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 ran and pedalled our way to Days Lane to do some leafleting for the Community Hospice - mixing our cardio with good deeding from the get-go!

Then we power-walked along one side of the road, posting leaflets through letterboxes to spread the word about the Hospice's fundraising Fun Day (coming next month!) and an epic Great Wall of China Trek (making 2026 the year of scenic strides).

We returned down the opposite side of the street, completing a neat flyer circuit and a great step count!

We met, we moved and - fingers crossed - we've reached some curious families and adventurous trekkers!

Next week we make a return visit to Wonder Zone Nursery to help them tackle a list of tasks. See you there!

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. 🌼🌳

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.

In glorious sunshine it was a task of two halves at the Community Hospice gardens this morning.

Working on the children's outdoor play area, some of us pulled up a weed membrane to allow the soil underneath to return to nature. It took heavy-duty effort and a coordinated approach to get it up. A proper workout 💪💪💪.

Elsewhere we set about tidying up the overgrown flower bed to give a better view of the play area from the rest of the garden. After taking out a couple of shrubs and clearing the dead parts of last year's growth, we removed some substantial stones that had once been laid to create a kind-of rockery. More muscle power 🏋‍♀️🏋‍♂️!

Then, that's the idea of GoodGym, using our workouts to make a difference.

Shout out to Ashton as this was his 50th good deed. What a fab achievement in just six months since he joined 🥳🎈 !

This was the perfect session for GoodGym's partnership with WWF's Workout For Nature initiative, getting out in nature while giving it a helping hand.

There's still plenty more to do to help Jason, the Hospice's head gardener, realise his plans to transform the grounds, so we'll be back again on the fourth Saturday of each month. Do come along and join us.

This is our new monthly session working with Jason, the head gardener at The Community Hospice.

Our focus was the long border, taking out unwanted plants so the plot can be re-planted when it's been properly prepared.

'Team Roses' got physical digging out several rose bushes to allow the remaining Tender Loving Care roses, bred especially for the Hospice, to be the stars of the show.

'Team Sedge' also needed muscle power to uproot the grassy clumps of Carex pendula that were attempting to crowd out other plants.

'Team Leek' took a more delicate approach, carefully removing the invasive Three-cornered Leek plants - Allium triquetrum - that had been stealthily invading the area. Getting out the entire bulb and roots was the aim of the game here, all with the aroma of onions!

It's always amazing to see how much a team of enthusiastic GoodGymers can achieve in such a short time.

After tidying away the tools we enjoyed tea and coffee in the Hospice café.

We'll be back on the fourth Saturday of each month. Come along and together we'll help Jason realise his plans for the gardens of this wonderful charity.