An undecided sky looked down on 7 goodgym-ers, meeting outside Charlton House for this evening's task. Said sky decided to bless us with a dry evening which was handy for this outdoor group run!

A brisk walk through Charlton Park with a literal ice-breaker (discussing relevant injuries...) brought us to the streets between Charlton & Woolwich, and a literary themed task, delivering flyers for The Library of Things in Woolwich. This is an excellent scheme where items can be borrowed, from carpet steamers to karaoke machines, helping save money and the planet.

Lots of steps, hills & letterboxes later, we were working our way through the Library of GoodGym, from A Beginners Guide to Motoring (helping push a broken down car to a safer position off the main road) through Running Scared (of the numerous doggies eager to see what we were delivering...!) And then back to see how The Charlton Men ('s football team got on in their game tonight).

Proving both libraries & Goodgym are great for one's circulation, we turned to the next chapter of our respective weeks. Thanks all & catch up soon! 📚

One Goodgymer helped several other local volunteers at Westcombe Woods - a wild oasis that is part of a wildlife corridor and not often open to the public. We cleared a nest box that was used earluer in the year and found that an enterprising insect had used the original nest - an empty pupae left behind! Cut back brambles and bind weed near the beehives - but not too near as one of the colonies has apparently been a bit angry recently! It's been a tough year for honeybees.

A lovely place to visit if you're lucky enough to get inside!

Nine GoodGym Greenwichers joined the Friends of Plumstead Common Allotments last night for a satisfying session of clearing an abandoned allotment.

After a hilly-er than expected run we met Dan who had lots of tools at the ready and armed with with strimmers, loppers and sheers, we spent 40 minutes tackling the overgrowth. We lopped off as many brambles as we could and strimmed the long grass (#thinktick 😉) and gradually the pile of cuttings grew and the space felt clearer.

Well done team - the plot is now one step closer to being brought back into use and we got a decent workout while doing it!

A big thank you to the Friends of Plumstead Common Allotments for having us along. We’ll likely be back to continue the job!

Coming up...

• On saturday we have helping at Maryon Wilson Community Garden

• On sunday we have maintenance at Westcombe Woodlands

• Next Wednesday we're leafleting for the Library of Things in Woolwich.

Until next time! ☺️

Rachel

Last night, GoodGym Greenwich returned to the Memorial Hospital Woodland Walk, a peaceful haven tucked away in Oxleas Woods. The site has been greatly improved since our last visit, and it was lovely to see how much the woodland walk has developed.

We started by putting up some signage, including some lovely heart-shaped signs. Then came the slightly more strenuous work: we began creating a dead hedge, cutting down some of the holly and stripping the branches. With the sad passing of Dolly Parton in the news, there was really only one title for this task: Holly Parting. A fitting tribute as we gave the holly its final farewell and put it to good use as habitat for the woodland.

A big welcome back to Aidyn, joining us for his second good deed. He certainly put in the work and has definitely earned his red T-shirt!

Another great evening of running, walking, chatting and getting stuck into some worthwhile woodland work. The Memorial Hospital Woodland Walk is looking better with every visit and some point we’ll be back to continue.

Until next time!

Rachel

8 Greenwich Goodgym-ers met in Woolwich on a warm breezy Tuesday for a painting task at Pugin Hall, in need of a nice refresh to improve its appearance as host to several community groups using the hall on a regular basis.

It's a large hall, with several areas needing our attention, so we soon got to work dividing tasks up and down the room. Some of us joined the Ladder day Saints, cleaning & then glossing the window frames, with the more down to earth team painting the skirting boards - definitely not skirting the issue...!

There were doors & walls needing a splash of colour, cue long-handled contraptions and care to ensure an even layer was applied.

When the 10 minutes to task end was announced, we were at a gloss for words, as time had whizzed by to a mellow soundtrack from a local radio station.

Great progress made, with possibly another task here soon to continue this project. Thanks all & welcome Euan to GoodGym! ⭐️"

A beautiful sunday morning led me to Hornfair Juniors where I managed a decent job timekeeping, almost missing the first runner because I couldn't believe he was already coming in to finish in 7minutes! 💥