A perfect morning at my first ever GoodGym session!

After a nice half an hour stroll up Bostall Hill, I took in the breathtaking gardens as I arrived a little early. Walking up to reception, nervous and full of excitement, Sarah and Johnny welcomed me into the GG community. I met the lovely head gardener, Jason - aka Van Gogh - credit to him for the pun in this title!

We made a start as the rest of the team showed up, with the mission to clear the pathway at the entrance and battle the thorns. A team of eight was the perfect number. Teamwork makes the dream work! Within an hour, we transformed the entrance.

Zita was a powerhouse, attacking the ivy in minutes, snipping and raking. She never stopped. Ceci was a pro with the shears and came up with great references for everyone: Sweet Caroline and Simon Says. She couldn't resist sharing a few dance moves at the end of the mission.

It was so lovely to start the weekend off with a rewarding workout, feeling that we are contributing to our local community. I discovered that Caroline went to the same secondary school as myself and met her husband at a pub in Bexley.

After a few photos, a few of us shared lunch, which was the perfect ending to the day! The hunter chicken was a great recommendation, although the lasagne looked just as tasty! Thanks to Robert for sharing his chocolate cake with us.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again next month.

Last night, we laced up our running and walking shoes and headed to the Wonder Zone Nursery in Welling. It was our first visit to this lovely small nursery and we were met by Olu, one of the directors, who welcomed us with a friendly smile and a long list of tasks 📄.

We started at the top of the list: tackling the driveway that led up to the nursery gates. It was a bit overgrown and untidy, so half the team grabbed secateurs and loppers and cut back the greenery along one side of the drive 🌿. As we snipped away at the brambles, we couldn't help eating the blackberries along the way. 🍇 Nature's snack!

The other half of the team got busy weeding and sweeping the rest of the drive. We soon discovered that the old 'collect everything in black bags' method wasn't going to work . So Olu brought out the big guns — a massive bin that we quickly filled with cuttings, fallen leaves, weeds, and other debris.

With the hard work done, we switched gears and reverted to our childhood selves with a cheeky play on the playground equipment. Just proving that we're all big kids at heart.

As always, we rounded things off with the classic team photo, although we resisted the urge to all clamber onto the climbing frame at once. As fun as that sounded, testing its weight limit wasn’t the grand finale we were aiming for! 📸

After our productive evening, we wrapped things up with a well-deserved drink at the local Weatherspoons. 🍷🍺☕

Thanks to Olu and the Wonder Zone Nursery for hosting us. There's lots more still to do on that list and we hope you'll have us back soon. 🌟

What a fantastic time we had helping out at The Community Hospice!

This was our most popular community mission so far, with GoodGym members coming from Greenwich, Tower Hamlets, Camden, and of course, Bexley. It was great to see so many friendly faces ready to get stuck in!

Jason, the Head Gardener, had lots of jobs for us to do to get the garden looking at its best before the Open Gardens Festival next weekend. And wow—we got loads done!

✅ We pulled out weeds

✅ Cleared ivy and brambles from the wall

✅ Cut back some bushes

✅ Tidied up the whole area

Everyone worked hard and made a big difference. The garden is now looking fresher and ready to welcome visitors!

We also had some brilliant milestones to celebrate:

🎉 A huge congratulations to John gaining his GoodGym crown with his 500th good deed—amazing 👑!

👏 Well done to Zita, Robert, and Caroline for reaching 10 good deeds each.

Go team!

Thanks to everyone who came along—it was such fun, and we’re already looking forward to the next one. 🌼🌳

On a bright Wednesday evening, our brilliant bunch of GoodGymmers headed to Hook Lane Primary School for a hands-on task that combined clearing rubbish, working on the climbing frame, and laying whole lot of woodchipping.

First up, we tackled a pile of accumulated stuff — broken bits of guttering, piping, pipe insulation and other random debris -- ferrying it from next to the shed on the playing field to the official rubbish area. So much tidier!

Meanwhile, Robert lend a strong pair of hands — and a sharp eye for engineering and DIY — to help teacher Dan repair the climbing frame. It's slowly coming back to life for breaktime adventures.

Next came the main event: laying down woodchippings to transform the mud kitchen into a cleaner, safer, and more inviting space for the kids to play.

We shovelled, wheeled, and spread the chippings with impressive coordination — like a very outdoorsy conveyor belt.

By the end of the hour, the mud kitchen looked transformed and ready for all the mini chefs to do their thing 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳.

A big thanks to everyone who came out and made such a positive impact!

Great work team, let’s do it again soon! 💥

Today’s mission: bring life, colour, and order to the garden at the Community Hospice—with a dash of GoodGym sparkle.

When we arrived, Jason—the Hospice’s amazing gardener—welcomed us with a modest goal: “If we can get five privet plants in, I’ll be chuffed.” Well Jason, prepare to be thoroughly chuffed… because we planted TWELVE!

But that’s not all. While some of us were digging, planting, and lovingly patting down privet plants, the rest of the crew grabbed their brushes and got stuck into painting.

Talk about multitasking heroes!

Paint flew, shrubs settled in, and the space was transformed.

The difference between the ‘before’ and ‘after’ was genuinely heartwarming. A massive well done, Team GG —you absolutely nailed it.

This was our first session at Hook Lane Primary School after they contacted us to ask for some help.

Our group runners (starting from Crook Log Leisure Centre in Welling, and Costa Coffee in Blackfen), along with those arriving directly, met at the school gates where teacher Dan gave us a warm welcome.

The task: put up bamboo screening around the perimeter fence of the school field.

After sawing through a few pesky branches that were in our way, we fell into a good rhythm working in pairs; unrolling the screening between us, then one person holding it with the other fixing it in place. Meanwhile another pair started on the next length.

Threading the cable ties through the canes was a tricky business but after a while we found the knack 👌.

We nearly came a cropper putting up one roll back-to-front, but eagle-eyed Dan spotted our rookie error just in time!

Along with Dan and his brother Sam, we covered a long stretch in our alloted hour.

After a photo opportunity at the fairytale castle, we headed home, some of us running and some walking 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃‍♂️🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️.

It was great having Simon with us for his first GoodGym good deed 🥳.

The school has lots more tasks lined up for our future visits, so why not come along and help make good things happen!

Hope to see you next time.