On another baking hot day 7 hardy Good Gymers made their way to Seniors for our monthly session helping out in the garden.

We split into two groups with Cecilia and Steve doing a very professional job of trimming the lavender on one side of the building with the rest of us, unsurprisingly, being tasked with watering. There was much to water but we were soon done and even had some time to clear some of the thistles and brambles that seemed to be flourishing despite the heat.

After 40 minutes a lot had been achieved and it was time for some of us to go for a well-earned drink at the nearby Blythe Hill tavern

On a very hot day in Lewisham on the bravest ran from Glass Mill to Seniors (well done Paul and Joseph) ! The rest of the group met at Senior's with Marta and Julian already watering the garden whilst waiting for us to arrive.

The tasks were straightforward and to save the Senior's garden team hours and hours of carrying the watering cans back and forth to top up the water butts.

One group started on the watering of all the plants that needed a drink in this hot weather and also carrying watering cans from the rain water water butts (old bins) to the water butts by the polytunnel.

Our other group were tasked with planting the plants that hadn't sold at the plant sale which included quite a few tomato plants.

We also tidied the polytunnel and made sure the sun shades were protecting the plants!

We were cutting it fine for the start of the Portugal game and with a quick group photo, it was time for everyone to head to the pub or home!

Next week we're heading to the Albany for my 500th good deed and a social afterwards!

It was back to Senior's this week for our monthly visit and as always there was a variety of tasks for us to get stuck into. They're always tasks that the garden team would struggle to do themselves but thats where were come in to help!!

It was a straightforward run over other than we were all feeling a bit warm in the humid weather. With everyone meeting outside at Senior's it was time to head in and see what was in store for us.

The tasks for the evening focused on:

• Cutting back brambles around the Yucca Plant and the pond
• Digging over the flower and vegetable beds
• Cutting back Thistle Plants
• Watering the garden
• Filling up the water butts near the poly-tunnel

We made our way through the list and it was soon time to be on our way. Just enough time to be treated to some flapjacks and also sandwiches that would have gone to waste!

Grounds for Celebration: 100 Good Deeds

Congrats to Lindsay who achieved a huge 100 good deeds!! We're looking forward to seeing you sporting those wings over the next couple of weeks!

A small but committed group set out from Glass Mills on a lovely Bank Holiday evening. In order to make the most of the remaining sun, we deviated from our usual route to Seniors to take in the heights & sights of Blithe Hill Fields.

On arrival, our sextet was split to tackle 3 tasks: weeding the planter beds, digging out and planting for a new vine, and weeding in the courtyard.

Even though it had only been 2 weeks since our last visit, a previous vine could already be seen starting its assent of the arch installed that previous Monday!

Enjoying the extended daylight, we didn’t wrap til a little after 20:00, when cleaned beds were left in favour of the Blythe Hill Tavern - well it was technically still the weekend, after all!

We haven't been to Senior's for a couple of months and it was good to be back ticking off the tasks that they're unable to do themselves - we're always happy to do what we can to make things a little easier for them.

The group tackled all those hills with ease and we were at Senior's before we knew it! Alice and Val guided us through the tasks for the evening and we set off in our little groups.

Marta had the task of carefully digging up the mint for Jenny and Lindsay to plant in pots for an upcoming plant sale.

Louise and Joseph tackled building the arch which had a suitably helpful set of instructions which more resembled a puzzle.

Oli went back and forth with the wheelbarrow filled with watering cans and buckets of water and also a full wheelbarrow of water with the end goal of filling the water butts.

Julian had the task of removing the sticky willy (also known by its proper name of cleavers) from around the garden. Many buckets were filled of the pesky weed.

After we ticked everything off it was time to head back to Glass Mill.

In a last minute change of task Lewisham's finest GoodGymers gathered at Glass Mill ready to tackle the litter that is often seen flying around our start point.

We split into 3 groups and went off in different directions to hunt for some litter. The most fascinating find that I'm aware of was part of a microwave!

We ended up with 3 bin bags full of litter in just over half hour which is excellent!!

Next week we are heading to Florence Green and we have a social planned for afterwards.