We had one hour at Staywell Raleigh House Day Centre to give the garden and patio areas a much-needed tidy, and we packed a lot in despite the weather doing its very best to slow us down. The team got straight to work clearing dead plants from the planting troughs, pulling out tired greenery and making the space ready for new life. Jana and Farzeen focused on weeding and clearing the planters, while Sabir swept, cleared and weeded the patio area, leaving it looking far fresher and safer underfoot. Emily took on the glass cleaning near the patio, and the amount of green gunk that came off was deeply satisfying to witness. The side entrance planting also got some attention, with dead plants removed to smarten up the approach. Halfway through the task, the heavens well and truly opened, leaving us completely soaked — but spirits stayed high and smiles stayed firmly in place as we powered through to the finish. We were very grateful for the sweet treats kindly left out by the Staywell staff, which provided a much-needed morale boost at the end of a thoroughly productive hour. A brilliant team effort, a visibly improved space, and a reminder of just how much can be achieved when everyone mucks in together. 💚

Today's task took us to Raleigh House for Stay Well New Malden a wonderful day centre supporting elderly people in the community. Our mission: tackle the mountain of leaves under the giant oak tree… without any rakes. Challenge accepted.

The dream team — Jana, Emily, Eleanor and Sabir arrived ready to take on whatever autumn could throw at us. With no rakes in sight, we got inventive: hands, shovels, scoops, teamwork, determination… you name it, we used it.

The oak tree clearly hadn’t read the memo, because it continued to drop leaves while we were clearing them. It was a bit of a leafy battlefield, but we kept at it and made solid progress.

Not stopping there, we also weeded the plants at the front entrance, clearing out the unwanted visitors and giving the space a much fresher look.

There were plenty of smiles exchanged, lots of teamwork, and a great sense of achievement by the end of our hour. Hopefully our efforts help brighten the surroundings for the Raleigh House community.

Unbe-leaf-able work, team! 🌿💪

This week's Goodgym mission took us to New Malden, Raleigh House, where Petra, Jana, Isabella, and Emily got stuck into some serious garden TLC for the elderly residents who use the day centre. Armed with brushes, rakes, and plenty of enthusiasm, we swept up piles of oak leaves, weeded the patio, and tidied the flowerbeds until they were looking neat and cheerful once again. The oak tree had clearly been feeling generous with its autumn drop, but we weren’t leafing until the job was done! We also planted colourful spring bulbs- little bursts of future sunshine to brighten the residents’ outlook in the months to come. Supervising our efforts was Purdey the dog, who kept a close eye on proceedings (and may have been scouting for cake crumbs). Speaking of which, Jana’s homemade carrot cake made for a perfect halftime treat - fueling us for the final push. Two hours later, the garden was looking spick, span, and splendid- ready to bring smiles to everyone at Raleigh House. A blooming brilliant effort from the whole team!

Four GoodGymmers – Jana, Emily, Charles, and Wani – gathered today to bring some extra cheer and colour to Staywell New Malden. We were lucky to have Charles (a volunteer at Staywell) and Wani (a full-time staff member) joining in, so it really felt like a team effort with both sides working together.

Armed with a list from Clair, the manager, we set to work:

• The tall sunflowers came down to make way for fresh, bright yellow plants to welcome visitors at the entrance.
• The hanging baskets were refreshed with a splash of colour.
• The front flower beds got some TLC, including a good feed for the beautiful white rose.
• Jana tackled some bindweed along the side passage.
• Emily and Wani used their eye for colour to coordinate the planting.
• And Charles even had time to mow the lawn, leaving everything looking neat and cared for.

This was no ordinary task-it was part of the Mayor’s Community Weekend! We joined in the celebrations by putting up bunting and flags, adding a festive touch that advertised the event to passers-by. In just two hours, everything was spruced up and looking welcoming. We left the bunting and flags up for the day centre users to enjoy during the week (weather permitting-fingers crossed the wind and rain play nicely!). A wonderful way to show how teamwork really makes Staywell stay well.

It had been a while since our last catch-up, so spirits were high when our GoodGym crew met at the Stay Well Centre in New Malden for a sunny two-hour garden blitz. In attendance were Sabir, Petra, Emily, Jana – and our special four-legged helper, Purdey the dog, who kept a close eye on proceedings (and an even closer eye on the sugary jelly sweets Claire from Stay Well kindly left for us!).

The task list was clear: plant new ferns and grasses in the flowerbed and give the patio a good spruce-up. The soil was rock-hard, so we gave it a good watering before planting. Petra and Emily soon got stuck in digging holes and settling the new plants in for the residents to enjoy. Jana tackled the leaves in the flowerbed and wrapped bags around the pesky bindweed, while Sabir powered through weeding all the way down the pathway.

We also blitzed the patio – the weeds didn’t stand a chance. In no time, it was swept and looking completely transformed. Between the gardening, we had plenty of laughs, stories, and catch-ups, making the work fly by.

Two hours later, we had a weed-free patio, freshly planted beds, and a very happy Purdey. A blooming good afternoon all round!

On one of the hottest days of the year, three determined GoodGymers – Emily, Isabella, and Jana – braved the heat to help tidy up the Staywell Garden in New Malden.

On arrival, we were welcomed by the manager Clair, who set us to work on a rather tangled mission: freeing the garden from the grip of bindweed. Armed with patience (and gardening gloves), we untwisted the clingy climber from anything and everything it had wrapped itself around. Once we’d done the delicate detangling, Clair’s friend gave us handy tips on bagging it up carefully – the plan being to treat the roots with weed killer the next day for a longer-lasting solution.

With the sun blazing above, we wisely sought refuge under the shade of the beautiful big oak tree, where we continued weeding and also gave the patio a good sweep and tidy. The whole team got stuck in and – incredibly – we completed the whole task in just two hours!

Shoutout to Emily, who joined us straight from a night shift – what a superstar! Meanwhile, Isabella kept us entertained with fascinating stories about shared living and her house-buying journey – garden chat at its finest.

To top it off, Clair kindly provided us with cold water, which felt like absolute gold on such a scorcher of a day.

All in all, a brilliant task with lovely company, leafy shade, and satisfying results. Bindweed: untangled. Patio: spotless. Spirits: high!