Last night was testament to the amazing things a group of us working together can do in just a short amount of time - and the level of happy chaos it can also create!

We had the pleasure of a new task yesterday. The Positive Network believes in fostering unity, empowerment and resilience predominately within the Black community across generations. They put on various programs and initiatives, celebrate cultural heritage and create a supportive network. They also believe in the power of community and collaboration to drive positive change - something we can definitely agree on here at GoodGym!

They have a centre in Balham which is used by its members. With so much going on there it is little surprise that its small store room had got to bursting at the seams with food, paperwork and other resources. It had become a bit of an issue for Grace, who runs the centre, and she asked us to come and give it a good sort out. There was also the question of a set of shelves to be built...

We quickly organised ourselves into a human chain. Out came dozens of water bottles, files of paper, more toilet rolls than we could count, a piano, a kettle, even a eyesight chart. It was like our very own generation game. All that was missing was the cuddly toy!

Meanwhile the shelves were being assembled by a group of allen key heroes. They made impressive headway in a short amount of time, only to meet with some resistance right at the last step. Nevertheless they persevered and right at the last minute they could be moved back into the office. Only to find, after all that work that the door didn't close properly with them in it! Disaster. Still, with some very impressive tetris style manoeuvring the problem was solved and we could call it a job well done.

Two groups set off for the pub in stages (thanks for expertly guiding everybody back Pritesh and to Katie for leading stretches!) and an evening of board games. With an epic game of Traitors we learned even more about each other, trust and treachery...!

Next week we're back to Age UK and there is also this great mission on Wimbledon common on Sunday - hope to see you there!

A group of 9 from GG Wandsworth headed to the west of the borough to help in a local church/community centre garden. We cleared walls of ivy, chopped back hedges and trees, and fought with bramble. With beautiful sunshine and tea/coffee on offer from the hosts, a good time was had by all, and lots achieved.

It was certainly nippy last night, but that did not stop a group of buds coming together to, er, nip some leaves in the bud...

We kicked off the first Monday group run of 2025 with lots of cheers, some bad puns, talking about our favourite cheeses, and by welcoming Helen to her very first session - great to have you join us!

Feelin' gouda

We did a much needed warm up whilst discussing all the future plans that January holds - like this excellent new mission gardening at St Barnabus Church this Saturday and another the following weekend clearing paths at Unigate common.

The Age UK Wandsworth day centre is also looking for old magazines to use for an art project for their older service users. If you have any that you'd like to donate then you can drop them off at the Gwyneth Morgan day centre on East Hill for the attention of Frank, or let me know and I'll sort something out.

Just before setting off we each chose our fave cheese. There was blue (clearly influenced by the sub zero temperatures!), brie, gorgonzola and Wensleydale (which was accompanied by a very interesting Wallace & Gromit fact!)

Brie the best you can be!

It was a short run down to the garden and we wasted no time with cracker-ing on with jobs. There were plenty of brown leaves to be picked to fill the raised beds, compost to be shifted, naked trees to clothe and dead branches to transport. There was an interesting disparity in the size of tools on offer, from massive spades to a teeny tiny fork.

Still, it didn't hold us back and it's always amazing to see just how much can be done in a short amount of time. This is our traditional first task of the year, and it's been a joy to see how the community garden has evolved over the years.

It doesn't get cheddar than this

Job done, and with very little feeling left in any of our extremities we made our way down to the square for some EMOM based fun. With five rounds of exercises completed against the clock, we soon warmed up! Great to see you all work so hard and don't forget that if you have any goals this new year I can help with then don't hesitate to let me know.

Most of the team headed off for the monthly pub quiz social which came down to a nail biting finish. There is another one planned with games towards the end of the month, so watch this space!

Great to see you all for a fantastic start to the year. Don't forget you have three more days to make your GoodGym good deed pledge for January - it's a great way to aim for a target and stick with it.

Looking forward to seeing you all at another session that is guaranteed to beat the January blues soon!