It takes a special kind of people to make it out in the freezing rain on a dark Monday night to rake leaves and chop wood. Luckily GGers are made of tough stuff, and a group of 14 of the toughest were not put off by the conditions last night.

Special kudos goes to Stephen and to Veronica who came along to their first GoodGym session - give them a huge welcome! We also cheered Paul and Dylan for smashing the Fulham 10km this weekend. Amazing stuff.

We kicked off with a much needed warm up, discussing the upcoming missions such as this amazing one to sort donated coats for Wrap Up London on Thursday in Morden. There is also a great session helping make the nature reserve in Streatham more accessible on Saturday. Lots of fun stuff to choose from! We also debated the most important issue of the hour - what is the best condiment. It turns about we are passionate about our favourites, from mayonnaises including truffle and garlic, various mustards, olive oil and BBQ - and in a shock twist no one went for ketchup!

There was no time to waste before setting off in the increasingly heavy rain for Paradise community garden. Through the puddles we splashed, arriving not long after to meet even more GGers.

We divided up into two teams; one to take on the challenge of clearing the leaves that were clogging the pathways and transport them to be turned into mulch, the other to chop the wood into manageable sizes.

The leafers got busy, fueled by Steve and Dylan's kind contribution of sweeties, while the axers were contemplating the best method of effectively breaking down the wood. Ali and Pritesh copied what they'd seen in the films to great success, while Beth guided using her recent impressive axe throwing prowess!

It soon got too damp to continue, but we'd made a big dent in the jobs, so all that was left to do was vote on fitness (no surprise on which way it went) and then head off back into the night for warm cups of tea and hot showers.

Well done everybody! Next week you'll be in the super capable hands of our newest run leader Catherine, who will be taking you to help out at Waste Not Want Not for a warm inside task!

Dozens of community members, from sprouting young seedlings to seasoned oaks, gathered for a day of planting, teamwork, and digging deep (literally). The event kicked off with a fruitful presentation about the orchard’s goals, explaining how the apple of our eye—this community space—would grow to provide fresh fruit and a lush gathering spot for everyone. Fueled by tea, coffee, and biscuits, attendees were ready to get to the root of the matter.

Armed with shovels, determination, and a healthy dose of “can dew” spirit, we broke into teams and got down to the “core” of the day—digging holes and planting apple and plum trees. Once the saplings were nestled in their new homes, it was time to “branch” out into the heavy work: building protective fences. With mallets swinging and pile drivers thudding, we ensured the trees were safe from any potential “fowl” play. And while this was just the beginning, there’s more to come—next year, we’ll be planting even more trees to help this orchard truly blossom. Stay tuned for updates, because we’re just getting started!

More than two million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK daily and 70% of that is food packaging. Nine billion tonnes of litter ends up in the oceans across the planet each year and animals most affected by litter in the world are all sea creatures – fish, whales, turtles, and dolphins. Around 60% of global water pollution is linked to littering.

Ok, so they're not exactly fun facts, but the good news?

There is something positive we can do about. And last in Wandsworth, that's exactly what happened

12 of us met at the bAC as usual, and this week it was over to Steph to come up with the question of the week. It was a belter - when is the official date it is acceptable to start getting festive for Christmas? Answers ranged from anytime after Bonfire Night, to the 17th December. The majority went with the 1st December, but we decided the winning answer goes to Adam who said it was after his birthday - so the 2nd December it is!

We grabbed our pickers, which helpfully fold up so are easy to run with, and made our way to the first stop of the night. The road between Shillinghurst Park (better known as Banana Park!) and Doddington (home of the lovely community garden) is one that is well trodden for us. As the weeks have passed we have noticed the litter problem growing and growing and last night we decided to do something about it.

We divided up into two teams - recycling and general waste - and got picking. There was all the usual detritus, including more bottles and cans that you could shake a litter pick at. Then there was the challenge of how to dispose of the dozens and dozens of empty bottles of fast gas that we found, plus some more unusual items. Laura bravely tackled the soggy cow/cat/unidentified furry item, while Catherine demonstrated some amazing picker dexterity by managing to snare a penny. Skills!

Shout out to Chris who did his regular Monday morning litter pick on Wandsworth common, collecting over 0 empty cans of beer, and was back for more in the evening with us! What a great effort to make our area cleaner and safer

We got rid of our bags at the big bins, and then made our way back to the BAC for a mega fitness session. Teaming up, we added a competitive element by seeing which pair could do the most hill sprints interspersed with conditioning exercises. Kudos to Team Chris and Adam, and Team Catherine, Alice and Jo and to everybody, the efforts last night were amazing!

Some dates for your diary.

• This Saturday there is a great community mission to plant a new orchard between Tooting and Streatham that promises to be a lot of fun and a great workout!

• Tomorrow evening why not join this nice, short inside task to help an environmental clothes charity

• Get your glad rags on and join us for all the fun of the festive season at our Christmas party on the 12th

If there are ever any missions, runs or socials you want to shout about then just let me know!

So much has changed since our last monthly visit to Doddington community garden, and the joy of going regularly means that we can see the difference we're making over time! This visit we were delighted to see that the beds we had dug last time were flourishing with courgettes and other crops.

But first things first. We kicked off the session at our usual meeting spot for some warm ups, and it was brilliant to welcome back some familiar faces and to have Rida join us for her very first session - great to have you part of the team!

We did some warm ups which tested our coordination as well as our muscles, and given we have just had a bumper week of fireworks, Halloween, Diwali and there are now 50 days until Christmas, we asked the group which is our favourite holiday. Answers ranged from Christmas, Boxing Day, bank holidays, Easter, Eid, Halloween and our annual leave. Goes to show we all love a party!

It was just a short run or cycle down to the Doddington, where Malissa wasted no time getting us to work. There was weeding to be done, trees to transport and a new bed to be dug, lined with cardboard boxes and then refilled with compost again. This is going to be planted with red onions for the community to enjoy, so keep your eye peeled next month!

After a good 45 minutes of hard graft we downed tools and went down to the square for a lower body challenge. Three minutes of seriously tough exercises with no break, all working those glutes, quads and calves - and everybody rose (or squatted) to the challenge. Great job!

All that was left was to run to the pub for the monthly pub quiz, and this time there was two bumper teams ready to battle it out. Team IstanWool (who will ever forget from this day forward that angora wool comes from the Turkish capital?) were pipped to the post by Paul, Dave, Jo, Laura, Justin, Jason and Catherine's megabrains...but we still have to beat our nemesis at the bar! Definitely next month.

Speaking of which, don't forget to sign up for our Christmas party where there will be plenty of festive fun to be had, and also this special mission to get everybody a warm coat this winter.