This evening was a huge one for GG Greenwich as we were led on Jennifer's inaugural first time leading a group run. Spoiler - she did a great job!

The gang converged at our new shiny spot, outside the shiny new Elizabeth line station in Woolwich. We had Laura visiting us from Southwark and we welcomed Haley back after having her back. We had a brilliant briefing from Jen and a fun ice breaker, then headed into a warm up to get us primed and ready to run up a lengthy set of hills to the task.

It was a balmy evening and I really enjoyed seeing the group smashing up the hills from my back marker position. Everyone pushed through the challenges of the hills, and were rewarded with the knowledge it'll be a down hill journey home.

We met Alan at Slade community center, a lovely hub in the area with a library, hall and small garden. We split into two groups; painters and sweepers. The painters were cutting in with brushes and rolling, Alan was so pleased to see how quickly the group worked to get the area painted, it looked fresh and fab! Well done gang. The sweepers went out to the garden and car park to pick up litter and then sweep up the leaves that had fallen over the car park spaces. Two whole bags of rubbish were filled and the leaves were swept away in the bushes.

After lots of thanks from Alan and a group photo which was reminiscent of our school photos, we took in our rewarding downward run back to Woolwich. Jen gave us some great stretches and we headed off home.

There are lots of great activities coming up in the next couple of weeks including our summer social this Saturday at the Garrison Church. See you all soon!

A lovely group gathered at the garrison church to one again tackle the brambles. We are working hard with these visits to help prepare the south side of the church’s grounds for a community garden they have plans for.

The group got stuck in with a hilarious mixture of tools, only some of which were ideal for the task of getting the brambles back. We all felt the sting of the brambles and contemplated on the ideal thickness of a gardening glove, I will be on the hunt for some!

After a concerted effort to clear more of the brambles and many trips with the wheelbarrow to the graveyard of bramble vines, we called it a day and sat in the sunshine and enjoyed coffee, sweet treats and some lovely chats.

Thanks all gang, it’s looking very promising after our regular visits! Make sure to join us again soon, we have another community mission litter picking tomorrow on woolwich common, and a group run Wednesday starting in woolwich. Join the WhatsApp here https://chat.whatsapp.com/I6SyiPNnI968Zp00u2Zknh

The day had started off very grey and misty, but the skies were clearing out by the time 7 Goodgymers arrived at Ballast Quay Garden for a Saturday morning workout.

The task this time was to carry some bags of soil to the top part of the garden, open them and spread the soil very thinly across the lawn. Armed with rakes and brooms, we set about doing the job, chatting away at the same time. But not before carefully relocating a community of snails that had taken hold of one of the bags, with youngsters and elders alike moved to the riverside wall.

Thirty minutes later and all the soil as thin as marmite on toast, it was time for a quick cuppa and some biscuits, generously brought by Diane. Tom the dog was eager to get some biscuits too, but as he hadn't helped with the soil, he didn't get any (sorry, Tom).

Fully refreshed, we tackled the rest of the tasks - sweeping and picking up fallen leaves, and throwing them into the river, a firm favourite among the group!

With the garden looking much neater, we said our goodbyes and went on to enjoy the rest of our Saturdays!