Tonight's GoodGym Greenwich session was in celebration of one of our all time heroes, Julian who has achieved the much coveted goal of completing 500 good deeds! That's 500 tasks, most of which have involve a decent run there and back...let's do the calculations on how many km that is, bear with me - maths isn't my strong suit. (say 3km is the average run and then there and back that's 6km each session so that's 6x500 and yes I'm doing that on my calculator in case I put too many zeroes on, we don't want an over inflated ego do we - so that's 3000km thereabouts!) 3000km all in the name of doing good. Now that ain't bad.

Anyone who has had the pleasure of doing a task with Julian will know he puts everything in to whatever he does. He'll be the first up the ladder, the one pulling up the most brambles and he'll lead the run the odd times we don't have a run leader. He's way up that ladder in the GoodGym greats with his commitment to what we do and he's an inspiration to all of us. Julian once said if he were a plant he'd be holly - prickly - but in fact he's one of the kindest and generous people and we're privileged to have him on our ranks.

I should stop there, that's probably faaar too much for a humble guy. Talking about GoodGym greats though, I didn't think it possible to think more highly of Sarah but she outdid herself last night when she produced a safety pin from her bag when I was saying I needed another pin for the fetching sash we furnished Julian with for his special night. She explained she carries one around just in case (you never know when you might need a safety pin!) Absolute legend. Reminds me of my nanna who used to carry her lippy around with her (you never know who you might meet) she'd say in her thick Brummie accent as she applied it liberally at opportune (and sometimes inopportune) moments on our days out.

After a warm up involving gloves and water bottles to fill in for Arthur's ball pit balls - and a rather competitive rivalry between the married couple in the group (caught on camera with those lovely squats to get that much closer to the gloves) - we ran up the what always feels to me like a very long Burrage road to the Glyndon Community Centre. Andy got us set up with clearing the back garden and weeding round the front. On our way round, Kerry and I spotted what I thought was a hedge covered in cobwebs you get for halloween...but then I remembered it's May. Brin later told me it's tent caterpillars. Just the thought of that was gross but I just made the mistake of googling them and now I'm going to itch all night.

You know you want to google them too. Go on, just do it.

I feel like they're on me, are they ON ME??!

Okay, it's going to be okay, just keep reading and I'll take your mind off those hairy little...oh my God, did you see this one? Deep breaths everyone, go to your happy place. There are no caterpillars in the happy place.

We ended our evening in a happy place, with a couple of drinks at Salt and friends Darryl, John, Sarah and Laura joining us to celebrate.

I'll leave you with Julian's words about one of the many joys of GoodGym.

"Join GoodGym because you discover all sorts of lovely places you wouldn't even know exist"

We're at Christchurch Community garden next week - hope to see you there.

Until next time!

5 Goodgymers joined forces to support the Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice's annual mini-marathon event for kids. The mission was to help organize and facilitate the event, which celebrated 30 years of the hospice's invaluable end-of-life care. 💜

Despite a slight setback due to a flat tire on the event van, our team's spirits remained high. After a brief delay, we swiftly unloaded the essential equipment and set up the event area. From boxes of medals to barriers and inflatable archways, each item was meticulously arranged, offering both a physical and mental workout.💪

As the event space took shape, participants and spectators flooded in, signaling a bustling day ahead. The atmosphere was buzzing with the DJ and Rock Choir setting the stage warming up the crowd. Our Goodgymers seamlessly transitioned into stewardship roles, guiding the excited runners to the start line, managing the crowd and addressing inquiries. A highlight was the royal presence of the King and Queen Pearly for the race start countdown adding an extra touch of grandeur to the proceedings.🤴👸🇬🇧

Well done to all participants, parents, and volunteers whose collective efforts made the event success. Your support will undoubtedly make a meaningful difference in the lives of those served by the Greenwich & Bexley Community Hospice.

After a task cancellation we switched to a litter pick this week, carrying on from part one of the clean up by Frankie and Benny's on Bugsby's Way. After a quick warm up and ascertaining whether we were summer revellers or summer complainers, we ran down to Frankie's and started on the second alleyway which was an absolute tip. It was very satisfying to get it looking much cleaner and filling 3 bin bags in no time at all. A litter pick is always a good opportunity for a nice chat while doing good and it was lovely to spend some time with Cat who completed her first group run this week - well done Cat!

We're helping at the Hospice Mini Marathon tomorrow and Glyndon on Wednesday night - come and join us to celebrate Julian's 500th good deed if you're free! We're back at Hervey Road next Saturday.

Until next time :)

Nature abhors a vacuum, in fact nature doesn’t seem to like any empty space and so it was on Good Gym's return to Westcombe Woodlands. The deluges of spring had led to an explosion of growth and, ahead of the Woodlands’ open day, paths that had disappeared under a splurge of weeds, nettles, ivy and alkanet needed to be uncovered and redefined. So 5 intrepid Good Gymers donned their pith helmets and took to their machetes* and set to work rediscovering the tracks and making them usable, whilst other volunteers got down to work chopping up fallen trees and making the place tidier. The upside of the day was that the weather was glorious and we were soon hacking away at the overgrowth, enjoying the sunshine and taking care to leave a glorious bunch of bluebells well alone. After 90 minutes of hard work the paths were transformed and it was time to wander off into the sunshine.

*well shears, secateurs and a dangerous-looking scythe type thing