The rain cleared, making it a lovely evening for a riverside task! Three of us made our way down to our regular spot at the 3 Pigeons plot by Richmond Riverside, and it was especially lovely to welcome Cecilia to the task.

With our handy garden tools and a lot of “…is this a weed?”, we got stuck into the task. The dandelions were out in force, one even managed to break a trowel, but between us we managed to clear a good amount. It was great to chat and catch up as we worked our way across the 3 pigeons plot.

By the end we’d made a really good dent, leaving things much tidier and ready for the next session. We’ll be back soon to keep this little riverside corner nice and tidy.

It was a lovely way to spend an evening — fresh air, good company, and the beautiful Richmond riverside right beside us.

Three amazing GoodGymers joined the wonderful regular volunteers at Hornfair junior parkrun this morning. Despite the wet and drizzly weather, our young runners showed brilliant spirit — and were cheered on every step of the way.

Linda, even though she signed up late, still came along and supported. Peter, whose local junior parkrun was cancelled, stepped in to help out too. And I took on one of the tailwalker roles, making sure everyone got around safely.

Fancy giving volunteering a try? We’d love to have you!

8 goodgym-ers met the Friends of Hornfair Park team for a chat & cleanup session today. We were greeted by a couple of Rockin' Robins ready to cheer us on, and soon, armed with litterpicks & bags, we plotted our route. It's a big park with lots going on, so the area outside the lido was first, which involved a battle against the hedges, then on to the tennis court perimeter and fences at the edge of the park. 

A veritable cocktail of weather awaited us, starting with a weak Winter Sun, progressing as the task went on to the beginnings of a Dark & Stormy.

The same could be said of our litter pickings, which ranged from discarded clothing, lots of trademarked takeaway boxes (no free advertising here...) and the evidence of a few parties including vodka bottles, beer cans and even a large lampshade resembling a disco ball...!

A great team makes the task fly by & soon we'd run out of time but had made an impact on getting the park a bit tidier, so excellent work all.

Take care & see you all soon 🙂

Despite the December chill, Julian led a determined crew of runners to yesterday’s GoodGym Greenwich task. Khai, Ceci and Kerry joined him on the run, while the rest of the team met us at the Brooklands School. We were especially pleased to welcome back Sevan, making a triumphant return after a work Christmas do, and Aman, who left Bristol early just to make it in time. That’s the kind of commitment that keeps GoodGym glowing - heroes, all of you!

Our mission for the evening was to paint the staff room and finish cleaning the cupboards. And true to the evening’s punny title (No Whisk, No Reward) we kicked things off by seeing what on earth we could use to stir the paint... it actually wasn't a whisk but we couldn't resist Khai's excellent pun anyway. With slightly fewer rollers and brushes than ideal (and absolutely no spare whisks), we embraced classic GoodGym ingenuity and made do with what we had. Before long, the first coat was on the walls and the cupboards were sparkling.

We didn’t quite manage to get around the whole room this time, but fear not, we’ll be back in January to finish the job!

Looking ahead, there’s plenty more GoodGym goodness on the horizon: 👉 This Saturday: Talk and Tidy and Westcombe Woodlands 👉 Next Wednesday: get ready to flex those painting muscles again for an indoor task at Arthur’s school!

Brilliant work everyone🛠️🎨💪🏽❤️

Until next time,

Rachel