely Gloria at Under One Sky, a homelessness support charity. Whilst we'd expected a bread-heavy haul, the day's bounty was mostly cakes, buns and pastries. An unexpected extra task soon emerged and we set about individually wrapping dozens of treats ready for distribution with the next day's meals.

The wrapping operation soon descended into Law & Order: Special Pastry Unit, beginning with the landmark case of People v. Cling Film, in which two gloved agents wrestled with a particularly uncooperative defendant. GoodGym agents later pursued several related investigations, including The Bun Identity and Crumbs of Evidence.

Along the way, we reflected on one of the unexpected joys of GoodGym: discovering community organisations and spaces that have been hiding in plain sight all along. It's remarkable how many churches, halls and local projects you can walk past for years without noticing, only for a task to give you a reason to step inside and discover what's really going on in your neighbourhood.

A familiar list for Mr R today, with the addition of some AA batteries and the option to fish for mackerel if the sardines proved elusive. Fortunately a pair of Tesco's came to the rescue for everything on his list, and the walk between the two shops and back to his with treasure in hand was very pleasant in the afternoon sunshine.

A "routine" shop for Mrs S this morning - a quick run down the list with nothing too obscure to go hunting for at the world's politest supermarket. She needed a new role of kitchen foil, which involved a bit of miming to ensure I got the right size, and a replacement bottle of olive oil, for which it was just easier to take a picture...

It was a small but mighty GoodGym Westminster group last night for our visit to the Abbey Centre in central London. There really is no stopping Brenda, who arrived straight from another task, having just been helping out at Traid. Amazing GoodGyming!

Our task was at this wonderful community hub in the heart of Westminster. The Centre has been supporting the local community for decades and provides a huge range of activities and services, from health and wellbeing sessions and activities for older people to community support, advice, social groups and practical help for people experiencing hardship. Last night our contribution was in the the Lemon Pip Garden. It's a lovely community space designed for local people to grow, relax and spend time together, with accessible planters and seating. It can be used for gardening, social sessions, outdoor activities, art and simply enjoying a bit of green space in the middle of Westminster.

Brenda grabbed the hose and set about giving the plants a much-needed drink, before turning her attention to the fallen leaves and sweeping everything up. Meanwhile, I headed inside and started sweeping the downstairs stairs from top to bottom - soon realising just how many flights of stairs there actually are in this former Victorian swimming baths building!

With both jobs done, the garden was looking neat, tidy and nicely watered, ready for another day of community use.