Eleven GoodGymers, two tasks, 52 playing cards and one great Monday evening - that was last night in numbers!

It was great to see some familiar faces back (even if it's only briefly - we'll miss you Eva!) and to welcome new ones. Great to have you join us James, especially as you bring with you gardening expertise!

After some warm ups we went round the group revealing what star sign we were, and if we believed in what that was meant to say about us. There were some definite skeptics, a couple of believers, and the majority were unsure either way. With stars in our eyes we set off for our tasks for the evening.

The Omnibus theatre is a charitable organsation that aims to the arts to everybody. They receive no central government funding, so we're happy to come along and support them where we can. Last night we had the choice of washing down the many (many) windows, or working in the garden, a space we have custodianship of with the plan of growing crops to donate.

While most of the group opted for the garden and got cracking digging over the soil ahead of the mulch delivery we are getting from the council this week, Jordan, Eva, Beth and Sophie began preparing to clean the windows. Unfortunately a few issues beyond our control, including a sick DM, meant that we weren't overburdened with equipment. However, there was plenty of GG spirit to go around and some makeshift cleaning stuff meant that the windows were given a bit of love. Just don't mention what had made a home under one of the buckets in the courtyard!

Before too long the garden had been thoroughly dug over, the weeds removed, the fig tree admired, the future of the peas debated, and everything was looking much better. Great job everybody.

All that was left was our fitness session, which this week involved two teams competing for who could win the most cards. After several minutes of hard fought competition, the result couldn't have been tighter, in a nail-biting 17 v 18 finish! What an effort from everybody.

Next week I'll be away, so we'll be replacing the group run with a community mission at an Age UK centre, which will be lead by the brilliant Catherine. Feel free to run together as a group from the BAC as normal, or meet at the task directly. You can find all the details right here. Have a great week everybody!

After a scorching Saturday, it felt like Autumn was in the air last night at our group run. It's almost headtorch season everybody! There's loads to look forward to over the coming weeks, including a trip back to the secret garden at a local school next week, and our monthly visit to Doddington community garden followed by pub quiz the following Monday! We were also delighted to welcome two new faces to our group last night - lovely to have you join us Catherine and Tara.

After a quick warm up and a chat about our favourite lessons at school - which pretty much covered every subject, including Latin - we set off for our task at our GG garden.

Every time we visit we make progress and get to understand what needs to be done. Last night we checked on our rocket, which is about ready to be harvested, and found that our tomatoes and chard still need a little longer. The plan is that we will donate what we grow to the Omnibus theatre which is run as a charity, and to other local community organisations.

We also got busy laying more plastic sheets down ahead of the wood chip arriving, and did a very thorough weeding job. We even planted the first nasturtium in the borders - fingers crossed this spreads and gives the garden a lovely splash of colour!

Next stop was the common for our fitness session, which was the newly created GG challenge. The idea is that we time everybody doing a set of various exercises and reps, and then aim to beat our individual times in a couple of weeks. Watch this space! Great effort and form from everybody.

Hope to see you soon for some more getting active and doing good...

Surrounded my towering sweetcorn, leafy raspberry canes, brightly coloured courgettes and many tomatoes plants heavy with fruit, we had an idyllic spot for our task last night.

Every month we head to Doddington, a former disused space on top of a car park, to help the volunteers maintain this thriving community garden. It's amazing how it changes every time!

We were delighted to have Charlotte join us for her very first session and Fi along for her first Wandsworth run - a huge welcome to you both!

After a very warm run down to th garden, we arrived to find some GGers already getting stuck into various jobs, and not to be outdone, we leaped into action. There was loads of topsoil to be transported and spread, deadheading to do, areas to be swept and herbs to be fed while Jordan did the rounds hydrating all the plants gasping for water in the warm weather. Not only that but Eva and Annabel got busy with a very complex design job making a teepee for some raspberries making an escape bid.

Enjoying the cool breeze we worked hard and soon it was time to call it a night - but not before fitness of course! There was the small matter of the 3 minute plank challenge to do first, a test of endurance which turned out to be closer to 4 minutes! Amazing job everybody.

Next Monday I'm away so it will be a community mission rather than a group run - same format but you have the choice to meet the group at the task, watch this space for more details as soon as they are confirmed!

There is also a great community mission helping to plant 3000 bulbs for the Battersea community festival on Saturday. It's a huge task so the more helping hands, the better!

We had something very special to celebrate last night - a whole SEVEN YEARS of GoodGym Wandsworth. And what a seven years it has been. From that very first group session at Katherine Lowe Settlement in Battersea, we have run the length and breadth of Wandsworth lending a hand to strengthen our communities, from foodbanks to schools, community gardens, theatres, parks and everything in between. Along the way we've made lasting friendships, shared huge laughs, got very mucky, and done more squats that we can remember. Thanks so each and every one of you for being a part of it.

We have received a lovely message from GG central:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOODGYM WANDSWORTH

Congratulations on all the great things accomplished; friendships made, people and families supported over the last few years, have loads of fun and enjoy the celebrations."

What's more, Jordan timed reaching his 200th good deed with our birthday, so there was even more to celebrate last night. A massive congratulations to Jordan! To mark the date, we had an evening of challenges, mini tasks, quiz questions and, of course, some fitness.

After some ground rules which included always sticking together as a group making sure nobody is left behind, we divided up into two teams - 'The saucony six' and 'Five go down the hill' - and set up two team whatsapp groups. There were lots of points available throughout the night for things like taking the most creative pictures and find the most interesting litter, best team spirit and first back to base. The clues were as follows:

The Great GoodGym Birthday Challenge

1. Head up to the common or a big green space of your choosing to create a piece of strava art that best represents goodgym Wandsworth.

2. A friend of GG Wandsworth needs some help. But where are they? Find them to complete your next mini task. Here is a clue to their location:

class.gravel.became

1. Give me the answer to the question you will find in this location:

'The Tapestry of Life Mural'

(You may have to look very carefully!)

1. Your next mission is to find and pick at least 25 pieces of litter. Come and find me at the BAC to pick up your litter bags and pickers!

2. Once you have found and disposed of your rubbish come back to find me. As a team, you must find the hidden treasure and use it to do something good for the local community. However to get clues you will have to do a series of fitness based challenges. It is then up to you to choose the most effective way to spend your loot for the greater good. An extra point for the team who has the biggest impact!

Over the course of the evening the teams created some incredible Strava art - see pics - collected masses of rubbish (including a can of red bull, because it gives you wings!), donated to a food bank and helped plant loads of flowers donated from Wimbledon at a local charity.

Through sheer coincidence and a bit of GG magic, the final result was...drum roll...a draw! We finished off the night with a race back to base, a beautiful guard of honour, a picnic on the common and the most fabulous carrot cake courtesy of baking genius Catherine. We were in seventh heaven!

Thanks for being spectacular GoodGym Wandsworth, here's to the next seven!