So much has changed since our last monthly visit to Doddington community garden, and the joy of going regularly means that we can see the difference we're making over time! This visit we were delighted to see that the beds we had dug last time were flourishing with courgettes and other crops.

But first things first. We kicked off the session at our usual meeting spot for some warm ups, and it was brilliant to welcome back some familiar faces and to have Rida join us for her very first session - great to have you part of the team!

We did some warm ups which tested our coordination as well as our muscles, and given we have just had a bumper week of fireworks, Halloween, Diwali and there are now 50 days until Christmas, we asked the group which is our favourite holiday. Answers ranged from Christmas, Boxing Day, bank holidays, Easter, Eid, Halloween and our annual leave. Goes to show we all love a party!

It was just a short run or cycle down to the Doddington, where Malissa wasted no time getting us to work. There was weeding to be done, trees to transport and a new bed to be dug, lined with cardboard boxes and then refilled with compost again. This is going to be planted with red onions for the community to enjoy, so keep your eye peeled next month!

After a good 45 minutes of hard graft we downed tools and went down to the square for a lower body challenge. Three minutes of seriously tough exercises with no break, all working those glutes, quads and calves - and everybody rose (or squatted) to the challenge. Great job!

All that was left was to run to the pub for the monthly pub quiz, and this time there was two bumper teams ready to battle it out. Team IstanWool (who will ever forget from this day forward that angora wool comes from the Turkish capital?) were pipped to the post by Paul, Dave, Jo, Laura, Justin, Jason and Catherine's megabrains...but we still have to beat our nemesis at the bar! Definitely next month.

Speaking of which, don't forget to sign up for our Christmas party where there will be plenty of festive fun to be had, and also this special mission to get everybody a warm coat this winter.

Faced with a garden absolutely filled with brambles Jason and I wasted no time getting stuck in. Luckily we both had heavy duty gloves to avoid all those thorns and only came across one spider the whole session. In case, like me, you’re not a spider lover, Jason’s top tip is peppermint- apparently they hate it! Good to know. After 90 minutes the garden looked significantly more bramble-free and Jason and I even had a chance to go through the tactics for tonight’s post group run pub quiz! Everybody welcome!

Pumpkin spiced lattes, roast potatoes, fallen apples for composting bins....and dogs dressed up for Halloween? It could only be Autumn at GoodGym Wandsworth - and we're here for it!

We started off our evening with a warm up and a big decision to make. Did we have it in us to tackle not one, but two tasks that evening? Of course we did! So after several different moves to get our heart rates up and a discussion about whether we'd prefer to be super wealthy, wise or famous (we were split evenly between wealthy and wise) we set off for our initial location for the night.

The first part of our task was very much in keeping with the Autumn theme. We soon arrived at Christchurch gardens, a local space which is managed by residents. They try to keep it as clean, tidy, safe and welcoming for neighbours as possible, and asked us to come and lend a hand with the fallen leaves. The problem had got out of hand at the front of the community hall and church as they have been coming down thick and fast here, making it slippery underfoot. So while most of the team got busy picking and bagging them, some of us went round the perimeter of the garden collecting litter.

It didn't take us long to make a huge difference, so after a quick break for a photo (thanks Andy!) we got ready for our second task of the evening.

FoodCycle aims to make food poverty, loneliness and food waste a thing of the past for every community. Their vision is to connect communities, reduce loneliness and food poverty using surplus food to help everyone who needs us. They have a new hub in Clapham Junction which is a welcoming space for people from all walks of life to meet, eat and have conversations, but it is still in its early stages to needs more volunteers to help run the place.

They asked us to help spread the word by leafleting in the local area to try and raise awareness and recruit people to help. So armed with a few hundred flyers, we got started by forming a highly efficient human chain. With a group of us on each side of the street we went from house to house putting the leaflets through letterboxes. It ended up being a bit of a race - a spot of healthy competition always helps get the job done faster at GoodGym!

At the end of the evening we had covered quite a bit of mileage and supported two important, and very different, local organisations. What better way to spend a Monday! If you'd like to extend the happy feeling of using your workout to do good, why not join me tonight to deliver more leaflets for FoodCycle this time in the Elephant and Castle area. Or if you're free Sunday, why not pop down to the GoodGym Garden in Clapham to do various jobs including, excitingly, installing a new composting bin!.

Next week we're back at the BAC helping with their Permablitz garden. Not sure what Permablitz is all about? Click on the link to find out more and sign up!