Meeting by the FGS HQ entrance, we ran through a few stretches this morning, before heading out to today’s task.

Working with Lambeth-and-Southwark-based Get Rid of and Donate, today saw us sorting donated toys and books for local schools and families.

But first the run.

Matt was tasked with route navigation again, and he led a brilliant run (barely any traffic, and some picturesque streets and squares en route).

On arrival at our task location, we were welcomed into a warm hall…

Draper Hall, located in the heart of Elephant and Castle, was very kindly hosting this activity, with task owner Jayne setting up trestle tables with clear signage for ages vs donated items ahead of our arrival.

The task at first glance seemed enormous, but the team nonetheless wasted no time grabbing spreadsheets, bags, labels, and bundles of book-and-toy know-how, left by Andrea from Get Rid of and Donate.

Moving from bag to bag, table to table, working across six schools and multiple families, we assessed who would like what, from the colourful, fun and interesting range of items of available.

From Harry Potter to Pokemon rucksacks; WiiFits to My Little Pony, we aimed to combine lively reading material with fun and exciting toys.

The time sped by – a little bit too speedily. Two hours in, with 5 of the 6 schools completed, the team started to pack away remaining donated items, bin any rubbish, and stack everything neatly and carefully for Andrea to collect.

With the runners expertly led back to base by Matt, we concluded it had been a productive and interesting morning. Well done to the whole team (and a big thank you to Southwark Area Activator Sam for co-ordinating this task).

Until next time.

The rain was setting well and truly in on my arrival to FGS HQ this morning. But grey skies and downpours were no match for the team, who arrived promptly at 11:30, and gathered for a briefing on today's task.

We were headed to Borough Cooperative on nearby Borough High Street.

A volunteer-operated Food Hub that works to tackle food insecurity and food waste in South London, Borough Food Cooperative has been offering subsidized groceries to the local community since October 2020.

The support and commitment they receive from volunteers enables the Food Hub to offer multiple sessions to members over the course of the week.

The route to the task...

Today's run to the task was expertly led by Matt, who decided the 1km direct route to the task was probably insufficient for our fitness needs, and so we took a 'little' detour via Tabard Gardens where we 'enjoyed' some single-leg squats and other balance moves, along with a few sprints around the football pitch, before making our way to the task.

Types of lettuce

We were greeted by Brian, who took us into the adjoining hall to sort through crates of fresh vegetables. This involved stripping dead leaves, and removing any of the more tired-looking additions from the crates.

The variety of vegetables was vast, with every lettuce from romaine to red lettuce (we're not sure of its exact name), kale, sprouts, chard, fennel and a lot of carrots.

As usual, the team whizzed through the activity, and it wasn't long before we were sweeping up discarded leaves and awaiting our next task.

Brian divided us into two teams, effectively an indoor and outdoor crew.

Tom was tasked with project-managing the garden clean-up, which saw this dedicated group blitz the front garden of weeds and debris in the short space of time we had left. Filling three large rubbish bags, it was wet and muddy work, but nonetheless one that produced some decent before and after pics.

The indoor team, meanwhile, busied themselves sorting through the last few crates of veg, and sweeping the shop floor area.

The time flew by and it was hard to believe we'd been at the Coop an hour and a quarter as we proceeded to pose for our final picture.

A task to remember

It was a magnificent effort, with not only bundles achieved in terms of produce-sorting and gardening, but the interactions we enjoyed with Coop staff and members really made it a lunch hour to remember.

We strolled back through Borough's bustling streets, with the team heading off to enjoy a well-deserved bite to eat.

A big shout-out to everyone, especially to Matt for heading up a great run; to Craig and David, whose first GoodGym this was, and who did fantastically.

And lastly, a shout-out to GoodGym Southwark's Area Activator Sam, who introduced us to the Borough Cooperative, and organised today's task.

Great work.

Until next time.

We gathered outside FGS HQ at 10am for a pre-task briefing. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, spirits were high…

We set off through Bermondsey and Southwark’s sunny streets at a leisurely pace, which became more leisurely as the 2.4km walk went on (it was a bit hot to run) as I grappled with Google’s chosen route. Thankfully Matt stepped in and after negotiating the busy Bricklayers Arms, we found quieter, greener streets, closer to our location of Burgess Park.

What were we doing today?

We were off to meet to Frankie of Friends of Burgess Park for a litter-pick.

The Friends of Burgess Park are a group whose aim is to help protect, promote and enhance this gorgeous inner city park. As regular users of the park they observe park management and maintenance; support events, and encourage new visitors.

Why were we doing this?

The parks’ team do a fantastic job of tending to the gardens, and the whole of the park’s green space.

Despite the team undertaking daily litter-picks of high volumes of rubbish, there are nonetheless bits that get left behind, including small items of plastic, latex (party balloons), and beer bottle tops, particularly at this time of year. While these don’t pose such an issue as the larger items, they can nonetheless prove problematic if they’re sharp, as well as being less than ideal material for birds building nests.

The Friends of Burgess Park coordinate weekly litter-picks to help tackle hotspots and were incredibly welcoming and enthusiastic when it came to facilitating a litter-pick for the team today.

Fun in the sun

We met up with Frankie who wasted no time in handing us the best litter-picking hoops (complete with handles); tent pegs for prising bottle tops out of solid ground, and brand new gloves.

We set off in two teams: one to the lake and the woodland area, and another towards the library and the long grass.

Before long, bags were jingling with the sound of hundreds of bottle tops. We passed a leisurely hour filling bag after bag, clocking step after step, and even managing to get a few pics in.

Before we knew it, it was time to meet back at Chumleigh Gardens, empty all our bags into one (no waste for us) and say cheerio to Frankie.

After the briefest of refreshment stops at the lovely little café, we headed back to base, John on navigation, for a well-earned lunch.

Way to go, team.

Until next time.

It was windy, it was rainy, it was a slightly longer run than usual…But that didn’t deter an 8-strong team showing up for today’s task, heading just over 2.5km to Bermondsey to help the Thames Reach team tidy up a residential outdoor space.

Why were we doing this?

Thames Reach is a London charity working with those affected by homelessness, offering a range of support from outreach services and accommodation to employment training.

Joel and Elvis head up one of the residential locations in Bermondsey, whose garden needed a bit of TLC in time for the summer.

It’s all about the map reading

After a couple of dynamic stretches at the FGS base, we made our through the streets of Southwark and Bermondsey, led and expertly navigated by Matt.

Stopping only for a brief rest, we arrived at our location nice and early to be greeted by Joel and Elvis handing out all the equipment needed to get the job done.

What’s not a weed?

Trowels were gathered, gloves donned, strimmers powered up…It was all go.

The area at the front of the accommodation was, no joke, pretty much all weeds, along with some tough roots. But the team did good, identifying weeds from the odd shrub, tackling tough roots and avoiding stones.

The weed pile grew, the compost bin overflowed, but still they kept going.

Residents popped out to say hello and we discussed the art of good gardening; a rubbish bag was added for a last minute litter-pick, while the extensive sweeping up was merely a finale.

In terms of before and after pics, this was a good gig.

Before we knew it, it was after 12, and we were returning kit to the shed and saying cheerio to the team.

The run back to base was marginally tougher going due to the 75 minutes our arms and legs had endured in the gardening bonanza, but nonetheless it was fun, companionable and a fitting end to a terrific morning.

It was a good-sized group who gathered for today’s task in the Borough, courtesy of Beautiful Balin, a local community garden group, based in-and-around the Tabard Gardens Estate.

We kicked off today’s activity with a workout, useful for blowing away midweek blues.

After a short run to Tabard Gardens, the team wasted no time in selecting their mini-band-of-choice and tackling upper body moves (yes, bicep curl and tricep kickback, we’re looking at you), single leg squats, and some full-on seated calf stretches.

Just as we were finishing up, Peter from Beautiful Balin arrived, complete with sophisticated strategy for today’s leafleting task.

Background

Beautiful Balin are a community-run garden group based on the Tabard Gardens Estate. The Estate’s Spring Festival, supported by Southwark Council, is taking place this Saturday, and the group wanted to reach as many households on the Estate as possible. A free event with food and family activity (complete with a fantastic weather forecast), this is one weekend activity that local residents will want to hear about.

Steps, stairwells and door-to-door sprints

With 1500 homes to reach, it was a workout in itself.

Peter had drawn us estate maps, and divided us into teams, with the corresponding number of leaflets. This was a precise plan-and-a-half.

After a brief briefing, which included the how-to’s on dealing with ‘troublesome letter boxes’ (yes, it’s a thing), off we ran to our respective blocks.

Who knew leafleting was such a workout. Steps, stairs, and a quick sprint from house to house proved to be the only way to blitz such a large area.

It was fun, it was fast and it was effective.

Until next time

We raced back to our meeting point a little after 12:30, satisfied that was an hour well spent.

Handing our remaining leaflets back to Peter, we headed back to base for a final stretch.