Last night 8 runners ran 5km to the gardens at the Peppermint Centre to assist Unique Roots plant lots of bulbs ready for spring.

We extended a warm welcome to Sandra and Ashley who were joining us for their first group runs. Sandra had heard about Good Gym on Facebook and had been sent by her work friends to see what we are all about. Ashley has done several missions with Good Gym but was on his first group run with us.

Once everyone had met each other, dropped our bags and had a chat about Good Gym we headed outside to stretch and warm up ahead of our jog. Ros and Ingrid acted as the back markers and a faster group went on ahead. The trams weren't running tonight in Croydon but (after a slight scenic detour over the fly over!) we were running alongside the tram lines to meet Pam at the Peppermint Centre.

Pam had lots of different bulbs ready for us to plant along the edge of the road to make the area very colourful in spring. Everyone worked together in little teams do dig the hole, plant the bulb and then refill the hole with soil. Pam had some special tools she had brought which made the task go a lot faster and we quickly got the hang of them. Once we had finished the boarder we had more bulbs and were able to plant more randomly throughout the grass and on some raised mounds of earth. Tonight's digging was all about burying treasure rather than finding it, but Catherine found a very cool stone shaped like an animal.

In total we planted 7 bags of different bulbs including daffodils, tulips and alliums. We all want to go back in the spring to see how they have grown and will add lots of colours to the area. Pam joined us on the start of our journey back, and then we ran back pleased at a good job.

Next week we'll be Sorting it all out helping with the clothing donations at the Croydon Refugee Centre.

This was the first time in a very long time that I'd been involved with anything Goodgym. I decided this morning to do the food shop for Mr H as it was my day off and needed something to force me out of the house to brave the rainy and windy elements. I'm very glad I did it. A quick trip down to his local Morrisons supermarket was all it took. I had a nice chat with him once I'd returned with his shopping - he was a lovely old man and it was great to give him a brief bit of company.

Having the option to do an early grocery shop in Aldi I decided to take on the mission. As an Aldi customer I like to go early when it's at its quietest - I was crossing my fingers it wouldn't be too bad given the last- minute Christmas shoppers and potential Covid panic-buyers. I showed up to the lady's flat. She was very nice and we liaised about exactly what she wanted. I arrived at Aldi shortly after 8. Glancing through the window it was already quite busy but there was no queue outside so I went straight in. I had my guard up and was making a conscious attempt to stay as distanced from the other shoppers as possible. I was also getting shopping for myself so trying to keep on top of both lists wasn't ideal. The longer I spent in there the busier it got and my anxiety levels were rising. Eventually I managed to stick everything from both lists into my trolley and checked out paying for my items separately from her items. I was certainly glad to get out. The lady was very grateful for my efforts and I certainly got a sense of satisfaction from knowing she'd be sorted for Christmas. I wish any other last-minute Christmas shoppers good luck and if you must go to Aldi go early or late to avoid the rush. Otherwise head to Waitrose where you'll have more breathing space