Winter is coming. There was definitely an autumnal feeling in the air as four Good Gymers convened at Charlton House for Wednesday’s group run. Tonight, we welcomed a guest in the form of Steph from our Ealing Chapter. Welcome Steph, we hope you enjoyed the task tonight.

The task tonight took us to Charlton Manor Primary School, and after a gentle jog through Charlton park in glorious sunshine, we arrived at the school to be met by the amazing Joe, one of the teachers at the school, who now has the responsibility for looking after the garden. The school used to have a full-time gardener but this is no longer the case and sadly their lovely garden has fallen into some disrepair. The task had been set to be painting benches but the afternoon’s rain had put paid to that so we were directed to the raised beds to attack the weeds. The beds were certainly overrun with all sorts of undesirable growths, but many hands make light work and soon the beds were looking a lot clearer and it was time for the short run in the cold back to Charlton house. We can certainly see now the improvements that two Good Gym visits have made at the school and with a few more trips I’m sure we’ll have the garden looking back to its best.

Next week we’re back at the gardens outside Trinity Hospice and there will be fun down by the river for anyone who wants to join us.

Everyone loves a new venue for a Goodgym adventure, and tonight's did not disappoint. Wednesday 17th July gave us a balmy summer evening for 7 GoodGym-ers to met outside Charlton House to share childhood memories and a few warm up games before a short run to Charlton Manor Primary School.

We were shown to the beautiful Secret Garden at the school, which has recently lost its gardener so needs a few extra hands on deck to get the weeds under control and the growing areas ready for the children to start planting flowers and crops. Much digging and cutting down of unwanted vegetation ensued, being careful to avoid the good stuff like potatoes, leeks & wildflowers. We were joined by the chickens from the school's coop who had a great time pecking around for worms, along with several villages of snails. Before long we'd run out of space in the huge bin we were using for what we cleared and it was time to jog back to Charlton House for some cool down stretches.

There's still lots of work to be done, so we'll be back to this lovely hidden garden with its beehives, chatty chickens, fruit trees and so much else.

Next week we're at Glyndon Community Centre. Thanks all & see you soon!