We were back at the Community Hospice warehouse this morning from 10am to 1pm for another stint of clothes sorting.

Andrew was the staff member on duty today—always friendly and efficient. He welcomed us and spent some time showing the new Goodgym volunteer, Maria, the ropes as it were. Caroline and I are feeling like the veterans now on our fifth clothing sorting expedition.

Soon we were back into the usual rhythm: sifting through bag after bag of donated clothes. As always, it was indeed a mixed bag—literally and figuratively. Some people clearly go the extra mile, delivering beautifully laundered and even ironed clothes folded to perfection. Others, not so much.

One bag in particular stood out: a pile of jeans absolutely splattered in white paint. I found myself wondering who on earth imagines these are still usable. Into the rag bag they went.

I found another item that to me wasn't immediately obvious what it was. Then I realised it was what you might call a 'sports balaclava'. Something you might wear running in cold weather conditions or perhaps use for more nefarious purposes!

As usual, the time passed quickly and I believe we all felt it was a satisfying mission with a good work done. Congratulations on your first ever GoodGym task, Maria 🥳.

Simon

There was plenty for us to do helping with renovations at the much-loved Blackfen Community Library — a vibrant community space powered by its trademark 'Big Hello' and popular Rooted Coffee House☕📚.

We got stuck into:

🧽 cleaning chairs and shining up windows

🎨 painting the loo walls with classic white-on-white

💪shifting crates and furniture into a side room to clear the carpets for deep cleaning, and

🪛 IKEA-style assembly of a flat-pack filing cabinet.

💬 Quote of the day:

“We need four No. 8 screws.” “I can’t find any No. 8s…” “Oh wait—it’s eight No. 4 screws!”

An afternoon of teamwork, elbow grease, and good fun all the way. And a shout out to Simon on hitting ten good deeds 👏.

What a fantastic time we had helping out at The Community Hospice!

This was our most popular community mission so far, with GoodGym members coming from Greenwich, Tower Hamlets, Camden, and of course, Bexley. It was great to see so many friendly faces ready to get stuck in!

Jason, the Head Gardener, had lots of jobs for us to do to get the garden looking at its best before the Open Gardens Festival next weekend. And wow—we got loads done!

✅ We pulled out weeds

✅ Cleared ivy and brambles from the wall

✅ Cut back some bushes

✅ Tidied up the whole area

Everyone worked hard and made a big difference. The garden is now looking fresher and ready to welcome visitors!

We also had some brilliant milestones to celebrate:

🎉 A huge congratulations to John gaining his GoodGym crown with his 500th good deed—amazing 👑!

👏 Well done to Zita, Robert, and Caroline for reaching 10 good deeds each.

Go team!

Thanks to everyone who came along—it was such fun, and we’re already looking forward to the next one. 🌼🌳

Two cages of donations sorted by us Good Gym Peeps. Good work!

A mixed bag as always - today featured many substandard shoes and mondo mankey socks!

Halloween making a decent appearance once more as you can see in our pics. (Some people really make an effort 🎃👻.)

Still loads of winter cuddlies in the mix too. Sad not much designer stuff today - so less cash for the charity. Fingers crossed for more EBay friendly things next time.

Ann, Caroline & Simon.

Another lively clothes-sorting session at the Community Hospice Shop with Caroline and Ann, all under the watchful eye of James. While we’re surrounded by everything from hoovers to hairdryers, musical instruments to power tools—and books galore—our mission is clear: sort the clothes!

Our sorting categories? Excellent, Good, Not Bad, Bad and ugh! It’s remarkable what turns up. Some donations are so stylish and classy and sometimes whole bags full and it makes you wonder why someone would offload such lovely stuff. Then there's stuff on the other end of the scale. I don't dwell on it though because there's lots more to sort!

The three hours fly by as we laugh and chat, especially when we uncover something utterly bizarre—items of clothing that defy logic. No labels, no clues, and no obvious way of getting into them! It's like trying to solve a textile puzzle. Who wears this stuff? More importantly—how?

The job is an education in fashion, function, and the fantastic creativity of designers. One minute it’s a cashmere coat, the next it’s... well, we're not entirely sure. But whatever it is, it keeps things fun.