Last night, 9 GoodGym Greenwichites got stuck into another productive evening of running and doing good.

A special welcome to Aidyn, who joined us for his very first good deed! Welcome Aidyn and we hope it’s the first of many! 🎉 And a huge congratulations to Aman on reaching an amazing 50 good deeds, as well as becoming our newest Taskforce member👏

Our tasks were a mix of indoor and outdoor jobs. In the community garden, we got busy weeding and watering, helping keep the space looking its best. Meanwhile, inside, we continued the slightly more dramatic task of taking down ceiling panels ready for gilding. And bring down the ceiling we did 😁

With everyone working efficiently, we got through it all in just 40 minutes, leaving enough time for a quick group photo before heading out for the run back to Charlton House.

Coming up: This weekend on Saturday we have gardening at Hervey Road and on Sunday we have clearance at windrush primary in Thamesmead.

Next Wednesday we're at the woodland walk by the memorial hospital.

Until next time, you wonderful human beings 👋

Rachel

An intrepid group of runners left Glass Mill a bit earlier than normal for our longest run of the year to Baring Road Allotments which are being converted from rubbish strewn abandoned ground into community allotments. We met Clare and Louise at the task.

We were issued with gloves and wheelbarrows which were skipped down to far end of the site, past sunflowers to collect rubbish, wood and bricks then trundled slowly back with the barrows to split into metals, wood and stone with the rest heading into the skip. We filled around a dozen barrows. It was a lovely task, in a beautiful location with plenty of wildlife (fox cub and loads of parakeets; Lindsay even had time to brush up her archery

Tonight's task saw 12 Greenwich GoodGym-ers meet for a de-brambling session at Vanbrugh Pits in Blackheath.

Talk of favourite shops, past and present, got us through our relative journeys, and we were just about to walk on by, when suddenly, and without warning, there was this Partial Eclipse of the Sun! It got slightly dark, and there was this strange humming sound, like something from another world...🎵

OK, so that's actually a line from a Little Shop of Horrors song. Thankfully, the brambles we had to tackle weren't carnivorous like the one from the musical, but were pretty prickly, so we made good use of the tools provided, including loppers, forks, and mattocks, hacking & twirling and digging out roots. After a few trips to pile up the cuttings for collection by the local council, our time was up, and the "after" photo shows what a dent we made in the overgrown area. A total Eclipse of the Bark indeed!

Thanks all & see you soon ☀️🌙

What better way to spend a summer evening than giving a community garden a little TLC before rewarding ourselves with a well-earned drink?

This week's GoodGym Greenwich group run took us to the lovely community garden at St Alfege's Primary School, where we were greeted by flourishing fruit and veg, plenty of weeds...and lots of plants needing water.

Water we waiting for?

We got to work and before long, the beds were looking neater and less thirsty and as an added bonus, we were encouraged to sample some of the garden's bounty. Sweet grapes, juicy tomatoes and crunchy apples all made their way into appreciative GoodGym hands - proof that all the love and care poured into this space really does pay off. It certainly lived up to our Grape Expectations.

With the task complete and watering cans returned to their homes, we did what any sensible group of GoodGymers would do: we popped next door to Wetherspoons for a post-mission drink. A chance to cool down, catch up and toast another evening of making a difference together.

Until next time!

Two groups of good gymers headed over to Luxmore Gardens - a walking group led by Marta and a running group led by Sarah. Once there, we first had a lesson in watering plants when the soil is very dry (answer is: very slowly!). Once Joseph had managed to open the manhole cover so that we could access the water, we proceeded with watering lots of the plants which hadn’t been watered for a few weeks, including some newly mulched roses. After doing some pruning and some more mulching, our job was done. Just in time for a quick group photo by the newly watered cherry trees and we headed back to Glass Mill. Next week we are back at Seniors, see you all then!