An undecided sky looked down on 7 goodgym-ers, meeting outside Charlton House for this evening's task. Said sky decided to bless us with a dry evening which was handy for this outdoor group run!

A brisk walk through Charlton Park with a literal ice-breaker (discussing relevant injuries...) brought us to the streets between Charlton & Woolwich, and a literary themed task, delivering flyers for The Library of Things in Woolwich. This is an excellent scheme where items can be borrowed, from carpet steamers to karaoke machines, helping save money and the planet.

Lots of steps, hills & letterboxes later, we were working our way through the Library of GoodGym, from A Beginners Guide to Motoring (helping push a broken down car to a safer position off the main road) through Running Scared (of the numerous doggies eager to see what we were delivering...!) And then back to see how The Charlton Men ('s football team got on in their game tonight).

Proving both libraries & Goodgym are great for one's circulation, we turned to the next chapter of our respective weeks. Thanks all & catch up soon! 📚

Nine GoodGym Greenwichers joined the Friends of Plumstead Common Allotments last night for a satisfying session of clearing an abandoned allotment.

After a hilly-er than expected run we met Dan who had lots of tools at the ready and armed with with strimmers, loppers and sheers, we spent 40 minutes tackling the overgrowth. We lopped off as many brambles as we could and strimmed the long grass (#thinktick 😉) and gradually the pile of cuttings grew and the space felt clearer.

Well done team - the plot is now one step closer to being brought back into use and we got a decent workout while doing it!

A big thank you to the Friends of Plumstead Common Allotments for having us along. We’ll likely be back to continue the job!

Coming up...

• On saturday we have helping at Maryon Wilson Community Garden

• On sunday we have maintenance at Westcombe Woodlands

• Next Wednesday we're leafleting for the Library of Things in Woolwich.

Until next time! ☺️

Rachel

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 ☀️🌙

Eleven GoodGym legends headed over to Hervey Road Sports Field Community Garden last night to help break new ground by planting lavender and with the ground baked dry after the recent weather, it wasn't quite as simple as digging a few holes.

We spent the evening getting diggy with it, carefully planting the lavender before giving every new addition a much-needed drink. Because when in drought, watering is every bit as important as planting, and we made sure the new plants had the best possible start in their new home.

A huge congratulations to Aman on joining the TaskForce, its brilliant to have you taking on this new role. And another big congratulations to Mark for completing his 10th Good Deed!

Thanks to everyone who came along for a lovely evening of gardening, teamwork and plenty of puns courtsey of Aman and Ivar.

Until next time you lavly bunch!

Rachel

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!