This is always a favourite task — and with plenty of sign-ups, it’s clear why! We needed all hands on deck to blitz the Hawker Centre’s soft play area and get it sparkling clean for the local families who use it so much.

We split into three teams to tackle different areas:

• Claire’s team took on the mighty ball pit — emptying it out and reaching every nook and cranny to make sure it was dust - and plaster-free.

• Julie’s group rolled up their sleeves to clean chairs, tables, high chairs and the outer spaces, including the multi-sensory room.

• Emma’s crew scaled the soft play structure, climbing through tunnels and down slides to sanitise all the high-touch areas with anti-bac spray.

This is a much-loved community space — many of us at the task tonight have fond memories of bringing our own children here — so it felt extra special to give something back. Families and little ones will now be able to enjoy a cleaner, safer, and brighter environment to play in.

Supporting This Girl Can

Tonight’s task also shone a light on Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign — an inspiring initiative that encourages women to be active in ways that work for them, no matter their age, background or ability.

This year, This Girl Can is going bigger and bolder, and we’re proud that GoodGym is part of the movement. Together, we’re raising awareness and taking real steps towards making outdoor exercise safer and more welcoming for women.

We showed our support by writing empowering messages on a large banner, to champion the cause!

And of course… we had the run!

In true GoodGym spirit, our evening wouldn’t be complete without some running! We clocked up around 3km there and back to the Quaker Centre, enjoying some great company along the way.

A fantastic task, a great cause, and brilliant teamwork — GoodGym Kingston at its best!

I have visited Ms H right after finishing my earlier lawn mowing mission. I arrived perfectly on time ⌚️. I rung doorbell a couple of times and got no response so I eventually called Ms H on her mobile 🤳. Only then she opened the door and welcomed me (she said she didn't hear the bell).

She led me to the backgarden and - being very frank here - it looked incredibly well maintained already. It was mostly some tiny 🔎 weeds sticking out between the tiles but it wasn't that much. There were also patches laid out with stones/gravel where the weeds found their way out to the surface that needed to be taken care of.

As the rain was pretty heavy 🌧 at that point Ms H tripple checked with me if I am OK to continue. It was bearable but needed to admit I had second thoughts at some point 🙄.

I have managed to complete the task in around 1h and 10 mins. My proceedings must have annoyed a giant earth worm 🪱 as it moved from the central space in the garden to a nearby pot.

Soaked but happy - I went home after putting a waste bag in secure space and saying goodbye to Ms H. She seemed very pleased with the outcome.

I have arrived few minutes past 11 as was misled by the navigation 🧭🤔. Ended up working a bit longer so fully covered my 1.5h slot.

Ms H and her sister already started some work in the garden 👩‍🌾👩‍🌾 when I arrived. They were preparing a lawnmower for me - incl. cable extension and sharpening the blades to make the work a bit smoother. While they did that I have started deweeding but then moved to the lawnmower as soon as it soon as it was ready.

Mowing the lawn was pretty straightforward but the area was quite bit so it took me around 50 mins to complete the task. I am still quite surprised with how quickly the container was filling up with the grass 🌱 and leaves 🍃 and needed to be emptied.

After that was done, I came back to deweeding tasks, prioritising the central square area of the garden. Made it all nice and clean 👌 before starting on the weeds near the fence.

Unfortunately I run out of time ⏳️to fully finish deweeding so there is still quite big area that requires help (maybe another mission). I used old carpet pieces to cover the cleaned area (as I was requested to do) so the weeds won't be able to regrow.

The sisters were really grateful for help and also very caring - they kept offering me breaks, water ect. The rain 🌧 started to be quite heavy so I left the property quite wet once I finished.