Last night we met at Charlton house for a warm up and the heady prospect of finishing our task in the light! 🎉

The ice breaker involved sharing our phobias which ranged from belly buttons, to snakes, flying and fingers near eyeballs (eugh). Luckily none of the phobias were encountered on our run through Charlton Park down to the lovely Charlton Manor Primary School.

Here we were reunited with GoodGymers who met at the task and with Michael who was armed with brushes galore, paint, wet wipes and gardening tools. The task was to paint the kitchen and fences in the nursery area and get rid of all the pesky alkanet. We got to it, and many hands make for light painting so after fourty minutes we had a large section complete and lots of weeds in the bin. Excellent job team!

After a quick intervals session in a triangle round the school we stretched and headed home. A lovely evening with a lovely bunch, thank you all 😊

On Saturday we're helping at the Pet Cemetery in Hornfair Park and next Wednesday we're sorting at the Bridge Community centre.

Until next time 👋🏼

Rachel

9 GoodGym-ers made their way from various start points between Charlton & Woolwich, along the river at Woolwich, to the outskirts of a retail estate in Plumstead, where fast food, a major roundabout, and several pedestrian/cycle interchanges have contributed to a huge build up of rubbish.

Our task might not have been as exciting as this morning's Lunar Litterpick, but adventures were to be had as we got to see the best & worst of the area, passing through local parks along the way.

Joined by other volunteers, we hastily got to work gathering the usual bottles, cans, coffee cups, masks, water bottles, chocolate wrappers & papers into bags. Some of this involved hedge battles to rescue the captive litter, which in general I think we won, with many bags of waste & recyclables to show for it.

Time made April Fools of us all, and soon darkness was announcing the end of today's task. A final workout taking lots of full rubbish bags to the bins around the corner and we headed our separate ways.

Until next time!

Sunday morning arrived with that annual groan about losing an hour of sleep as the clocks swung forward, along with the grey joys of shoulder season -- but did that stop us GoodGymers? Absolutely not.

Five of us descended on Thamesmead for the 10k run organised by the Thamesmead Running Club, with a neat split between those earning their good deeds on the task front and those pummelling the pavement. A huge welcome to the event itself, which absolutely delivered on the turnout — over 100 runners lining up, huddled together for warmth (and probably moral support), which is a fantastic sight for any community race!

While there were a few niggles getting things underway, it gave our volunteers Iyabo and yours truly some extra time to look busy and important. Not all heroes wear capes, but hi-vis vests they certainly do, with Iyabo the real star at the drinks station, ensuring every passing runner got their swig without so much as breaking stride. Hydration is a love language, after all. 🚰

As for our three runners — Sarah, John and Khai -- they found their rhythm from the get go and represented GoodGym all the way round the course, with Khai smashing his first race with a cracker of a sprint finish! 10 kilometres of riverside running, a bit of cold air in the lungs, and the post-race snack pack -- what a satisfying feeling, a Sunday well spent.

Whether handing out cups or chasing a PB, GoodGymers certainly did their bit to make the community a little brighter (even on a grey Sunday morning).

See you at the next one! 👟💚

Today’s first session at Windrush Primary School in Thamesmead saw a fantastic team effort with eleven of us focused on transforming an overgrown and be-littered area into a future space for children to enjoy.

The task for the day was twofold: clearing accumulated rubbish and cutting back foliage and branches, preventing child eye injuries! This work is the first step in an exciting plan to make the space into a forest school area for the juniors. At present, the woodland is very much a no-go zone, with significant litter dumped from the nearby footpath.

We made great progress, removing large amounts of waste and opening up sightlines through careful trimming. Plenty more to do so we will be back throughout spring and summer to get the whole space cleared and also finish off a half painted fence.

Among the more unusual finds today: a little Mr Tickle which sparked particular joy for Sarah and Johnny! Proof that treasure can be found among the trash if you look hard enough 🧐🥳

A huge welcome to Alex and Lisa, who joined their very first GoodGym session today, great to have you both on board!

Celebrations were also in order:

🎉 Congratulations to Iyabo on completing your 10th good deed, double digits and going strong since joining in January. Amazing work and you're already part of our much loved furniture!

🎉 And huge well done to Johnny for an incredible 600 good deeds, an inspiring milestone and testament to long-term dedication.

Until next time!

Rachel

Every day brings a bit more light into our lives this time of year, so evening was only just falling when 13 GoodGymers met in Woolwich for an uphill run to one of our regular task venues, Glyndon Community Centre.

Our tasks this evening included making a dent in the sorting project of the centre's big shed. We found several bags of clothing left over from previous donations, which meant an impromptu adventure to the nearby clothing recycling bank. ♻️ (Big thanks to new recruit Laura and her local area knowledge for showing us where to find this!) Other team members did some moonlit foraging for weeds in the back garden area, something I'm sure we'll be doing on a more regular basis as spring approaches. (Get those Glove puns ready). Some litterpicking & sweeping of the car park concluded our mission for the day.

Job done, it was downhill all the way for a quick intervals training session & au revoir, and very warm welcome to GoodGym Greenwich, to newcomers Hashir and Laura!

*Coming up *

Saturday 21st March: Gardening at Oxleas Woods

Sunday 22nd March: Painting at Windrush Primary School

Wednesday 25th March: Inclusive fitness session

Until next time! 👋🏼