Who needs the gym when you have an overgrown flower bed and its underlying weed membrane to clear?

This is certainly the case at Holy Trinity Lamorbey Church where we are helping to tidy up the flower beds along their perimeter wall. Left untended for a long time, brambles and weeds have well-and-truly taken over and this was our second visit to continue the makeover.

This time we were tackling a stretch next to the border that we'd cleared on our last visit.

Alongside parishioner Kevin, team Lisa-Sarah-Karen-and-Susan cut back and dug out the greenery then heaved out the buried and tired weed membrane, wheel-barrowing all the debris to a collection point in the woodland area. It was a good workout in the evening heat 💪.

The bed now looks much tidier and the newly-exposed soil will have a chance to recover ready for planting in due course 🌻 .

At the same time, team Johhny-and-Martin tackled a few cheeky brambles 🌿 that had grown back in the patch we cleared last time. It took lots of effort digging out the roots but hopefully they'll be kept at bay for a while.

From our arrival at 7pm to our finish at 8pm the difference was clear for all to see. So it was time to open some bubbles 🍾 and cut the cake to mark Lisa 's 50th good deed. The celebrations continued with a toast at the micropub across the road. Well done, Lisa 🎊.

As an unexpected surprise across the evening Susan told us that her parents were married in this church 💒. This gives us an extra-special reason to keep lending a hand here 💕.

We'll be back again on Wednesday 13 August so sign up now to join us!

It was a glorious summer evening for our return to Holy Trinity Lamorbey Primary School — greeted with a big smile and warm welcome from Vice Principal, Jane.

This time, we were handed a brand new mission: start to rescue the nursery children's garden, which was looking somwhat sad. Or in Jane’s words, “It’s become a bit of a dumping ground for old outdoor toys and play equipment.”

First, out went the miniature park benches, forgotten play equipment, scattered flower pots, and one lonely compost bin — nicely modeled by Lisa (check the photos for the full fun moment). Some items will be re-homed elsewhere around the school, while other bits were beyond keeping.

Next, we gave the overgrown bushes and plants a much-needed trim so teachers can actually see the children when they’re in the garden — always a bonus in a school setting!

Then we went to war on the weeds. They were stubborn little beasts, poking through the wood chippings and weed membrane like they owned the place. It took some serious heaving and arm-power to get them out until the brilliant discovery that pointed shears = weed-removal magic. Victory!

The added bonus? No clean-up needed! Jane had a genius plan — the Year 6 children would tidy-up the cuttings and sweep the area the next day as part of their Digital Detox Day: a full day of outdoor fun with zero screen time. Win-win!

A big high five to everyone who came along. The garden’s on its way back to being a safe, fun, and leafy little paradise for the nursery children. We're looking forward to continuing its revamp after the summer holidays. 🌼

Words curtesy of Rod Stewart! What a lovely evening it was for tidying the Welling Library . I couldn't believe how much the weeds had grown including nettles! Simon had a great implement to remove them from the side of the building and we soon had it looking brilliant! We were sailing! After a last photo with the piled up sacks we made for home! Until next time.

It was a hot run 🥵 from the Crook Log Leisure Centre tonight, but we arrived to cups of water awaiting us with team member Amanda! We also had the pleasure of meeting the resident ginger cat relaxing in the cool office!

We decided to help in the courtyard garden area by weeding the raised flowerbed, sweeping the paths and watering the plants and lawn 💦.

Resident Joe joined us in cutting back the mint 🍃 and Pamela with cutting the lavender to make fragrant bouquets.

Time went so quickly and the heat subsided into a lovely evening.

We are already looking forward to our next visit!

Wednesday saw us back at Hurst Community Centre, this time to collect litter from around the grounds.

First the car park. Armed with pickers, gloves, and bags we blitzed the rogue crisp packets, stray coffee cups, and cheeky cigarette butts lurking between cars.

Then the rubbish that had accumulated along the boundary walls around the lawn.

Since recce-ing this task the grass had become a thigh-high jungle, and we joked about needing a scythe to cut a pathway though. Still, we swish-swish-swished our way to the wall and started clearing up.

It wasn't long before we realised that sharp grass seeds had launched a stealthy assault on our feet - socks and shoes suddenly felt like they were lined with needles.

To a genuine cry of 'I'm a GoodGymer, get me put of here', we declared a tactical retreat.

Safely out of the grass we took a few minutes to sit down and pluck the spiky seeds from our footwear (and check for ticks).

After a final sweep of the car park to collect more sweet wrappers and rubbish from vacated bays, we headed home.

Prickly grass seeds aside, this was a task full of laughs, storytelling and impromptu trivia snacks. All part of the GoodGym fun.

Note to self: definitely no more wading through long grass on future tasks!

Tried to think of a litter‑picking pun to end this report, but they were all rubbish!

See you next time.