Wed 27th May at 6:30pm
Hounslow Report written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
We had multiple jobs to do at Strand on the Green School last night — finishing off painting the nursery, moving a huge terrace-full of old furniture and toys down the stairs to the skip, and hedge cutting. Three different jobs, three skill sets, no problem.
We ran over to the task where we met caretaker Clare and got straight to work. Michelle, Breda, Lucy and Emily tackled the nursery painting, Jon, Kash, Maxime, Chris, Jonny and Fran became an efficient furniture-moving conveyor belt up and down the stairs, while Gus and Luis turned hedge cutting into an art form outside.
Within just 45 minutes all three jobs were complete. With 12 of us working for 45 minutes, that’s the equivalent of 9 hours (or a full working day!) of work saved for one caretaker — and Clare was delighted with how much time we’d saved her.
With the jobs done, it was time for a lower body blast with three different intensity options to keep everyone moving. We’re also all still wondering what Michelle’s mysterious final blue item could be… answers on a postcard.
After that, we headed back to base for stretches on the grass and a well-earned cool down.
Next week we’re off to Gunnersbury to sort compost — see you there for what will hopefully be a slightly cooler task!
Wed 27th May at 6:30pm
Maximise space and help improve the experience for kids at this local primary school
Read moreWed 20th May at 6:30pm
Hounslow Report written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
We might be on the cusp of a heatwave but yesterday in Chiswick threatened a soaking - thankfully we managed to avoid a repeat of last week!
Last night we were back at Chiswick House for our regular task. Our last visit had been cancelled due to high winds — clearly Chiswick likes to keep things interesting weather-wise.
When we arrived, we met the rest of the team along with Grace, who led us over to our task area. Armed with gloves and loppers, we set about tackling bindweed, brambles and pretty much every other plant that dared grow there. Sadly there were no hedgehog sightings this time, only a disgusting collection of abandoned dog poo bags.
The time flew by as we chatted an d worked and before long we had mountains of cuttings to haul back and load up, leaving the area looking far tidier than we found it.
Then we headed over to Turnham Green for a fairly mean fitness session — apologies for that. In pairs, we battled it out to see who could rack up the most squats, sit ups, press ups and burpees. And after all that effort… I completely forgot to check which pair actually won. Oops. Sorry about that. But after surviving that session, you’re all winners.
There’s also a mission in the Sunday sunshine this week celebrating Gunnersbury’s 100th birthday — can you make it?
Wed 20th May at 6:30pm
Wed 6th May at 6:30pm
Weeding, moving mulch and making this community spot more beautiful
Read moreWed 29th Apr at 6:30pm
Hounslow Report written by Camden runner
A very sunny evening saw us gathering in front of Chiswick Town Hall, with fitness-leader-in-training Ariane nervously leading the group through a warm up session. Some strong winds had caused Chiswick House to have to close the grounds early, so we were off to some last minute litter picking work down at Kew Bridge as an alternative. We had an easy 1.5k run down to the river to meet up with the rest of the team.
Most importantly, there were lots of celebrations to be had this evening! First for Michelle, Lucy, and Remy (with us in spirit) for completing the London Marathon at the weekend, and then for Steph for reaching the impressive milestone of 1000 good deeds! We welcomed Chris to his first GoodGym session; welcome! He was given a quick run down of all things GG Hounslow (e.g, do you prefer Waitrose or M&S? Do you like Gails? Here’s the time Luis found… nevermind.)
Then on to the task at hand. However, we met our next challenge when we discovered that the canoe club had already set off for their evening paddle, taking the key to the equipment shed with them! But we’re not to be put off that easily. As Ana sprinted away to get some bin bags from the local Sainsbury’s, the group had a quick round of fitness Simon Says (well done Lucy for tricking everyone into not doing burpees) before we made ourselves useful having a general weed around the area.
Once Ana was back with an assortment of bin bags, we had a speedy litter pick, including gathering up a derelict rug, and making a phone call to the experts to deal with some more unsavory finds.
Despite the last minute changes, we still managed to fill five bin bags and clear the paving by the draw dock. Great work everyone! All that was left was to finish with a run back to the town hall and a quick stretch. Proof that it's actually quite hard to stop GoodGymers en masse doing something useful!
Fri 1st May at 12:49pm
Congrats to our newest run leader, and to Steph on 1000 🙌🏻 and welcome Chris!
Wed 29th Apr at 6:30pm
Wed 22nd Apr at 6:30pm
Plenty of jobs to be done - come and lend a hand!
Read moreSun 26th Apr at 11:00am
Cheer on all the runners undertaking one of the world's most famous marathons!
Read moreWed 15th Apr at 6:30pm
Hounslow Report written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
Last night in Hounslow had that unmistakable GoodGym energy - a lot of laughs, and a sense that small actions add up to something meaningful.
We headed over to Turnham Green to support the brilliant Friends of Turnham Green, a community group doing big things. This park is a shared green space, a place where people can connect with nature in the city. Keeping it cared for means it stays welcoming, safe and ready for new growth.
The mission? Collecting sticks and branches. Spread across the whole site, the team got to work collecting fallen wood, clearing the ground so it’s ready for planting. It’s one of those deceptively simple tasks that makes a difference — tidier paths, safer footing, and open space for future planting. There’s something very satisfying about that visible before-and-after, and the team absolutely delivered.
With the task complete, it was time to turn the focus to fitness.
Lower body was the theme of the night. We powered through split squats, embraced the burn with mountain legs, and even flirted with the elusive pistol squat. Determined and very impressive efforts all round.
A few well-deserved shoutouts:
There’s another fantastic session coming up this weekend with the wonderful Hope Church, helping to create a garden for people using the food bank. A really special project with real impact — definitely one to get involved in
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