The weather gods were on our side as we made our way to The Power Station Youth Centre in Mortlake. Despite the threat of thunderstorms, the rain didn’t come, and seven of South West London’s finest had come to do good.

Danielle prepped us for the task at ask tonight - helping to clear the old tape lines on the gym floor, so that they can be relaid. After years of wear, the lines were faded and worn away, and it was hard to tell the difference between the netball court and the football pitch.

Time to call in the Scrape GOATs. For those not in the know, a goat is no longer just a horny mammal that can produce delicious cheese. These days, the acronyms stands for the Greatest Of All Time, and I’d like to think of us as being up there as some of the best people.

Armed with a plethora of scraping tools and razors, we were on our hands and knees (or at least squatted down) attacking the tape lines, and peeling them successfully away. This was followed by Danielle getting handy with the ‘Goo Be Gone’, a magic potion that does exactly what it says on the bottle. With the sticky tape residue soaked, we were back on the floor with soapy scourers, wiping off what was remaining, and mopping up the mess.

Although we felt like we could be in jail, scrubbing away at the floors on all fours, I promise you we were all their out of our own free will! This inspired the prison mugshot-esque group photo (and a rare pic where smiley Suze isn’t smiling!).

It was great to see what a difference we had made, and the sticky old tape lines were replaced with sparkling clean floor lines. Maybe Danielle made a mistake in not getting us to clean the whole gym floor whilst we were at it! It was lovely to have Sam back with us, traveling from the distant lands of East London, and a big welcome to Rachael from the yet-to-be-started Merton GoodGym. If anyone knows of anyone in the Merton area who is interested in getting GoodGym up and running (or walking or cycling) there, then please shout. Until then, Rachael you are more than welcome here at Richmond.

Four of us GoodGymmere joined organized litter pick in Fairfield Park. Armed with pickers and rubbish bags, we did a sweep of the park, filling up bags with sweet wrappers, vapes, cans and others. Prize for the most interesting item goes to Rachel from Merton, who found a tyre! Well done.

The Forest School allotment at St John's needed our help, and we were ready for action! Led by volunteer Alex, we got to work removing pesky bindweed that was creeping up the fences and into the allotment.

With tools and gloves on, Merton tourist Rachael, Emma, and Jana used trowels and forks to dig out the roots, while Luke and Tom took on the perimeter with spades. Rachel untangled the bindweed from the fence with impressive precision.

At halftime, we split into two groups, head torches on, to tackle weeds inside and outside the allotment. Before long, the job was done! To top it off, we got introduced to the resident chickens and rabbits. Mission accomplished – can’t wait to return!