In just one hour, the GoodGym Bexley team made a huge difference to the area by Co-op Blackfen! Armed with litter pickers, bin bags, and plenty of enthusiasm, we got stuck in—and wow, did we find some surprises.

Among the usual rubbish, we picked up:

👞 A pair of shoes – someone must have walked home barefoot!
🍳 A frying pan – maybe breakfast on the go?
☕ A coffee machine – a bit big for a takeaway coffee!
🌂 Umbrellas – useful, but not when left in the street.
🚗 An exhaust pipe – not something you expect to find while litter picking!

By the end of the session, the whole area looked so much tidier. Hopefully, now it’s clean, people will think twice before dropping more rubbish!

A big thank you to everyone who helped – you’re all brilliant. And most importantly…

Happy 8th Birthday, GoodGym Bexley! Here’s to another year of getting active, doing good, and making a difference. Thank you Sidcup Partners for the delicious cake, and Rooted Coffee House in Blackfen Community Library for hosting our celebrations.

What a 'paw'some morning helping at the Christmas Extravaganza in Sidcup.🐾

Johnny was the welcoming doorman, giving visitors directions to the different activities as they arrived.

Sarah escorted Bexley Bear and collected donations as he toured the stalls and activities, giving high fives and of'fur'ing hugs to the children 🧸

Thankfully everything was indoors so we 'bear'ly noticed Storm Darragh raging outside.

Our alloted hour whizzed by and we spent some time wandering around ourselves. It was lovely to be part of this community event raising money for the Counselling Matters Bexley charity.

Thank you Sidcup and Partners for inviting us to support the festivities.

The children from West Lodge and Merton Court primary schools in Sidcup are collaborating with the Sidcup Partners BID to create a 'bee street' by planting wildflowers, fruit trees and plants to make a Mediterranean garden that will attract more bees to the area.

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Ten GoodGymers, some swarming to the mission from local parkruns, joined a buzzing posse of pupils and teachers at the first part of this project which involved prepping a patch of ground 'donated' by Barclays Bank next to their Sidcup High Street branch.

Kitted out in high-vis jackets and gardening gloves we chose our tools from a selection of spades, gardening forks and tree loppers. In no time at all the site was a hive of activity with everyone lifting turf and pruning overhanging branches. This was followed by bagging up all the debris and covering the plot with plastic sheeting.

With so many busy bees all working together we made good progress, and we look forward to helping out again as the project progresses.

Meanwhile here are some bee jokes to keep you going:

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How do young bees get to school? On the school buzz!

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What is a bee's favourite Spice Girls song? Wanna-bee!

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How does a bee style its hair? With a honeycomb!

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