Gardening isn't the first activity that comes to mind on a grey January morning when it's two degrees outside, but a run to the park soon got me warmed up. Three other hardy GoodGymers were already there and Liz from Friends of Morden Park set us to work cutting back brambles and shovelling mulch into wheelbarrows then transporting and spreading it along a muddy path. There was lots of appreciation from park users (and a friendly fox) which is always nice, and by the time we'd finished you could really see the improvement. Liz kindly supplied hot drinks and a selection of cake and biscuits so we lingered afterwards for a chat post-workout. I'm sure we'll return 🦊

We celebrated a record-breaking turnout tonight with 16 GoodGymers helping at Critical Support for our last group session of the year.

With so many hands on deck, our efficiency actually outpaced our supplies. Not to be deterred, as the paper was getting low the team pivoted to wrapping smaller gifts to maximise the output, then using decorative tape to get creative and finish the job. The final result was a fantastic pile of presents ready to go.

Great work everyone, and welcome to Safiya, Kriziya , Roisin, and Lili - Congrats on completing your first task, we hope to see you again soon.

Those who joined us at our last visit to Critical Support will remember the organised chaos of a multi-bank delivery, and this time was no different! We threw ourselves into sorting through the wall of crates, making sure everything was collated and ready for distribution. It's always fun to sift through random items and definitely one of our favourite tasks.

We also started on the wrapping of Christmas presents! Working diligently to prepare as many gifts as possible, although we will be back next month to do more of this.

A huge congratulations to Becca who completed her first session! We hope this is the first of many more missions with us.

After a summer of hard work at the GoodGym garden it was time to reap the rewards! We have been carefully maintaining the space at the back of the Omnibus theatre for over a year now, planting, weeding, sowing and digging whenever we had the opportunity. The idea is that we grow fresh, organic fruit and vegetables to donate to the Trinity hospice just a few doors up the road. Last night we went to harvest what we had produced - and I think we surprised ourselves!

We gathered at the BAC for our warm up and for the weekly brain teaser. This week is was Adrian who nailed the answer to the question - which is the longest tube line? At 46 miles long, and founded in 1900, it was the central line. Good knowledge!

We took a nice run up to the garden in the fading light, and wasted no time getting our hands dirty. First up was the chard, the biggest success of the season. It was leafy, green and very prolific, and Sophie and Adrian got a whole crate of it! The beans had also done really well, with Kamil harvesting a big tub. There were a few tomatoes, and lovely zucchini flowers, and the fig and pear tree were flourishing. Well done team!

There was time to fit in a good core session across the road, and Jordan even requested a squat challenge finisher which was the perfect way to end! With our crates of goodies, we walked up to the hospice and dropped off the produce for the chef there to use. It's great to see that all that investment in the garden resulted in something really positive.

Next week we're back at Doddington for our monthly session at the community garden followed by the pub quiz. Hope to see you there!

If you're up for a post work task in central London tonight, why not join us at this bulb planting session at a community centre in Victoria - we're looking for a few more pairs of helping hands!