On a windy Tuesday night, six GoodGymers came together for an (unintentional) Winston Churchill-themed litterpick. Little did they know about what they'd find in South Ealing, where they ran from Ealing Broadway. Armed with litter pickers and bin bags from their allies, LAGER Can, they were determined that they would fight in the alleyways and on the streets, and they would never surrender.

The GoodGymers' main enemy was rubbish dropped along the alleyway splitting the South Ealing Cemetery into two, but, under a cover of leaves, the group found things that were hardly classified as litter. Next to a small collection of pots and vases, Conor found a bust of Winston Churchill, and Harvey discovered a toy British Bulldog! Or was it just a pug?

Rather than cigar butts, the team kept finding single-use vapes, which Churchill would surely disapprove of. Neither would he endorse the cheap beer cans and four laughing gas canisters which Harvey carried out of the alleyway for collection.

Walking through a lane of birches raised some questions about the white sheet-shaped deposits found in abundance on that stretch. Some GoodGymers would have sworn that it was paper (which, according to a quote often attributed to Churchill, was the enemy of action) or even wallpaper. Others, maybe better versed in dendrology, explained it was bark from the birches and didn't need to be collected.

The battle against litter ended on South Ealing Road, at the first available bin, where it was appropriate to leave two blue bags of collected mess. Those who hadn't tried it ahead of the group run had the last chance to taste Maria's home-baked coconut puffs that she brought today - what a treat! Having accomplished the task in about half an hour, half of the team ran back to Ealing Broadway to either catch a bus or a train or... run back to South Ealing.

It's been three weeks since minced pies were a thing. Now, it's minced Christmas trees that are trending. And what do you do if you have a pile of ex-Christmas trees dropped in your park in the form of woodchip and a sizeable puddle at the edge of a path? You call GoodGym!

Linda from Blondin Consortium knew exactly what to do and arranged for a team of eight GoodGymers to come and help spread woodchip along a regularly flooded path to the community pavilion in Blondin Park.

Steph, Conor, Sevan and Kash ran to the park from Ealing Broadway, Freya walked, and Andy and James cycled. Ash was determined to come all the way from a distant part of the neighbouring borough, which was not an easy route, but he still made it to the session!

In less than 40 minutes, a small crowd of people, equipped with head torches, wheelbarrows, spades, shovels, and a rake, dealt with the entire woodchip pile and covered the problematic path edge with a moisture-soaking layer.

Traditionally, after the session, Linda invited the GoodGymers for a short break in the pavilion to recharge their energy with a cup of hot chocolate before their run back. Just as if there wasn't enough sweetness in the hot beverage, Steph brought a double treat to share! Ms F, an older lady whom Steph supports with groceries, donated pink champagne truffles to GoodGymers. What a lovely gesture!

The new year often means new faces at GoodGym group sessions - it was no different at the first group run of 2026, as we welcomed Conor. He found out about our community from a friend who was once a regular GoodGymer and is now warmly remembered. What a fantastic thing to recommend to someone new to a city, or even a country!

Conor was enthusiastic about the running part, yet our group, after a warm-up, squeezed in only a very short and a bit fragmented jog. Steph Ducat, Sevan and Kash were extra careful as the temperatures dropped to around zero, and the pavements became icy and slippery. The quartet spent some time running between the Walpole Park gates, each of which was already closed. Oh no! Eventually, the running team, having met cyclist Andy and walker James along the way, headed to the emergency exit (or, shall I say, the emergency entrance?). It pays off to know your parks after all!

Despite the slipperiness and slippage, we collected a strong team - everyone who signed up for tonight showed up and was ready for some woodchip action! And we needed all hands on deck as we were going to tackle the path between Rickyard and the frog statue, which became totally bare since our woodchipping effort two years ago.

With wheelbarrows, shovels, forks, a rake and soundtrack (early 2000s hits played by a group of girls hanging out behind Rickyard), we accepted the challenge to refresh the path and make it enjoyable to walk on. Unlike our previous session to improve that path, we had to travel quite far to the woodchip source this time - and we were after the freshest of woodchips!

It was probably the first time this season we've had a noticeable snowfall in Ealing - but not enough to make snow angels. We've been considering indulging in the woodchip angels instead - especially as rolling in freshly dug woodchips could actually warm us up. Despite dropping temperatures, the air felt fairly mild, though.

Thanks to the whole team's determination, we've completed the path in just over an hour - and it was a quality one, with a thick layer of woodchip. Great work, everyone!

If you've missed the Walpole Park session, worry not! Next week we're back with more woodchip, more running and more park variety. We will be visiting Blondin Park for a practical workout for the local green space and a dose of hot chocolate at the end. Sign up now!