What a way to celebrate two whole years of GoodGym Merton! To mark our 2nd birthday this November, we doubled down on the fun with two action-packed sessions in creative spaces at Revive Wandle Roots and Little ARK heading off to enjoy a well-earned birthday drink.

It was incredible to see such a brilliant turnout and reflect on just how much our community has grown over the last two years.

Admittedly, we got so caught up in the catch-ups and celebrations that we completely forgot to snap a group photo! Luckily, John Shirley saved the day and grabbed a quick picture with a few of the team before heading off. We hope to see you back in Merton again soon, and definitely well before our next birthday!

A massive thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey so far. Cheers to two years of doing good and keeping fit, and to many more to come!

Monday’s task was a case of many hands make light work - and a little elbow grease makes for a great transformation!

We headed to the creative arts space at Merton Abbey Mills to lend a helping hand with some preparations for Little Ark's new premises in south Wimbledon. There was plenty of furniture in need of repurposing, so we rolled up our sleeves and got stuck in.

First up, there was sanding, smoothing things over and getting surfaces ready for their next chapter. Then came the priming – because every good transformation needs a decent foundation! We also got to grips with covering metal panels in colourful sticky back plastic (giving Blue Peter vibes for some of us) to make shelves So it was a case of keeping things wrapped up neatly and making sure there were no sticky situations (well, not too many!)

Bit by bit, tired furniture was getting a fresh lease of life, ready to take pride of place in Little Ark's new home. It was wonderful to see how a little teamwork, some practical skills (looking at you particularly, Chris) and enthusiasm could make such a difference.

A big thank you to everyone who came along and helped. Here's to Little Ark's new home, a fresh start for some well-loved furniture, and a future that's looking bright (pink). We nailed it!🔨

Tonight was a magical session - with no sign of gardening or cleaning in sight, we descended upon the Enchanted Autumnfest to support the bright sparks at That Event Works CIC!

After a quick stop by the wellbeing tent, we shone a light on wayfinding duties and kept a squash-buckling guard over the pumpkin patch 🎃.

We promise we took our duties grave-ly seriously, but with so much creativity along the route, it was impossible not to be bewitched as we guided visitors through. 🌟

At the end of our shift, we reconvened under a spooky tree to leaf all work behind and celebrate Rachael reaching her 100th good deed! 🎉 An un-boo-lievable achievement and a great excuse to mul-led the evening over with a warm cup of wine!

Another successful session at the Methodist Church garden! On Sunday there is going to be a Sunflower BBQ gathering, so we were put to task in making sure everywhere was looking tip top. There was watering, litter picking, weeding the beds and finishing off painting the gate (which we started last time). There was even some harvesting - potatoes were dug up and sunflower seeds retrieved. We hope lots of fun is had on Sunday!

High-fives, high-vis, and decent weather made for a fantastic morning as our team stepped in to support Morden parkrun with their 100th event. We stayed busy across the course, directing runners from key marshalling posts while the funnel team managed the finish line.

Out on the course, two of our team took on pacing duties using the "Jeffing" run-walk method to guide participants at a steady, encouraging rhythm. These structured intervals provided the perfect low-impact comeback for one of our own squad, getting them back into the running groove right before half marathon training kicks in over the coming months.

Well done everyone!