Just when the almost spring like day was giving way to a chillier evening, 2 chipper goodgymmers met at the GGR base to do some house keeping before setting off on a run.

It seems Julia was very much enjoying the tools brought in for the task of tidying up the car park at Wanstead House - moss & twigs & leaves & soil did not stand a chance!

And it is always nice to get positive feedback on a job well done, in this case Anne, who manages the community house, came over upon arrival to express her gratitude for the GG effort making the car park look good (and safer by limiting slip & trip hazards)

Job done & tools packed away, we set of on a run - GPS might have been a little more exuberant in tracking the distance...

Next session in two weeks time will be in the week of the Great British Spring Clean, so a litter pick feels appropriate.

It was almost a spring time evening when a lovely mix of Goodgymmers assembled at the Wanstead base.

Both Hamad as Sam came down for their first ever Goodgym experience, a staple of the GG arsenal, a litter pick.

Helen spotted a good target on her way in, so it was decided that the walkers, under watchful eye of Linda, would tackle that one, while the runners would go down the usual pathways along the A12.

The jog down to the paths gave us the chance to get to know Hamad & Sam before getting stuck into the litter pick. As usual, there was enough to find along the path, especially near the Green Man Roundabout. There Sam's local knowledge came to the fore, knowing about a dead fox nearby - now logged again with the council to sort out.

Bags dropped at what is now the usual council bin, off we set on a run around the Leyton Flats, at a lovely pace set by an energetic Sam.

Back at base, people went their own way, happy with a nice evening well spent!

The next couple of group runs are a little up in the air, with a potential Babybank visit on the 19th but perhaps a leaflet drop that week instead - tasks will be updated / logged as soon as we know.

Management of Wanstead Community House asked if we'd be so kind as to spend some time and energy sorting out the mushy layer of leaves & tree bits & mud covering the car park, making it slippery underfoot.

So armed with brooms & shovels we set to work, removing a bin load of muck from in between the parked cars.

Gym & good parts done, the crew split in a walking group and a running one, with a promise to meet back at the same time.... which surprisingly happened!

Thanks for mucking in team!

It was time for some maintenance at our little 'home', Wanstead Community House.

Initial plans to tackle weeds and improve the head height on the pavement along the garden were swapped for tackling ivy, at request of management. So we set out to put the GYM into Goodgym with an upper body workout of pulling strands of ivy off the trees - some before & after pictures show the progress we made.

Job well done, Helen & Linda went walking while John tagged along with Becca & Peter on their run before peeling off when near home.

it felt like quite a while since we 'earned our keep', so we set to work on a little tidy up around our 'home', Wanstead Comunity House.

The lack of light meant things like weeding & pruning etc was a bit too tricky, but soon we might be able to revive a completion of longest 'ivy pulled off a tree' contest.

So instead we focused on the car park and pathways, emptying bins & sweeping up leaves & rubbish, before going on a jog round the area.

As always nice to see the usual suspects like 'aunty' Linda and great to see the smiling Becca on her (2nd?) GG experience. Glad to see James had recovered enough from a little injury scare and a pleasure to catch up with John again.

Next week it is Hainault

In 2 weeks we are going back to the Baby Bank!

First of all, it was very nice to be back in the new year with some of the usual suspects (yes Anit I think we can class you as one now) , welcome back an old face in Ed and most importantly the pleasure of meeting the lovely Rebecca for her first ever Goodgym experience!

Secondly, apologies for the lack of pictures showing everyone in action. My excuse is the damp windy weather and lack of decent light / poor camera, although to be honest was probably too busy catching up with people!

To ease us into the new year after perhaps a little over-indulgence it seemed a good idea to patrol the different planters & sections created by the Wanstead Community Gardeners, or in short, Marians crew. Quite a few of those have had a significant Goodgym involvement as well, so we are always keeping an eye on them. Walking round the green we made our way to the tube station and on along the high street, chatting away while filling up a couple of bags, with Rebecca fitting in as if she had been coming for ages! Bags deposited in the street bins, we set off getting in a run/jog/walk to get the legs moving as well as warm up in the windy weather.

A relaxed meander ended with almost perfect timing when the walking group and running group arrived back at base at about the same time!

Back in the warmth of our little 'home' it turned out that Rebecca might even have been the best prepared 1st timer ever - besides knowing where to be and what to do, she came prepared with paperwork to start the DBS process so she can be involved in more aspects of Goodgym!

Chief (Queen?) Julia has been working on some dates to visit the Baby Bank, so keep an eye out for one of those coming up soon!

Next weeks group run will be in Hainault as per normal schedule, back in Wanstead on the 23rd - hope to see you then!