It was a hot run 🥵 from the Crook Log Sports Center tonight but arrived to cups of water awaiting us with team member Amanda! We also had the pleasure of meeting the resident ginger cat relaxing in the cool office! We decided to help in the garden area by weeding, sweeping and watering 💦. Resident Joe joined us helping with cutting back the mint 🍃 and Pamela help cutting the lavender to make fragrant bouquets. Time went so quickly and the heat subsided into a lovely evening! We are already looking forward to our next visit!

We were back at the Community Hospice warehouse this morning from 10am to 1pm for another stint of clothes sorting.

Andrew was the staff member on duty today—always friendly and efficient. He welcomed us and spent some time showing the new Goodgym volunteer, Maria, the ropes as it were. Caroline and I are feeling like the veterans now on our fifth clothing sorting expedition.

Soon we were back into the usual rhythm: sifting through bag after bag of donated clothes. As always, it was indeed a mixed bag—literally and figuratively. Some people clearly go the extra mile, delivering beautifully laundered and even ironed clothes folded to perfection. Others, not so much.

One bag in particular stood out: a pile of jeans absolutely splattered in white paint. I found myself wondering who on earth imagines these are still usable. Into the rag bag they went.

I found another item that to me wasn't immediately obvious what it was. Then I realised it was what you might call a 'sports balaclava'. Something you might wear running in cold weather conditions or perhaps use for more nefarious purposes!

As usual, the time passed quickly and I believe we all felt it was a satisfying mission with a good work done. Congratulations on your first ever GoodGym task, Maria 🥳.

Simon

Today was a great turnout just under 60 young children undertaking their Sunday morning exercise at junior parkrun.

Smiles on their faces and fab efforts put it by all. They were lucky to just get back by the time this lovely British weather started to warm up.

Definitely felt good to be back on board and giving encouragement to all.

Well done everyone, you all smashed it 💥.

There was plenty for us to do helping with renovations at the much-loved Blackfen Community Library — a vibrant community space powered by its trademark 'Big Hello' and popular Rooted Coffee House☕📚.

We got stuck into:

🧽 cleaning chairs and shining up windows

🎨 painting the loo walls with classic white-on-white

💪shifting crates and furniture into a side room to clear the carpets for deep cleaning, and

🪛 IKEA-style assembly of a flat-pack filing cabinet.

💬 Quote of the day:

“We need four No. 8 screws.” “I can’t find any No. 8s…” “Oh wait—it’s eight No. 4 screws!”

An afternoon of teamwork, elbow grease, and good fun all the way. And a shout out to Simon on hitting ten good deeds 👏.

Wednesday saw us back at Hurst Community Centre, this time to collect litter from around the grounds.

First the car park. Armed with pickers, gloves, and bags we blitzed the rogue crisp packets, stray coffee cups, and cheeky cigarette butts lurking between cars.

Then the rubbish that had accumulated along the boundary walls around the lawn.

Since recce-ing this task the grass had become a thigh-high jungle, and we joked about needing a scythe to cut a pathway though. Still, we swish-swish-swished our way to the wall and started clearing up.

It wasn't long before we realised that sharp grass seeds had launched a stealthy assault on our feet - socks and shoes suddenly felt like they were lined with needles.

To a genuine cry of 'I'm a GoodGymer, get me put of here', we declared a tactical retreat.

Safely out of the grass we took a few minutes to sit down and pluck the spiky seeds from our footwear (and check for ticks).

After a final sweep of the car park to collect more sweet wrappers and rubbish from vacated bays, we headed home.

Prickly grass seeds aside, this was a task full of laughs, storytelling and impromptu trivia snacks. All part of the GoodGym fun.

Note to self: definitely no more wading through long grass on future tasks!

Tried to think of a litter‑picking pun to end this report, but they were all rubbish!

See you next time.

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. 🌼🌳