On a beautiful sunny morning in Kingston it was time for GoodGym to become the Ground Force team for the morning and tackle a flowerbed transformation.

A giant laurel bushes, brambles, weeds and dead plants stood before us. Josie, Doris, Louise and Gordon tacked the weeds and brambles while Tom and Trevor cut down the laurel to give the plants some more light.

Claire and Tom got their steps in for the day going to and from the car to collect all the plants and compost.

Kate and Jassy arrived with our 2 tiniest members for their first task and after a quick biscuit to refuel it was time to lay the plants out using Claire’s planting plan. A few adjustments on positioning and a planting lesson from Gordon and the transformation commenced.

We all battled some tough roots hiding below as we dug holes for the plants and as we started planting Rob joined us to help plant a few of the plants and Jade popped by to check on our progress.

Plants in we distributed the rest of the compost and Tom and Dorris headed to the river for some water to give the plants a good drink.

12.50 pm and we were finished right on time and Trevor from the Friends of Canbury Gardens was delighted with the result.

A huge thank you to Gordon for advising on plants, keeping them watered and driving them all to Kingston.

Looking forward to part 2 planting the Spring bulbs on Tuesday night.

It was a cool Saturday morning as 9 GoodGymers (including John who was visiting from Camden) took on the mission of tidying up the front garden of St Christopher’s Fellowship in East Twickenham, a charity which aims to create brighter futures for children and young people in care.

We raided the shed for tools and headed out front. We’ve helped St Christopher’s frequently before so the tasks were familiar - trimming the hedges, litter picking and sweeping up leaves (um, it’s not Autumn yet, what’s going on there?) - but there was additional work this time to tidy up the rubbish and recycling bins which were in a very poor state.

We divided up the tools we had found and got to work. Monika led on litter picking and Chris had the hedge trimmer and got to work on the front hedge. Others grabbed shears to cut back the hedges alongside the driveway and brooms to sweep up the leaves.

The green bins were pretty full and we were struggling for space before Anita - who had taken charge of bins tidy up - managed to compress the contents further, and we also had black bags for the rest.

Reinforcements arrived in the form of Kash and Sevan from Ealing who had helped out at Parkrun beforehand. They got to work on an area of overgrown weeds and leaf matter beside the main building, and tackled a huge creeper growing up the side, Kash even jumping on Sevan’s shoulders to try to reach the highest parts.

Teas and waters were brought out for refreshments but most of the group kept working and by the end we were all proud of our efforts. As usual the staff were enormously grateful and we look forward to helping them out again soon!

Monday's group run was a slightly unusual one, as we were celebrating a special occasion. It would have been lovely for our GoodGymmers to come out for my birthday, but it wasn’t just mine being celebrated on the 18th of July, as GoodGym Richmond was also celebrating its anniversary - seven years since the first group run back in 2016.

A lot has changed in seven years - not one member of the group out tonight were part of that inaugural doing good and getting fit in Richmond, but everyone who was out tonight was special and just as important to GoodGym as the gang of 64 who came along to that first session in the summer of 2016. Some things have stayed the same though - that first week, they ran along the riverside to bash some Himalayan balsam (and that same plant is still causing drama for us these days!!).

Everything else aside, what a fantastic achievement. Liz shared with us some of the milestones over the past seven years… 5,409 good deeds done by 509 different runners. She counted the group runs, the missions, the milestones. Clearly seven great years, and although people have been and gone, the ethos remains the same.

Definitely something to celebrate - and that, was indeed the plan for tonight.

We ran the quick way along the riverside to the Petersham Sea Scouts - a group we know well. However tonight we weren’t helping weed or move logs or scrub at any barnacles! Russell and his team at the Sea Scouts wanted to thank us - and tonight we were going out on a boat, and rowing down to the pub!

Russell briefed the sixteen excited GoodGymmers, making sure we all had an appropriate life jacket and took us down to the riverside to get the boats red-y. It was fantastic to see the regatta on the water, as we had spent several weeks in the darkest depths of winter helping clean and prepare ‘Valtentin’ for a summer on the seas, and she certainly looked the part.

We split into three groups to crew each of the three boats, coxed by the Sea Scout Leaders. A quick lesson on boat anatomy and we were ready to star-board and de-port. Rowing is all about team work, strength, coordination and not getting distracted by ducks or paddleboarders. Despite a few oar clashes, several crab catches and a lot of patience from the coxes, all three boats successfully made it up the Thames, round Eel Pie Island and to the beach outside the White Swan pub, where we docked and rocked.

Once we all had a pint in hand, we gave a cheers to the Sea Scouts and to the next seven years of GoodGym Richmond, and watched the sunset from the pub terrace over the water.

The evening was a real splash, and it was soon time to head back home, before it got too dark. There was a slight reshuffle on the boats, as we were down two crew members, the current helped up back to Petersham in no time, and the boats were soon back on dry land.

Thank you so much to Russell and his team for taking us out - it was an oar-some evening. Here’s to the next seven years and many more good deeds.

Wood you believe it, the wind calmed a bit and it was a lovely, sunny Sunday morning, where 8 Goodgymers held the mission at the Petersham and Ham Sea Scouts. Russell divided us into various teams and some of us got to work with moving boats and dividing up wood and branches. We were also shovelling compost and moved gravel into what will be their new water bed. This will be used to easily clean and wash buoyancy gear and other kit. I spotted Beth in the wilderness doing some Balsam bashing and we finished off moving bigger branches with a handy trolley to the other end of the Scouts property. After we also had a bit of fun on the tree swing, we set off and are looking forward to our boat trip with the Sea Scouts!

Our monthly visit to the RFS saw six Good Gymers contend with variable weather conditions.

The Good Gymers included Lor who was attending her first ever Good Gym session, while Divya braved the blustery weather by cycling from Hammersmith.

Once everyone arrived RFS’s Simon briefed us about the task which consisted of chopping back the overgrown plum tree and tidying up the weeds and ivy.

We set about the clear up in good spirits despite the frequent July showers which made us run for cover to the shop. Your’s truly once again forgot his rain coat!

While we were there we also had unexpected help in the form of a friendly local cat, who was not shy in giving his expert advice. Snails and an array of spiders also made consistent appearances.

Nevertheless, despite the challenges, we were able to successfully chop, clear and bag up the rubbish, leaving it in a much tidier state.

See below link for RFS August sign up. https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions