Four happy Goodgymmers (Charlotte, Lily, Ruby and Sarah) rolled up their sleeves this evening and got chopping, weeding and sweeping in the grounds of Saint Mary's Church, Walthamstow Village giving Tim the head gardener a helping hand in keeping the place tidy. The weather was pleasant, but autumn is certainly on its way; many leaves were scooped up, brambles cut back and weeds pulled. Our progress was clear to see, and the task was certainly a satisfying one, with the pathway left clearer and more easily accessible for our community. An excellent hour's work - very well done, GGWF Gardening Goddesses!

Three happy Goodgymmers made their way to Walthamstow Toy Library where Helen had - in view of the day's somewhat unpredictable weather - found us a lovely indoor task. As always, the Toy Library has had many wonderful donations from very generous members of our community, and as a result has yet another overflowing walk-in cupboard! We've done the crafts cupboard, the art supplies cupboard and the toy cupboard, so this week it was games and puzzles. Organising, filing and finding space for everything was a puzzle in itself, but Pippa set to work on jigsaws, Lily dealt with games, and Sarah and Helen filed the many wooden puzzles into various categories. By the time the task was done, the cupboard was spick and span and beautifully organised! Helen was, as ever, delighted to have the job done and so grateful for our support. Well done team GGWF!

Four enthusiastic Goodgymmers headed to Walthamstow Toy Library this evening for our second task of the week! Tonight we made the most of the dry weather to do an outdoor task, tackling the many weeds that were rampant around the driveway and carpark. Many hands made very light work and we happily cleared the pesky weeds and brambles in record time! As always, Helen was delighted to have some help, and - task completed - the wonderfully weedless driveway was extremely satisfying to behold! Special mention goes to Migle, who was on her first Goodgym mission. Well done to the Walthamstow weeding dream team!

Three chips off the old Goodgym block made their way to St Mary’s Church in Walthamstow Village this evening to help replenish the woodchip pathways through the churchyard, easing accessibility and enhancing the aesthetics. Our task was relatively simple – shovel up the heap of woodchip that had been dumped outside the church and relocate it to the pathway. We made pretty short work of it, and managed to get finished just before the rain started. Before getting stuck in, we had a brief chat with the lovely Reverend Vanessa, who seemed delighted to have us there. Hopefully Tim, chief gardener at St Mary’s, will be just as delighted when he gets to work in the morning to find that – as if by magic - the heap of woodchip has disappeared! Look out for another St Mary’s gardening task in September, and come and join us for some fresh air, exercise and community!

Four jolly Goodgymmers made their way to our monthly task at Walthamstow Toy Library this evening, to help Helen with cleaning some returned toys and sorting and organising some lovely donations of games and craft supplies. Many hands made light work, and the tasks were easily completed. Helen was delighted to have some helpers on board, as always, and we were very happy to welcome Kate to her first Goodgym task! Well done to all who came along – it’s always a joy to be able to contribute to such a brilliant project in our local community. The Toy Library continues, as always, to do excellent work, bringing educational, creative and play opportunities to families in need in Waltham Forest. We’ll all be taking a break over August, but watch this space for our next Toy Library task in September, which will probably involve a bit of late summer gardening – everyone’s welcome; the more the merrier!

Four enthusiastic Goodgymmers met at St Mary’s Churchyard in Walthamstow to give Tim the gardener a helping hand with some out-of-control undergrowth, which has been taking over the pathways around the church. Armed with shears and secateurs we got to work cutting back the offending brambles, cow parsley and grasses. The sun shone and many hands made light work. Before we knew it, we’d filled a ginormous rubbish bag with cuttings, and the path looked twice as wide as when we started! The Battle of the Bushes is an ongoing challenge for Tim, and he’s looking for as much help as he can get, so GGWF can look forward to spending some more happy summer evenings at St Mary’s over the coming weeks. Watch this space for more tasks! Enormous thanks to those who participated today, and a special “merci” to Elise, who was participating in her very first GG mission.