GoodGymmers, warmed by hats and thermal layers and gloves (and the spark of Christmas lights), nattered by the Queen Anne Building in the Old Royal Naval College complex last night. It was 6:45pm. And then, ten to. And then the great Naval College Bell chimed seven times, and we were still busying ourselves with catching-up conversation…

*** Then it was 8pm! 9! A number of us revealed ready-made meals from bags and poured brandy-laden drinks from flasks, sharing these around to warmed smiles and cheers. Midnight passed, and 1, 2, 3, 4am, and then some started to yawn and said they’d better make a move because they had work in the morning and others had children to put to bed, and… a murmur started: did we forget to go to More2Nurseries for our GoodGym task? Perhaps? Has this happened before? Some looked to the rising sun for some kind of meaningful answer, and then we left, agreeing to meet the same time next week for a catch up…***

… Promptly Alex started his welcome talk. It was great to see Matt, who was returning for his first GoodGym Greenwich group run since March 2020, and to welcome Jennifer for her first Greenwich group run – lovely to see you both!

Before we started, there was an announcement… last night was Sarah’s 50th good deed! In accordance with GoodGym Greenwich tradition (dating back, I think, to 2016), the 50-good-deed cape was hauled out of storage (thanks Sara and Claire!) and placed over Sarah’s shoulders. A huge well done, Sarah!

The session kicked off with a game of stuck-in-the-mud on the Naval College green with Vic and Pieter our two taggers. Within moments we were sprinting about, dodging, and getting tagged against the backdrop of Canary Wharf’s lights. And after a few minutes, others were added to the tagging team, and most of us were niftily caught and stuck in the mud. Out of breath and warmed, we headed to More2Nurseries, a favourite haunt of GoodGym Greenwich.

Once there, the wonderful Eve directed us into groups throughout the nursery’s rooms and we started to hoover and clean and scrub tables and chairs and toys. Quickly, we got through our tasks and joined others who weren’t quite finished, and before long, the place was looking spruced and fresh. We finished with another GoodGym Greenwich tradition and visited Sid, More2Nurseries’s giant African snail, who after a while came out of his shell and waved at us with his long, tentacle eyes.

Then, we departed into the night and finished with some nattering and stretching back at the Old Royal Naval Colleges. A lovely evening guys, hope to see you all soon 

*** These are the dangers of good conversation!