It was a festive-feeling evening as we jogged over to Plaistow Primary, where Rosie – deputy head and top Newham GoodGymmer – had a stack of books waiting for us to turn into presents.

On the run over we caught up with Eugene, back from Morocco and full of stories (and presumably tagine). Once inside, we settled into a rhythm of fold–tape–repeat, with plenty of interesting chat including a deep dive into unusual world champions. My favourite has to be Rock–Paper–Scissors world champion who, unbelievably, was prevented from defending their title due to an arm injury. The cruel fate of niche elite sport.

We wrapped a solid pile of books before our scheduled finishing time, but we were pleased to hear that the dinner ladies would be finishing the rest later in the week. Apparently they are clinically efficient in their execution of these sorts of tasks, so the presents are in very safe hands.

One last task for 2025 is lined up for next week at Hackney Marshes Adventure Playground, and then we’re onto lining up a whole load of sessions for January. Perfect timing to catch everyone with fresh New Year’s resolutions to get fit, do good, and support their local community.

Good wrapping, good running, good company. GoodGym. 🎁🏃‍♂️✨

You know that autumn's here (even if the thermometer is trying hard to convince you otherwise), when evening group tasks involve (a lot of) leaf sweeping, and so it was for Graham, Eugene, Hilary and I once we'd convened at Ange's place, aka the Hackney Adventure playground. Armed with brooms, rakes, spades and a bag big enough for a small family to shelter under, we quickly got to work clearing the basketball court/football pitch of leaves, branches and other deposits...

We'd like to say there was some method applied to how we went about the task, but that would be overstating things somewhat, although our biggest challenge was staying ahead of the gusts which blew inconsiderately and kept depositing more debris onto the playing surface just when we thought we were winning, but after 45 minutes of pretty vigorous sweeping, piling up and bagging, the court/pitch was once more ready for play, and it would've been rude if we hadn't given it a try out...suffice to say we're clearly better suited to sweeping than we are at hooping...

Another classic GoodGym Saturday in Newham — with Graham and I warming up at Wanstead Flats parkrun before heading over to Emmanuel Church for some hands-on autumn action.

Eugene, running in from Bow, had already arrived, and shortly after Team Prince jogged in. We were warmly welcomed by Sybil and the team, who had all the tools ready and jobs lined up. The main task: tackling the leaves that had taken over the church grounds, and giving some of the trees and shrubs a prune and tidy-up.

With plenty of teamwork (and a fair bit of leaf-bag-lifting cardio), we managed to fill around 30 bags of leaves — transforming the space in the process. The church gardens looked fresher, cleaner, and far less autumn-overwhelmed by the end!

Sybil and the crew treated us to a well-earned mac and cheese — a great post-task reward (unless you're Sharon, who inexplicably doesn't like cheese sauce) and a lovely chance to sit down together and chat.

A huge thanks to Sybil and everyone at Emmanuel Church for the warm hospitality, and to all the team who came out to lend a hand. Great teamwork, good laughs, and a truly satisfying task.

Last night, GoodGym Newham headed out to support the Friends of Chandos Road Gardens, clearing autumn leaves from the streets and litter from the children’s playground.

Nick arrived first and got straight to work on litter picking, setting the pace for the session. Graham walked over despite recovering from a football-related injury — we wish him a swift recovery! Kev arrived after a run, and then Rosa, Eugene, and I did a little group run, taking the scenic route from the Aquatics Centre to join in.

Armed with rakes, bags and shovels, we tackled the leaves lining the street and rubbish scattered around the playground. Among the items collected were stray wrappers, cups, and even a lonely teddy bear!

We were also joined by volunteers and local residents from Chandos Road, who continued the cleanup after we left, finishing the job and collecting all the bagged leaves and rubbish for the council. Great to see the community come together to make the streets and playground cleaner and safer.

📅 Upcoming Tasks

We don't currently have anything lined up next Tuesday, but we do have the following brilliant tasks coming up not long after:

Saturday 8th Nov: Parkrun and then gardening at Emmanuel Church

Tuesday 11th: Hackney Marsh Adventure Playground

Thanks to everyone who came along today — with our combined efforts, Chandos Road is looking brighter, tidier, and ready for everyone to enjoy! 🌿