Bus stop till you get enough

As spring eventually sprung in Lewisham, 23 of our finest athletes took to the streets to smash a hilly 4km+, weed/tidy/sand and paint the Springbank Community Garden into submission and push each other into submission in a two-team head-to-head exercise-off.

Yes, that's right people, after months of double-layered, be-gloved running, we were treated to a warm evening, which saw many an arm or leg on display for the first time this year - well done everyone on casting off those winter layers.

Puntastic! A big thank you to Sean for this week's MJ-inspired title pun.

We opened our collective bare arms to welcome first-time GoodGymmers Clare and Farai, we hope you enjoyed your first experience of a GoodGym group run. It was great also to welcome back some people we haven't seen for a little while, high-fives to Nykolette, Caroline, Helen and Sean.

The big 5-0!

Big news this week was that Caireen was completing her 50th good deed! Yes, 50! Caireen has been with us from the start, almost a year and a half ago, battling through that first dark, cold winter and becoming a core member of our regular team of runner-volunteers. Caireen has been a constant support to everyone, playing a central role in our taskforce here in Lewisham, welcoming newcomers and helping me to organise the group (especially the social side of things :) ). Well done Caireen - give her a very big cheer here!

Our warm up took us out onto the grass (with apologies to those poor people who were having a little sit down, right where we were about to run around!) for a tough old arm-wrestling type game, then some super shark attack before syncing watches, ready to go. It was a shorter run than in recent weeks, but did involve running up...up...and over to Hither Green - great arm-drive on that hill everyone!

Festival time

This week is the Hither Green Festival, with lots of events happening all over the area, so we were here to do our bit at the Community Garden on Springbank Road. We were met by Anne-Marie and Caroline, who were proudly setting out some very new and very posh gardening tools and gloves for us to use. If you've never passed by the Community Garden, it's well worth a visit, with what has to be the nicest spot in London to sit and wait for a bus. All around are lush plants, nodding flowers, heavy with bees and the scent of healthy vegetation and moist earth to detract from the busy road that skirts the edge of the pavement.

Our eager group set-to quickly, taking on various tasks:

• Planter DIY SOS - three teams, armed with sandpaper, paint, rollers, brushes, compost and plants set about making-over the planters across the road and at the entrance to the train station

• Bushcraft - hedge-trimmers in hand, our top topiary team worked carefully to reshape the shrubbery, snipping away straggly ends, to give shape and form to the springy green bushes

• Geranium geniuses - all around the space were rampant geraniums, crawling along the ground, peeping under railings, curling around the bus stop. Our team took this on, making mincemeat out of the errant greenery

• Path makers - at the rear of the bus stop a new path needed forging, so a determined few got their heads down and cleared the way, accessing the water system, allowing volunteers to quench the thirsty plants

• Twiney winders - In a particularly sunny spot, some plants were needing taming slightly, so twine was criss-crossed across their surface, keeping them slightly in check, preventing a mass takeover

• Weed winners - and all the time, as weeds were uncovered, our workers grabbed, pulled and and made short shrift of the pesky pests, adding them to the two ever-expanding compost heaps.

Excellent work everyone!

Over the course of the evening, we realised that the great thing about carrying out a task in such a public spot is the instant feedback you get from passers by. Being right next to the train station, we were observed by a steady stream of commuters, giving encouragement and thanks as they made their way home.

We gathered everything together and wished good luck to our task owners in the London in Bloom competition in a few weeks - (green) fingers crossed! Time to go and time to run down the hill to our start point, nice! A brief pause had to be taken to snap a group photo in front of the lovely Hither Green mural (we are gathering a nice little collection of mural shots as time goes by...).

Exercise-off!

Our slightly shorter run allowed us just enough time for one last strength-sapping push. Two teams formed, huddled together and came up with some challenging exercises for their opposing team to perform over a period of thirty seconds. Of course, they came up with the hardest, most challenging exercises (think not just burpees, but burpees with press-ups. Not just press-ups, but press-ups with high-fives!). All this meant a good stretch was needed and, as it was Caireen's 50th good deed, some sweet treats to see us through to dinner. Thank you all for another lovely Monday in Lewisham.

Don't forget, we're having a weekend social on Saturday, meeting at the Model Market for some food and drink and a chance to catch up in nice clothing ;)