It was a warm welcome to Tom, joining us for his very first GoodGym Hounslow session! Great to have you along, Tom — and hope to see you at many more!

We also had something else to celebrate - A huge well done to Breda, who has now clocked up an incredible 50 Good Deeds! 🎉 That is an amazing show of commitment and a brilliant positive impact on the community. And through all those good deeds, Breda is always there with a smile on her face. Congratulations, Breda — 50 Good Deeds is something to be very proud of! 👏

Last night we were back at Chiswick House, where the gardens are definitely feeling the effects of the dry spell. The trees are looking distressed and shedding their leaves, so our main mission for the evening was weeding, watering and more watering. The camellias - a popular attraction for visitors - in particular needed some TLC to make sure their bulbs don’t flower too early.

So we got to work tackling the drought, hauling heavy watering cans around the gardens and making several rounds to give the plants a much-needed drink. Full of water, they doubled up as a great workout — plenty of lifting, carrying and walking to keep the arms and legs working.

And because no GoodGym session is complete without a little extra opportunity for fitness, we squeezed in a squat challenge during a short break. Just what everyone needed between rounds of watering!

Once the plants had been thoroughly hydrated, we turned our attention to the weeds. We battled our way through alkanet and bindweed, before getting the rakes out to tackle the dry fallen leaves. Rather than simply clearing them away, we redistributed them around the beds so they could do their bit as natural mulch, helping the soil retain precious moisture.

With the gardening jobs complete, it was time for our final feat of endurance: a five-minute plank! We mixed things up with different plank variations, and gave our cores a good all round session. 💪

Next week I'm just waiting for the task to be confirmed,so watch this space (and look out for my weekly email which will have all the details). Hopefully see you at the next one! 💚

We have an exciting opportunity this Sunday to get out on the river on a paddleboard to help clear litter. You can see all the details and sign up here

Finally, good luck to all those racing the Big Half this weekend!

Last night’s GoodGym session in Westminster took us back to St Andrew’s, where our task was to tackle the vast amount of arts and crafts supplies and sort everything into trays ready to go into the new storage before the kids return next week. There was an incredible amount to get through — paints, craft materials, games, and all sorts of wonderfully creative things for the children to discover and enjoy. Looking at it all laid out, it was easy to see what a brilliant resource this is: not just fun, but materials that can help children develop skills, express themselves creatively and even use art as a form of therapy.

It was also eerily quiet without the children around. We’re so used to the voices, music and activities happening all around us that the silence felt quite strange. Still, there was something surprisingly therapeutic about working our way through the supplies. Khai, Adrian and I settled into a good rhythm, sorting, organising and gradually turning the chaos into something much more manageable.

We even came across one particularly intriguing bag of equipment that was definitely not very kid-friendly — more suited to adult consumption! Let’s just say we were careful not to let any bunny business get mixed up with the children’s crafts. 🐰

By the end, we’d worked our way through the supplies and everything was organised and ready to be moved into its new home. Adrian was really pleased to see it all sorted, which made the evening feel particularly worthwhile.

Another visit to St Andrew’s, another good deed done! It’s lovely to know that the work we do helps keep such a valuable community resource organised, welcoming and ready for the children who rely on it. We might not have heard their voices last night, but we could certainly imagine the noise, creativity and fun that will soon fill the space again.

Thanks to Khai for the punspiration this week!

This Monday we were really pile-ing on the pressure! A sunny Bank Holiday lunchtime saw the team return to tackle the task we started last week. We arrived ready to shift the last bit of the pile, which initially seemed manageable. However, as soon as we started moving it up the stairs, it became very clear that this was a much bigger job than we first thought!What followed was a fantastic all-over body workout as we shovelled, shuttled and shifted the remaining mulch up the steps. We were watched over by the estate manager, who was very supportive of the progress and pleased that access would finally be reinstated to both the estate and the bins. With the sun shining we pushed through. The result? A massive sense of satisfaction when we finally got it done and looked back at the cleared space. Great work everybody!