We were met on the farm by Connor and were shown to our task which involved tidying, clearing and cleaning an area of the farm used to store wheelbarrows and equipment. We cut back brambles and cleared the greenery away. There were large animals crates which needed scrubbing with iodine and rinsing. While working away we had a brief interlude to help herd some sheep 🐑! The final part of the task involved sweeping the store and hosing the area down. It was a satisfying task. Our reward at the end was getting to walk the ferrets around the farm to give them some excercise. They were adorable! Finally to finish Connor made us a delish hot chocolate. We all had a fab time.

We gathered at the Old Spike Roastery before setting off for our Christmas addition group run. Emma K and Rosemary were in the Christmas spirit with festive head gear. We did a short run through Peckham Rye park to Nunhead Salvation Army where a few other Goodgymers joined us at the task. Polis set us to work and a smaller group including - Daryl, Katy, Sam, Isaac and Steve helped moved some boxes and large items. The rest of us disinfected the toys they use for the baby groups held at the venue. Once everything was cleaned we had our obligatory photo and ran back to Old Spike for our cool down. Once we finished we headed to Voodoo Rays and where our Christmas Party began with Sam's annual quiz ! Credits to Andrada for the pics 📸

12 Goodgymmers braved a cold Wednesday evening to provide a much needed weeding of the Peckham Rye Tiny Forest

After a quick warm up we headed out around Peckham Rye park, running about 2km to the Tiny Forest. Once there we met Anna, who is a Goodgym Southwark member and Treekeeper for the Tiny Forest.

Though the night was dark we waded into the sea of grass, weeds and even some drooping sedge (a native of this country) and cleared areas around the trees. This helps the young trees grow, as at this early stage they can get out competed by the more aggressive grasses. It was already impressive to see the growth of some of the trees, which are only about 2 years old.

Once we made a big dent in the weeds we headed back to Old Spike, where we celebrated with Benjamin, who had reached his 50th good deed. Santa came early with Ginger cake and we know that there will be be a new tshirt in your Christmas stocking!

As Old Spike filled up with GoodGymer's, it signaled it was time to head out from the warmth and into the cold. There was just time for a reminder about the Christmas Party before we set off (11th December - 20:15 - Voodoo Rays)!

On arrival, the task was clear, we needed to clean all the toys to make sure they're clean for when they children play with them! Armed with the tools (soapy/dettol water and some clothes) the team set about cleaning every toy in sight. Even the sofas didn't escape a thorough clean, which is good because they needed a wipe down too!

A team of 4 went to sort the craft supplies, throwing out dried up pens, sharpening pencils and making sure everything was in a more organised order.

With not long to go and a lot of plastic balls still to clean and all the toys to get back into the cupboard, everyone stepped in to get the last bits done!

After a quick photoshoot and goodbye to task owner Valentina, it was time to head back to Old Spike which had the promise of Athletic Brewing beers.

Well done to everyone for tackling the 6km run with enthusiasm and also thanks to Daryl for leading us a much nicer route than I had planned!