Three of us GoodGymers were at Crossness Pumping Station museum this morning. After observing a minute's silence for Remembrance we got kitted out in hard hats and safety glasses before getting busy in the spectacular Victorian engine hall.

Our tasks were to dust and wipe down some of the ornate ironwork on the ground floor, and polish one of the brass handrails high above on the level where we were side-by-side with the tops of the giant beam engines.

The brass took some serious elbow grease to remove decades of tarnish. In an hour we'd only tackled a small section, but what a transformation! A big thank you to Yee, part of the wider team of Crossness volunteers who worked alongside us, bringing the handrails back to a glorious shine.

Afterwards we enjoyed hot drinks and a lovely chat in the museum's punily named Ness Cafe.

Restoration of the huge engine hall and the surrounding Crossness site is an ongoing project that will take years to complete, and it's all being carried out by an amazing team of volunteers. We're very happy to be playing our small part in preserving this wonderful piece of history.

If you'd like to join us next time, we'll be back on Sunday 13 December and we'd love to see you - sign up here.

It's been a long time since we last helped out at The Exchange in Erith, so it was great to be back.

The Exchange has a wonderful garden, and we'd been asked to help turn a large compost heap by moving its contents from a full pen into the empty one next door.

First, we needed to clear away nettles and brambles, and collect discarded flower pots and litter to give ourselves better access. So it was on with the heavy-duty gloves and out with the secateurs and litter pickers! This didn't take long, and soon we were ready for the main event.

If you've never moved compost, you might be surprised just how hard work it is! We certainly got a good workout as we forked the material from one side to the other. As part of the process, we also cut small twigs and stems into shorter pieces to help them rot down more quickly. Anything thicker than a pencil was picked out and tossed into one-tonne bags to be disposed of elsewhere.

In our allotted time, we managed to turn over about half the compost, so there may well be a return visit to finish the job.

Karen, manager at The Exchange, seemed very pleased with our efforts and rewarded us with hot drinks in the lovely coffee bar. It was a welcome chance to sit and chat over hot chocolates and coffees before heading home, tired but happy!