We were due to be visiting Lewisham Unity this evening but unfortunately there is a fly tipping issue so that visit has been postponed till that is under control. Instead we had plan B - split into 3 groups and complete 3 different tasks.

Task 1

7 of us headed to TRAID to pack up the stock ready for the next season of stock, having the maximum number possible we were very efficient and had the task done in around 45min. This task usually takes us over an hour when there's only 3 or 4 of us so it goes to show what a difference extra pairs of hands make.

We had time for a quick group photo and then it was time for me to head to Glass Mill to meet the rest of the team.

Task 2

Making our start point look clean and tidy again! There was lots of litter around our start point and the team collected bags of litter and achieved the aim! No super obscure items except maybe a Lime Bike....

Task 3

Last but not least, Alison and Lindsay headed out armed with GG posters and a list of local supermarkets, with the aim of putting up the posters on the community notice boards. They managed to find 4 and I put one up on my walk to Glass Mill so thats 5 supermarkets with a GG poster up. Hopefully we see a couple of new faces!

Thank you for all your effort last night, we certainly made a difference!

Our first group run back in 2025 and I was kind enough to put one of our hilliest and furthest tasks in the diary for this eve. It was that or we took the decorations down before Christmas and I am never ever suggesting that again - I don't think everyone is quite over that year yet.

Anyway, it was soon time to leave the warmth of Glass Mill and start our run over to Senior's. Upon arrival we found half our task had been kindly done for us and it was just a case of removing the decorations that required a ladder and taking down the trees.

It was a quick task and soon we were starting the run back to Glass Mill. Before we left, I did notice the Halloween bat had survived yet another taking down of decorations!

New Year, New GoodGym Southwark Group Run?

Just because the year changed from 2022 to 2023, didn't mean our group run had to change too. We were back after our deserved festive break with the same format, but with a few new faces. We got introduced to Lily and Maksym who came for their first GoodGym experience and got their first good deed ever! Kudos to you both! There were a few travellers who had come from afar namely from Camden (Sophie), Lewisham (Clare and Steve) and Lambeth (Joao, Magdalena and Nathan).

Although, it was a fairly mild night, there was this bitterly cold wind in the air. Yet, after everyone bunched up in Old Spike to listen to Sam's GoodGym intro speech, we braved the cold night to quickly warm-up down in the alleyway.

Sam's ice-breaker question tonight, was to do with the fact it's the New Year, so people usually have goals in mind...but he wanted to be inclusive and included to other questions: What are your 2023 goals?, What are your hopes for the world in 2023? or What was your best/worst Christmas present that you received this year (if you celebrate it)?

There were a bunch of answers, but from memory there were running goals, trying new sports, doing more GoodGym (more than last year), being a better person, world peace, reading a book a week, sustainable shopping, running and finishing the Isle of Wight Ultra and Steve is now the proud owner of a warm cuddly onesie.

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Competitive by nature

With Sam leading from the front and Daryl backmarking the back of the run, we all ran 2k together from Old Spike through Nunhead and finished off with a strong uphill incline to Telegraph Hill Lower Park. Technically, we were in Lewisham as Southwark does not have drop-off points for Christmas trees as they ask people to email the council for collection. Thus, we found ourselves just across the border (hope Kim (the AA of Lewisham) doesn't mind). Once everyone took a breath and Sam took out his maps, he assigned four sub-team captains to take charge of their team to find Christmas trees in certain streets and areas around Telegraph Hill Lower Park. We were met by Alex who met us at the task meeting point and so he was promptly put in a team. Sam made it competitive by saying the team that collected the most Christmas trees won the box of Lindor Dark Chocolate (a re-gift).

Nathan, Alex, Clare and Sophie started strongly by being the first team to drop off the first tree and then they disappeared for the rest of the 30 minute session.

Daryl, Nelly and Magdalena quickly brought two trees over and since Emma had just cycled in, she joined their team as they went on the hunt for more trees.

There was nothing for a good 10 minutes as Sam waited at the drop-off point and saw three residents bring their Christmas trees over by themselves. Then suddenly from three different streets, three teams brought a tree each and thankfully, it included the two teams (Steve with Lily, Maksym and Clare as well as Emily with Joao, Lindy and Gemma...ended up being their one and only tree) that hadn't dropped off a tree yet and Daryl's team took a further lead with a third tree.

As the time drew closer to quarter to 8, Nelly and Magdalena brought a fourth tree for Daryl's team. Yet, suddenly in the distance, Steve, Lily, Maksym and Clare assisted each other to carry 3 Christmas trees and suddenly it was a tie for top spot! It was exciting as some of the World Cup games... Daryl's team were determined to win, so he went off to find another tree (keep up, we're up to five now) and as luck would have it, a man on his electric scooter was dragging two Christmas trees (as one wasn't big enough for his front Bay window....first world / rich problems...). Nelly and Magdalena swooped in and helped him untie the trees and "officially"/"unofficially" take the win with 7 trees in total for their team! If that didn't happen, it would have made it more interesting as if we forgot...Nathan, Alex, Clare and Sophie came back at the end with 3 trees themselves and took their total to 4! Joint second place, so we dragged and "stole", a total of 16 Christmas trees (7, 4, 4 and 1) in 30 minutes!

All in all, everyone had a great time running around the roads near Telegraph Hill on a small treasure hunt. We departed after a group photo saying goodbye to Alex, Emma and Steve. Later on in the run back to Old Spike, Lindy split from us. We finished off with some stretches before a few of us went for a drink or two at Jumbi.

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Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out tonight! It was great to see 16 (17 including me) GoodGymers come out last night and as I said it reminded me of pre-pandemic days. Thank you for keeping up with the run as it was hill, cold and dark in places. Plus, for some it was your first run in a long time, so kudos to you! I was impressed with everyone's spirit to get involved with the task and the competition, so thank you for getting stuck in!

Throughout the day, Sam received texts that people would meet him at the task. This was partly due to the fact a few lived close to the task tonight and partly due to a few people wanting to rest their legs before Sunday's Big Half. Tonight's run would take us on a 4.2k run either way, so it was understandable.

Sam met up with Benjamin and Nelly, who both arrived by 18:40, thus giving us time to take it chill to warm up and run the 4.2k at our own pace.

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A pond with a dry sense of humor

Benjamin, Nelly and Sam just arrived as Mikhail showed up to meet Jane, who got the first runners/volunteers stuck into the first task. Noticing that the pond had unfortunately dried up; actually provided an opportunity to clear the banks of the willow bushes that were growing in there. Benjamin, Nelly and Mikhail got stuck in before being joined in by Alex as they had a system where two people pulled out the willow and two people chopped them down further in order to compost down quicker in the compost heap. They were later joined by Vic, who wanted to get in the dry pond and not get stuck this time (unlike the last time in waders....).

There were a few other tasks; Emma and Magdalena who arrived by bike were given the task to sort out the items felt underneath the canopy and determine what was junk and what wasn't before putting everything neatly back. It was great to see Magdalena back at GoodGym after a year or two away. The third task require just one person, so Emma took on the job of clearing the gutters of leaves before joining Sam on the final task, which was to fill the smaller pond (that hadn't dried up) with stored smelly rainwater.

After a couple of buckets of rainwater filled the pond, a few trips of shredded willow brought to the compost heap and a clear back office, we had completed all the tasks set by Jane within 40 minutes. This meant one thing; a HIIT session. Yet, knowing many are running the Big Half this weekend, Sam didn't want to tire everyone out. He just put them through a few squats (and jumping squats), jumping jacks, high knees push ups, tricep dips, lunges (and side lunges) within 8 minutes before calling it a day. After our group photo in the dried pond, Sam asked the ice-breaker question at the end, which was about the fact we will be getting a new PM on Monday: Which famous personality (sports, musician, actor/actress, author) would you want as your PM?

There was a overwhelming majority that would like Marcus Rashford, but we had actress Emma Thompson, Grime artist Stormzy and TV personalities like Jeremy Clarkson and David Attenborough, but the best answer came from Alex who has been dealing with the two candidates on offer and would think a "rock" would do a better job... We can only hope for the best!

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Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out tonight! A personal thanks to Benjamin and Nelly for coming on the run from Old Spike with me. Yet, a thanks to everyone for understanding the last minute change of destination and still being keen to get involved!

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Thank You Jane

GoodGym is all about getting fit and doing good! We praise the runners/cyclists/walkers who come to get fit and help out, but we often forget about our task owner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jane for saving this week's group run. A last minute change meant I had to go back to my original plan and asked Jane kindly if she could have us this week. So, a massive thank you, especially since you came back from your holidays and had no clue what state the Reserve would be in. We're glad to help out where we could for 40 minutes. We will be back in the Autumn to further shape this Nature Reserve and plant bulbs.