It really was wet wet wet for this evening's task but a little rain won't stop our intrepid GoodGymers from getting out and doing good! Tonight we were at the Searchlight Centre, a funtion space used by many local charities and organisations. The task was to make a good start on painting one of the function rooms in the building.

After a run / walk / ride in the rain to get to the task, 7 of us set to the task in hand. First things first we needed to prep the walls, cover the floor and move all furniture to the middle of the room. Once ready, we set to work painting, changing the colour from a tired magnolia to a fresh and functional white.

Many hands meant we made a good start on the room - still a bit to do but more volunteers getting involved over the weekend to finish up. Mission complete.

Today task was removing plants previously cut down and cutting more vegetation to build up the hedge. All done in the sunshine.

Tuesday's group run got us up the hill to Surbiton Library where we met the walkers and the cyclists. A great turn out which was much appreciated as we had some heavy work to do. The ivy in the planters had got 2/3 foot deep and the poor plants were trying hard as they could but were struggling to get through the mass of roots and stems. It was our job to get rid of as much ivy as possible and free the plants.

With great gusto we grabbed loppers, secateurs and mattox and got to work. It took great effort to give the planters a haircut but we really got into it with our head torches in the dark. Once we shorn the first planter within an inch of its life we split into two teams with the first team continuing to get out as much of the root mass as possible and the second to start the process again with the other planter. So many hands did indeed make light work and we started the tidy up process well within the hour. Three massive sacks of green waste was produced from the two planters and 11 very delighted GoodGym volunteers!

We are looking forward to the next session where we empty out more of the planters so we can refill with good soil and then the planting can be done. Join us for the next session at Surbiton Library

GoodGym Kingston were off to local charity Growbaby this evening, a regular destination for our Tuesday evening run. As per usual we had a whole host of tasks awaiting us...

A crew of flat-pack builders set to work constructing 4 new STOOLS. This was a lot more involved than any of us had expected but fortunately Farzeen brought the right TOOLS for the job!

Meanwhile, donations needed to be sorted with food items being checked for best before dates and nappies sorted into sizes and stacked

Luke made sure that Growbaby were abiding by the RULES, ensuring that the fire exit was free and clear of obstructions.

Finally, Jana set about preparing a clothes rail for seasonal baby clothes... lots of blankets, sleep-bags, wellies, rain coats and CAGOULES... just the job for these rainy days.

Lots done and an enormous sense of well-being at the end. 5k in the bag for good measure too! Mission complete.