It was brilliant to see everybody for not one but two tasks last night. We set off with a quick round-up of news: the first ever donation from our GoodGym garden to Wandsworth Age UK – a large bag of home-grown potatoes, gratefully received and reportedly delicious. Great to see some familiar faces back for a visit, our lovely regulars, and a special shout out for Kamil too, who notched up his first parkrun at the weekend.

With that, we limbered up and shared predictions for the evening’s challenge: how many panes of glass we would manage to wash at Omnibus Theatre, a charity that brings the arts to the local community. Numbers ranged from optimistic to ambitious – and one person got very close to the final tally (more on that later).

After a zippy 2km run, we arrived to find buckets and cloths neatly lined up, ready and waiting. The group split into two squads: one to tackle the great glass clean-up, the other to give the GoodGym garden a bit of TLC.

The garden team were soon picking ripe tomatoes, and uncovering tiny treasures – like the brand new peppers that have just appeared. Meanwhile, the window crew got stuck straight in, leaving the panes sparkling in their wake.

By the end, we reunited to compare notes and count up the evening’s total: a grand total of 60 windows were washed, guessed most accurately by Rob!

There was still time for a tough but effective lower-body blast in the square before running back and then heading off to the pub, where we split forces again – this time across quiz tables and finishing 2nd and 6th. Great result!

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Thanks to the past few days of dry weather, this week's group session was the complete opposite of our last soggy one - and just in time! The Wimbledon Guild community garden shed was in need of a protective coat, relying on those crucial rain-free days. So armed with brushes, we split into pairs and tackled each side in sections with a top down approach.

In less than 30 minutes, the first coat was done! This perfectly timed efficiency meant we could add a second coat for extra protection. What a brilliantly productive session!

Tonight, we returned to Mostyn Gardens in Merton Park to create a new border for the external bed (an area we previously helped clear of weeds).

Some of us were tasked with digging a trench. Thankfully (or maybe not, given the resulting mud! 😉), the weather had softened the ground (improved further by the downpour while we were mid-task!) making it fairly soft and easy for our spades to make an impression.

With wheelbarrows at the ready, a couple of the team log-ged some serious miles collecting the wood for the border, piling it up ready to be staked into the ground.

For those seeking a slightly lighter task, there was also some pruning of the plum trees to be done - perfect for branching out from the rain! Handy that we came prepared with our secateurs.

Once the trenches were dug, it was all hands needed to fill them with logs and replace the (by now) mud.

It was good to welcome a couple of GoodGymers from out of the area and also Mik to his first task - not the easiest or the driest, but hopefully enjoyable nonetheless.

We got even more done than anticipated and are certainly helping this garden grow into something very special! 

One hot Saturday morning, two (slightly battered) wheelbarrows and one enormous pile of mulch was no match for a team of four strong GGers!