On a sunny Wednesday evening, the GoodGym Greenwich gang laced up and set off on an uphill mission! Our run took us up the ever-challenging Shooters Hill, to the Memorial Hospital where we were met by Maira and trundled with our tools to the lovely woodland path. Our job for the evening was to move as much woodchip as possible down to the new seating area for the regular woodland sessions for patients and staff in the hospital.

Buckets and wheelbarrows at the ready, we teamed up and got to work. Some shovelled away and others navigated the twists and turns down the path with wheelbarrows and myself and Ivar with a big old crate on wheels that made us feel like we were bobsleighing. Cool runnings at its finest.

The new seating area is looking great, and our efforts are helping make the space less muddy and even more welcoming for everyone who visits this peaceful green corner of Greenwich. With plenty of laughs, a bit of sweat, and a solid upper-body workout thrown in, we regrouped for a quick photo and enjoyed a breezy jog back down the hill.

Next week we're back to help out at Glyndon!

Until next time 😊

Rachel

Wednesday evening saw 9 of us head to the beautiful St Luke's Church for a spot of midweek cleaning. Half of the crew, led by Julian, clocked up 3.5km from the Naval College, while the rest of us met at the task. We were warmly welcomed by Liz and Rick, ready with lots of jobs to keep us busy.

Speaking of stairs – some of us decided to climb the incredibly steep, narrow, and very old spiral staircase up the tower. It might have been built hundreds of years ago, but it still gives the quads a workout today. And the view at the top? Absolutely worth it. Coming down? Let’s just say our knees will remember it. Shout-out to Alex and Louise who somehow managed to dust on the way down?! At the bottom Louise assured us her trainers were always that shade of grey...

Outside, Ashton took on the job of giving a wooden bench a fresh coat of teak oil and although we didn’t see the final result, we’re confident it now gleams fantas-teak-ly.

Meanwhile, inside the church, Jenny and Marta worked their magic on sorting out a collection of candles into a 'won't ever light again, bin it' and a 'probably light again keep it' pile. The rest of us took on hoovering, dusting, and the oddly satisfying job of scraping melted wax off the glass table panels. In just 30 minutes, the place was looking noticeably more polished, and we wrapped up with a classic team photo.

What’s next?

This weekend we’ve got more garden clearance at St Richard's and a bonus run on Sunday to Mycenae Gardens for a bit of weeding.

Next Wednesday we’re heading back to the Memorial Hospital for more bramble bashing and a run up Shooters Hill Road (brace yourselves!)

Until next time

Rachel

Tonight's GoodGym task took team Greenwich to the historical gem that is the Prince Phillip Maritime Collection Centre in Kidbrooke, home to the Greenwich Royal Museums' stored collections. These are made up of Art and Artefacts, and the centre is dedicated to their preservation as well as education within the local community.

Our first task this evening was a nautical one but we managed to stay on dry ground as we moved a slightly rickety boat into its new position. (Again on dry ground, it definitely isn't seaworthy!).

We were then led, crystal maze style, to our next adventure, in the magical mystery storage room, for some ceiling panel removal & replacement, ready for groups carrying out gilding of the panels. Our Man with the Golden Puns did us proud, quickly working out the jigsaw puzzle of panels, and we took turns climbing the ladder with instructions from the team on getting the placements exactly right.

I definitely think we got that crystal and caught some gold confetti!

Photo time with our prop of choice & it was time to head our separate ways. Thanks all & have a great week!