This was an extra special group run because it was Sarah Wren's first time leading a session to get signed off as a run leader for Bexley!

And beautifully done it was, with a nice warm up whilst discussing our favourite sandwich fillings. Nothing particularly strange to report on this one although I do find Jenny's love of blue cheese disconcerting 🤢 After a gentle run through the parks, with a loo stop mid way, we arrived bang on time at the Woolwich Common Litter Pick where we battled with our bags and hoops and got to work. Unfortunately there was lots of rubbish left by the last travellers and we were kept very busy picking up all sorts of rubbish, sadly including quite a lot of soaked through nappies. Which will still be here in about 400 years. Well, yes they will most likely outlast humankind then won't they? Ah, this is jolly ain't it? Let's change the tone.

After an hour the common looked much cleaner and we hauled our bags over to the collection point and greeted two potential new Bexley members, come on Bexley! Then there was time for more coffee and onto the rest of our Sundays. Excellent work team and well done to those of you who double deeded with Junior Parkrun this morning!💪🏻

Well done to Sarah, you definitely passed with flying colours and will be a brilliant run leader in Bexley. The first group run is set for the 30th October !

Our next wednesday group run is TBC but will be posted up in the next few days. Until next time!

Today was a beautiful day!

After our mornings of Junior Parkrunning, where we had our inaugural Hornfair Junior Parkrun and an impressive 28 children (and I know because we were the last) we all congregated in Hornfair Park in the sweltering heat to share what we're grateful for over the last week. The responses ranged from a spontaneous dinner with friends to the beautiful summer we're finally enjoying. After a quick and brutal round of duck, duck, goose we jogged through Charlton Park before deciding to walk the rest of the way, being unused to such heat in our little island of rain, and cloudy skies. As Bea tells her mum: "it's hot, I don't know how hot it's just either people have told me it's hot or I feel it's hot."

It was lovely to be joined by Tom on the fly before a Lido swim and Cat met us at the common after an eventful and rather hair raising cycle ride over (she'll have to tell you the story).

At the common we were met by the friendly Friends of group who do amazing work coordinating local efforts to keep the common a place for us all to enjoy. Today was a mammoth litter picking session after lots of house removal waste was fly tipped on the common and we spent a while picking up glass, boards and plaster as well as the usual bottles and plastic...and the odd sock.

Well done team, a great effort and lots of reward as the common looked much cleaner after our session there. It was nice to be rewarded by some beautiful blackberries on the way home!

I'll leave us with a poem posting on the Friends of Woolwich Common Fb group the other day which I enjoyed from Brian Bilston’s Days Like These:

It's hard not to feel bitter about the litter

Crochety and cruppish about the rubbish

ill-disposed to all those who ill dispose

but at least business is picking up, i suppose

Today it was me and Marta out for our monthly sunday litter pick in Woolwich Common. After a lovely walk to the common we set off towards the bus stops after discovering the grass was too high to find much litter on our usual route! Plenty to dispose of on the roads next to the common though and a couple of bushes in need of decluttering - I can just imagine them breathing a sigh of relief now they have fewer bottles, bags and cans at their roots. We had a great chat whilst filling our bags. Litter picking is always a good task for getting a good natter in!

Thank you for a lovely morning, Marta :)

Our group run and litter pick this week went ahead on Easter Sunday no less! But instead of hunting for eggs, we hunted for rubbish on the side of the common, catching up whilst trying to not let the wind blow our bags inside out. Mission accomplished and two bags of litter collected in a short time before heading on for a coffee. Good deed done for the morning to justify the obscene amount of chocolate we will be consuming in the coming weeks (those of us not running the marathon that is). On that note, congratulations to Johnny and Sarah who are coming to the end of their training plan ready for a rest before the big day and have almost doubled their target money raised for chairty- you are heroes!

Great to see you all! On Wednesday we're at Clothes for Causes to sort their summer stock and we have a session at Maryon Wilson Community Garden and Westcombe Woodlands next Saturday.

Spring is in the air and the blossom trees are out in bloom and another Woolwich Common litter pick was on the cards today for this lovely bunch of GoodGymers. What a nice run in the sunshine through Charlton and Maryon Wilson parks, with some less nice hills along the way. We split into boys and girls teams to conquer the common but forgot to compare who picked up the most litter so us girls will take the win :)

Big up to Johnny and Sarah for all their marathon training and top notch fundraising efforts, having already reached their fundraising target!

Great work team, until next time.

Sunday was not a normal January day. As 5 Good Gym runners arrived at Charlton’s Hornfair Park for the month weekend Group Run to the Woolwich Common litter pick, the sun was shining and the temperature was not at all like January. So the run began and, although the weather was nice, the run leader wasn’t and after a gentle jog through Charlton park it was into Maryon Wilson park for some hills. After half an hour or so and a great effort on the part of the runners, we arrived at the Common to be met by Bea and Felicity, after which we split into two groups to starting picking. It was nice that once we were done there had been very little litter to pick up so long may this state of affairs continue.