There was rain threatened this morning but fortunately it held off and 6 happy GoodGymers met up at the Richmond Furniture Scheme to help out on one of our regular missions.

A couple of us dismantled some metal bedframes to make them easier to collect before the main task began - cleaning a number of plastic garden chairs which had gathered dirt and mildew before they were donated.

Armed with a washing-up bowl of soapy water, rubber gloves and sponges, we got to work scrubbing. Some of the dirt was difficult to remove but we still managed to do a pretty good job, before rinsing them down and getting a bit wet in the process.

We also cleaned an outdoor table before taking a break for tea, then we were briefed on moving some furniture from the main showroom to the storage unit, made a little more tricky by the fact that some pieces were hard to find amongst the rest.

Not the toughest mission today but we had good fun and were pleased to start the weekend with a good deed done. We'll be back at the RFS soon - look out for the listing!

They say thirteen is unlucky for some, but for the Petersham & Ham Sea Scouts, a lucky thirteen GoodGymmers came along on a Monday night to do good and get fit.

We made our way along the riverside path (thankful for headtorches in the dark) and were met by Russell and Julian who gave us the briefing of tonight’s mission, starting off with a slightly more unusual task…

… Which was to quite literally rock the boat. Contrary to the words of Hues Corporation, we did have to rock the boat and then tip the boat over. The sea scouts rowing boat needed a good clean and some fresh paint after the harsh winter and a boat as big as theirs needed all hands on deck. Luckily this all went plain sailing, and it wasn’t long before the ship was supported on its plinth ready for a good scrub down.

The big job over, we split off into smaller subgroups to tackle some of the tasks for the Sea Scouts around their base.

One group were helping clear overgrown Holly and dig around a clearing in preparation for making a new waiting area by the entrance, so that the children wouldn’t need to loiter on the side of the road. The gang did a wheely good job moving the ground and hacking away the prickly bushes, manoeuvring wheelbarrows of garden goods along the dark and potholey path. Although it wasn’t potholey for long! The second group were going around filling the holes in the dirt track road to perfection. It didn’t seem like much but it made a huge difference, and Liz couldn’t help but notice how smooth sailing her walk back out was. Great work team.

The final foursome had a job to complete which I’m pretty sure was everyone’s bucket list, and were provided with mops and pails to help clean the boat we’d just capsized! A good scrubbing to clear algae, dirt and the limpets stuck to the bottom was followed by a rinse with buckets of cold water. We couldn’t only be grateful that it was getting milder when we got splashback. Finally we were provided with towels to give her a dry, and then taught the art of rope throwing underneath a boat to secure the tarpaulin and make sure she was protected from the elements before her sand down and repaint.

Time flew by, or should I say sailed? And it was time to finish up and head back home.

We will be back at the Sea Scouts on Saturday March the 4th, to help them carry on with the tasks we started yesterday. Have a look and sign up below, and remember, at GoodGym you can rock the boat.

Supporting the local Sea Scouts with various projects at their new HQ! - After a ten year dream to build a new HQ the local Sea Scouts need some support keeping everything running well. https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/supporting-the-local-sea-scouts-with-various-projects-at-their-new-hq-f43b00ad-b3d2-4cae-9283-d00c4237254b

Our first Sunday walking task is complete! The five of us met at Richmond Station to head up the road to the residential streets to deliver leaflets.

These leaflets were for Richmond Good Neighbours who do incredible work to help vulnerable people in the area access support. Around 400 leaflets were posted with the aim of finding new volunteers amongst the lovely people of Richmond.

Liz clocked up around 5km in Strava, a great example of how all movement is exercise. Plus it counts to our January Challenge total that is still going strong with just three days to go.

Good deed done before midday on a Sunday, yes team!