Last night’s GoodGym session was packed with action, good chats, and a sprinkle of drama. Our job for the evening was to team up with Abundance London for a big tidy up, focusing on clearing piles of fallen leaves out of the beds on a busy road in Chiswick.

Rosemary from Abundance London arrived with council bags and tools, and we got down to business clearing the leaves and litter. The leaves were hiding the newly planted bulbs, and we needed to make sure they had space to breathe and grow. As we worked there was plenty of chat about snacks, upcoming training programs, and of course, the imminent footie match.

Meanwhile, Jonny had an adventure of his own. While we were picking up leaves and chatting away, Jonny found himself in a bit of a sticky situation and needed to be sprung from lock-up in Chiswick House Gardens. We’re hoping he made it out in time—did he escape before the match kicked off?

After minutes we had cleared an extraordinary amount of leaves, collecting no fewer than 15 bags' worth! Hopefully now those bulbs can breathe - look out for the splashes of colour as you pass in the coming weeks

Don’t forget about this Saturday’s mission at Chiswick Eyot where you'll have a chance to get down and dirty by the river.

Did you know that In the UK, nearly 16 million plastic bottles aren’t being recycled each year and that over 8 million tonnes worth of plastic bottles end up in the ocean annually? And that they take around 450 years to decompose? The scale of the problem is pretty stark.

But there is good news! There is two major things we can do to counteract the waste. Firstly, the average British resident could save 94.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide each year by switching to reusable bottles. The second? Join us for a plastic bottle litter pick like we did at GG Hounslow last night!

We arrived from all corners of the borough, grabbed our litter picks, courtesy of Active 360, and got stuck in. The drawbridge at Kew was absolutely swimming in plastic bottles, so we divided up the trugs into what could be recycled and rubbish that was destined for the regular bin.

There was plenty to keep us busy, and after just half an hour we had collected several bags worth of litter. In the past where we've found all sorts of interesting things including messages in bottles, shoes, and some unmentionables, but last night's pick was relatively uneventful in that respect. We did clear two trugs' worth of plastic bottles, however, so it can definitely be considered an evening well spent. We just had time to pose for GG Hounslow's next album cover before setting off.

On the way back to base we stopped several times for fitness stations which included tricep dips, planks and stair runs. Unfortunately I forgot to do the very last station back at the Town Hall, and funnily enough, no one reminded me!

Great work everybody. If you can't get enough GG - and who can? - there is a great mission to plant an apple tree and lots of bulbs this Saturday, or you could get involved with this lovely new mission at Age Concern's Friendship Club.

It was our first visit back at Gunnersbury park for 2025, and we had a big challenge in store. In the chilly weather we've been having, a big physical task was just what we needed!

With GGers coming from all over the borough and beyond, we met at a location in the depths of the park to find a massive pile of wood chips waiting for us. Before we could get started we were given a very thorough risk assessment by Jacob, one of the lead gardeners, and were even treated to a rather stylish high vis to wear.

Dividing into groups, we grabbed barrows and spades and got stuck in. As usual, we chatted while we worked, which made the time fly by. Conversations were as varied as ever, from parkrun to training plans and even some rather interesting Guinness world record attempts...

It's amazing to see what can be done when so many people work together, and we had a very efficient spade/barrow system in place. Before long the piles had been decimated and we had several crisp new paths to show for our efforts.

Hard work done, all that was left were the celebrations! Timed to perfection, just before Gus leaves us for a month for glamourous Milan, he achieved his 50 good deed milestone - congratulations! He's gone through several pairs of gardening gloves, managed to do a month of daily 5kms, has forged a brand new cycling habit and has done so much good over those 50 sessions. To mark the occasion Emily made the lemon drizzle to end all lemon drizzles!

If you're looking for some more GoodGym fun this weekend then why not head down to Chiswick eyot to help with cutting and weaving - it's a very fun task if you don't mind a bit of mud!

Also keep an eye on the January challenge - we're doing well but there's still a way to go! What better incentive to book yourself into your next GG session....