Pole-r express

It was the longest day of the year for our Wednesday session, which gave us as much time as possible to celebrate all the amazing things happening at GoodGym Hounslow!

First and foremost we got to celebrate the mother of all milestones - it was our lovely Lucy's 500th good deed. It hasn't taken her long to rack up the phenomenal number and she's brought all the fun, puns and singing with her every week. That deserves a massive cheer - well done Lucy! Here's to the next 500...

It was also wonderful to be able to welcome Murielle and Emstar to their very first session with us - so glad you could join us!

We also celebrated the achievements of the Osterley 10k runners at the weekend who faced some challenging conditions, and those who did the recent three bridges relay. Great job everybody!

It was a hot and sticky evening so after a brief warm up we took off at a steady pace for Cultivate, a charity working to improve health and wellbeing across London by encouraging and supporting local communities to engage with their green spaces, providing training for young people and repurposing derelict land. Over recent weeks we've been helping them to move to their new site, and every time we arrive at Enfield Rd we're blown away but how much it changes. There's always more to do though! If you've got time on 2nd July, there is a mission to help transport hundreds of plants and flowers, all help much appreciated!

We arrived to find a group of GGers ready and waiting to get stuck in, and Romina with our instructions for the evening. Our job was to help dismantle the polytunnel, as well as sort through the pots of flowers and plants. It was a bit of a complex task requiring brains and brawn, but, with only a little set back thanks to some unwelcome nettles, the team got cracking. Spanners and screwdrivers at the ready, we began taking down the huge structure. Meanwhile, the rest of the team was busy sorting the plants that were fit enough to make the move and dispatching those that were a little under the weather to the skip.

Before too long most of the giant poles had been moved - we're just wondering who is going to be putting them back up again! Waving goodbye to Romina and Auberon we set off back to Turnham Green for a balance and strengthening coordination session which tested those muscles. You all did an excellent job balancing on one leg with your eyes closed, which was definitely an effective exercise to help with running efficiency, must have drawn a few curious stares from passersby!

Next week we're off to Chiswick House and Gardens to help in the community kitchen garden - hope to see you there!