Tuesday night saw a cracking turnout as the GoodGym Lambeth crew rolled up (quite literally, in the case of several carpets) at Annick’s beloved waterworks allotments for an evening of heavy lifting, heavier furniture-breaking, and general green-fingered good deeds 🌱💪🏼

The task at hand: rug rolling, shelf smashing, and some good old-fashioned digging about — basically an extreme home makeover, allotment edition. Annick’s plot has never looked (or felt) so un-furnished 🛋️➡️🗑️

On the team sheet tonight:

• Ben Margerison — hauling carpets like they owed him money
• Michael Welsh — bringing the muscle and the smiles
• Katie Allan — no stranger to a task, this Lambeth legend just keeps racking them up 🏅
• Tilly Baker Hine — gardening gloves on, ready for anything
• Jo Bowen — allotment royalty for the evening
• Dan — 50 tasks deep and still showing up to demolish some furniture 🔨
• Fi — sleeves rolled up, spirits high
• Rich — new face, instant legend
• Libby Cannon — welcome to the chaos, Libby! 🎉

Between us we shifted more old stuff than a Sunday car boot sale, and left Annick’s allotment looking positively spring-cleaned 🧹✨

And because it was the last Tuesday of the month, work quickly turned to well-earned play — the gang swapped trowels for pints and toasted a job well done at the social afterwards 🍾😊 Nothing quite like bonding over a shared dislike of a particularly stubborn Billy bookcase.

Great work all round, Lambeth — you moved mountains (of carpet) tonight! 🥰

A GoodGym volunteer joined the VGCC crew, For a new Friday food bank, with plenty to do. We sorted and packed, and served with delight, Then cleared up together and left things just right.

We boxed up the leftovers, stacked tins with care, And whisked everything tidy till shelves were quite bare. No mess was left lurking, no crumbs got a pass, We cleaned up so well we'd earn a gold star in class!

The shelves were wiped clean, the floor looking neat, A souper team effort that simply couldn't be beet. With relish and laughter, we tidied with flair, And wrapped up the session with thyme to spare

A regular GoodGym volunteer joined the VGCC core team to help prepare for Friday’s food bank session, receiving, sorting and packing donations with plenty on their plate. There were so many onions to give away it was hard not to cry, but the team carrot-ed on regardless, never beet-ing around the bush when there was work to be done. From bagging up essentials to keeping stocks in mint condition, everyone chipped in to make sure the session ran butter-smooth. It was a grape example of community spirit, with volunteers proving they’re the cream of the crop, tackling every task with relish and helping ensure local residents could put food on the table. In the end, nobody loafed around, and the whole effort was simply egg-cellent.

Tonight’s session was a small-but-mighty affair — AA Yianny was off duty, so superhero stand-in run leader Fi grabbed the reins (and the hosepipe) to guide a tight crew of legends: Ben, Tilly, Libby and Fi herself. 💪🏼🍾

With the hosepipe ban looming ever closer, the gang raced the clock to give the allotment one last proper soak, watering the majority of the plot before the taps run dry for the foreseeable. Weeds were also given their marching orders, because nothing says “community good deed” quite like a bit of aggressive shrubbery negotiation. 🧰

Valcie snapped some action shots of the crew mid-spray — heroic hose-wielding poses that honestly deserve a calendar. 📸

Massive thanks to Fi for stepping up to lead in Yianny’s absence — turns out leadership and landscaping go hand in hand! And to Ben, Tilly and Libby for showing up small but showing out big. See you all next time, watering can (or hosepipe, while we still can) at the ready! 🌻❤️

GoodGymers helped the VGCC team get ready for Friday’s Foodbank by setting out donated food, including fresh fruit and veg, ready for the 12pm–2pm session. We made short work of the setup, proving that many hands really do make light work (and lighter crates!). With everything looking a-peel-ing and ready to go, we finished by gathering for a photo to capture the moment

GoodGym volunteer Brenda is a regular at VGCC, where comm-UNITY is more than a slogan—it’s the team spirit that makes the place special. The staff support one another, welcome everyone with a smile, and create an atmosphere where people feel they belong. It reminds Brenda of the Cheers theme tune: a place where everybody knows your name. At VGCC, community service is truly about serving the community, one conversation, one act of kindness and one cuppa at a time.