On Saturday 8th August 2026, the day before the actual big milestone date, GoodGym Ealing celebrated its 10th birthday. A decade of doing good (over 11,900 good deeds and counting) by 990 GoodGymers (local and from afar) deserved a truly Ealing-style party - no pomp under any circumstances! A small crowd gathered on a meadow in Brent Lodge Park for a picnic by GoodGymers for GoodGymers - and some of our wonderful partners, too!

The location allowed us to borrow a few pieces of festival furniture thanks to the generosity of the William Hobbayne Charity and the Hanwell Hootie team, both represented by Andrea, who joined us on the day. We were visited by the Running Mayor Tom Kerry from We Run Ealing and the leads of Hanwell and Norwood Green Orchard Trail (HANGOT), Hilary and Clive, with whom we watered the trees and cut back a hedge at one of their public orchards in the morning.

While Linda from Blondin Pavilion couldn't make it to the party due to existing commitments, she was with us in spirit - more precisely, in the lemon drizzle she had kindly baked for us. It was a delicious treat!

TaskForce Iram, Steph Ducat, Sevan and Harvey (the latter sadly unable to make it to the party) received a well-deserved shoutout from Area Activator Kash for their incredible work behind the scenes and their support in making the 10th birthday happen: coming up with ideas, sending invites and bringing fun and tasty things to make the day even brighter.

The historical side of the celebration was boosted by the presence of GoodGym veterans like Beverley and John, who had been GoodGymming before GoodGym Ealing even existed! It was fantastic to see a range of newer GoodGymers joining at different times: Ealing regulars like Maria and Ashley, the more recent active members Jo, Andrew and Zuzanna, and the newest additions to the team: Giles - starting his sessions this week - and Beverley and Helen, who had their first opportunity to meet our team today. A lovely surprise was to see Mohamed, a dedicated member last year, who carved out a bit of his busy schedule to come and reunite with the team.

As time went on, the tree's shade receded, and we were forced to keep retreating to the ever-shrinking shade. The only thing that should be baked for a birthday is a cake - certainly not GoodGymers! We even opted out of setting the birthday candles alight on such a hot, dry day to mitigate the risk of a wildfire - or maybe no one thought about bringing a lighter!

The message of the day was simple: everyone is welcome at GoodGym Ealing and every time GoodGymers show up, it counts - for the community and for themselves. Whether you have just started your journey, come for one session a week or a month, do five tasks a week, or have had to take a break for a few months or even years, you are equally welcome, and GoodGym will be waiting for you. No matter if you walk, cycle or run to GoodGym tasks, it's an incredible way to get to know the unique places in your borough, learn about its diverse communities, and meet new people. So come and explore! GoodGym was there for you 10 years ago, it's here now, and it will be waiting for you over the next 10 years too! On to the next decade of getting active together!

Eleven GoodGym legends headed over to Hervey Road Sports Field Community Garden last night to help break new ground by planting lavender and with the ground baked dry after the recent weather, it wasn't quite as simple as digging a few holes.

We spent the evening getting diggy with it, carefully planting the lavender before giving every new addition a much-needed drink. Because when in drought, watering is every bit as important as planting, and we made sure the new plants had the best possible start in their new home.

A huge congratulations to Aman on joining the TaskForce, its brilliant to have you taking on this new role. And another big congratulations to Mark for completing his 10th Good Deed!

Thanks to everyone who came along for a lovely evening of gardening, teamwork and plenty of puns courtsey of Aman and Ivar.

Until next time you lavly bunch!

Rachel

A whopping turnout of 17 GoodGymmers made a huge difference to the grounds that wrap around St Peter's Church.

One main aim of the session was clearing all sorts of unwanted stuff out of the gardens and filling up the bins outside, including a heap of old furniture and scrap metal, stray traffic cones, old plant pots and fallen leaves. Another task was scooping mulch out of a very large container and tipping it onto the flower beds and there was even time and enough helping hands for some litter picking.

A warm welcome to the three new faces, Ming, Lake and You who all made their GG debuts on this sunny evening. Afterwards a few people headed to the Royal Oak pub in Columbia Road for a well deserved drink. 🍺