It was a short run to St Mary's this eve and after a warm up of heads, shoulders, knees and ball which warmed up everyone's with all the laughter and smiles than actually bodies, it was time to head to the task!

Sue and Marion and the team are always very organised when we visit and last night was no different. We had a number of tasks to tackle which included: - raking the wildflower meadow - cutting back some overgrown areas - digging 2 big holes for the trees - wheelbarrowing compost - trying to work out why one of the graves has iron railings (that one was just me) - planting the 2 trees

It was such an honor to have this dignitary help plant one of the trees at St Mary's i.e. sprinkle a spade of compost on top! Thanks Vic - all in a days work and allowing us to use our pun we'd already thought of!!

After all our hard work, we were treated to cups of tea and sandwiches and biscuits in the church. If you're reading this St Mary's team, we are very grateful!!

Next week, we are heading to RUSS Community Housing and the task is going to involve straw. And we also have a social after - location tbc.

This Good Gymer is easily confused. Having turned up to the therapeutic garden at St Mary the Virgin in Lewisham to help dismantle the gazebos after the summer fayre they found the garden to be completely empty. Where was everyone? And was this the work of bad gym, sowing their customary misinformation?

No, fortunately, it was not: the wise heads at the church had take one look at the weather conditions and set up the fayre in the church itself. But much remained to be done to get the church back in order for the regular Sunday services: plants had to be packed away, tables had to be cleared, folded and moved to their cupboard, pews had to be rearranged, chairs needed to be packed up and banners needed to be taken down. The lovely team at the church is super-efficient though and it wasn't long before everything was back to normal and ready for normal service to be resumed.

After a sunny weekend, bank holiday Monday gave us rain, rain and more rain! By the time it came to 18:45 and meeting outside Glass Mill we had some sunshine and a wonderful group of GG-ers ready to do some good at St Mary's Church.

It was a shorter run this week and I'm sure I could hear the sighs of relief after the mammoth run last week. 1km later we arrived at the task.

There was a variety of tasks:

• dig a trench and fill with gravel to stop the damp getting into the church.
• dig around 2 tombs where the soil has washed down.
• clean the metal around the tombs with wire brushes so that it can be painted.
• sweep the paths.
• dig up alkinet and grass that was encroaching on a woodchip path.

Before we knew it, the tea wheelbarrow was arriving and we had just enough time for a cup of tea and homemade sausage roll and/or biscuits. Thanks Marion!

Next week we are heading to The Albany to free the garden of litter and tackle some of the weeds.

One Goodgymmer sneaked over from Bromley to Lewisham to do some incognito gardening. A large pile of wood chip needed moving and raking to replenish the paths and the muddy route to the compost heap in the therapeutic garden. After a lovely welcome from the volunteers and an audacious bee, our undercover Goodgymmer got to work. Chips were shovelled, barrows were wheeled and selfies inexplicably avoided. There was even time for a cup of tea afterwards, where our Goodgymer's true identity was revealed! It all ended happily with an extensive debrief of a crisp packet.

Lovely morning session with some other volunteers - planting bulbs and moving wheelbarrows...looking forward to next month!

Saturday saw one Good Gymer make their way to St Mary’s Church in Lewisham so help the cheery local volunteers take down the Christmas Fayre. Tasks to be done were to take down gazebos and squeeze them into bags that seemed far too small and to collapse tables and take them back to a local nursery. Once the gazebos were packed up they needed to be transported to a local school (and what the local drivers would have made of the parade of people lugging strange large bags over the zebra crossing this author will always wonder about) and having got them there, and moved a few last chairs, the task was complete and the church gardens were back to their lovely natural self.