It was freezing, it was wet, it was dark - and yet, in true GoodGym style, a brilliant crew gathered to run, graft and contribute to the community.

Despite our lucky charm being present, which usually guarantees dry conditions, the weather did not comply. So after a bit of persuasion we stepped out of the Town Hall for a brisk warm-up and then set off through the rain towards one of our regular tasks — a local school we know and love. We’ve been there plenty of times before, but this visit came with a well timed upgrade. For once, we were allowed inside.

Well… almost all of us.

Two absolute heroes remained outside to shovel woodchip in the rain — proving that some people are simply built different. Gus and Steph, take a (soggy) bow!

Inside, it was all hands on rollers and sandpaper. There were lots of different jobs to do, including

• Painting skirting boards in a sophisticated 'mushroom' shade
• Rolling walls like pros
• Sanding, prepping and testing knee joints
• Loo transformation by Alan and Lucy

There’s something deeply satisfying about a new paint job, it really makes a difference. An epic collective effort and Caretaker Claire was over the moon. The school needed to look tidy and properly cared for ahead of an upcoming Ofsted visit, and thanks to a high-energy GG visit in damp trainers, its now fresh, smart, and inspection-ready.

Meanwhile, in a herculean effort, Steph and Gus had managed to shovel the entirety of the woodchip into the wood so the kids can use the area again when they're back from half term. So impressive - next stop Barkley marathon?

Task complete, tools down, photo snapped — it was back out into the rain. We splashed our way back through the streets of Hounslow, earning ourselves the warmth that comes from a good deed well done (and the pub).

Massive kudos to everyone. Next week it's a visit to Comboni spiritual centre with Michelle, who I know will bring the sunshine!

On what feels like the 347th consecutive day of rain, GGers layered up with as many waterproofs we could get our hands on and, if we weren't already wet enough, headed for the river.

We are going to be back to our regular spot for litter picking more regularly as Active 360, who lend us their litter pickers and other tools, are trying to crack down on all the plastics and other nasties that pollute the area.

Not only will that help the problem, but if passers by see the area is being cared for, they will be less likely to throw their rubbish into and around the water. That's the plan!

The evening also saw the newly tried and tested 'double glove' approach - two layers keep the warmth in the and the wet (and worse) out!

The shoreline looked dirtier than usual, so we had to refresh our bags and trugs several times as we collected bottles, packets and even, in Steph's case, an abandoned boat chair. The things we find!

In half an hour we had filled several black bin bags full of litter that would otherwise be poisoning the waterways and left them for the council to pick up.

We moved on to our usual well lit spot for fitness, which this time involved isometric - or static - holds. These endurance-boosting moves help build stability and balance and are deceptively difficult. From leg extensions to split squats we held steady and worked through eight different holds.

Next week we're going to be supporting Wild Chiswick at the allotment - keep your fingers crossed for clear skies and a dry evening (or keep those gloves handy)!

GoodGym is nothing if not varied - and that's what keeps it interesting! One week we can be delivering leaflets through hidden culs-de-sac for Wild Chiswick in the icy rain and the next we're assembling no fewer than seven different flat packs ranging from kitchenettes to toddler trampolines!

GoodGym Hounslow really put its collective skills into use last night when we ran to Chiswick methodist Church to help with a flat pack assembly job like no other. This community hub is home to various groups, including the Stroke club, baby and toddler groups and youth activities. Carol, who manages the space, had a huge construction job for us.

This included a mini kitchen, a trampoline, massive media station, two sets of shelves, a baby climbing frame and a decorative arch. It was a true team building exercise, and without any delay, we split into four groups to tackle each kit.

Tish and Beth proved themselves to be experts in shelf-improvement, while Beatrix, Jon and Ariane had a little bounce in their step as they expertly put together the trampoline. Michelle, Steph, Maxime and Luis proved there is no such thing as too many cooks as they created a beautiful kitchen, while Breda, Florian and Kymm were in pole position creating a table arch. Chris alternated between a power drill and an unfeasibly large allen key making sure media stations and climbing frames alike passed all health and safety checks.

Unbelievably, within 45 minutes all flat packs were constructed and put away. Great work everybody, you've more than earned yourself a plate of Swedish meatballs.

If that wasn't challenge enough, we took advantage of the nice warm indoor space to do a quick but intense core session that featured corkscrews, reverse crunches, plank jumps and sprinter crunches. Abs-olutely smashed it, team!

We were ready for our close up last night in Hounslow as our task plastic picking by the river was to be covered by a photographer from Associated Press. It was with the flash of the camera that we left Chiswick Town Hall after warm ups to head to Kew Bridge.

Once there we met up with Dan from Active 360, who handed out litter pickers and plastic tubs. Luckily for us the tide was out, but unluckily it revealed masses of plastic bottles, cans, microplastics and wrappers that had been washed up onto shore.

We ventured down as far as we could go collecting everything we could see and chatting with local people who were interested to see what we were up to. We even spoke to one older lady who was stopped from studying geology at school because of her gender, but went on to do an archeology course in later life. She was very keen to see what treasures we might find! Unfortunately I don't think the British museum would be particularly interested int he discovery we made under the bridge last night....

The trugs were being filled quickly and our trainers getting muddier (see Breda's muddy badge of honour in the photos - hope you managed to get them clean!) as we picked and sorted. Before long it was time to bag up and count up how much we had saved from polluting our waterways. Dan worked out we got more than 6 kilos of waste, which is pretty good going in the time we had. Every little helps when it saves plastic getting into our water systems and aquatic life.

We made use of a nice well lit tunnel to do our fitness session, inadvertently creating an unofficial guard of honour for everybody that passed through - I think they appreciated the cheers! We knocked out various different lunges, jumps and leaps, which certainly worked up a sweat.

We saw off the evening with stretches, and for some, a warm up (and clean off, hopefully!) at the pub for food. There are a few fun missions coming up such as this one to drop off old trainers in Osterley and bashing and weaving on Chiswick eyot. Next week we're off to help Wild Chiswick in the allotments - see you there!

13 GoodGymers, one very congested path to clear, below zero temperatures - it could only be our first group run of the year!

After a couple of weeks away from group sessions it felt great to be back doing what we do best - supporting local communities, getting active, and having a lot of laughs along the way.

Our job for the evening was at Strand on the Green school, where we were tasked with clearing a pathway that had become very congested with leaves, mud and branches. So after a run down to the school, avoiding all the precarious icy patches, we grabbed tools and got stuck in.

There were branches to break down, mud to scoop and debris to clear. We caught up on all the things we had been up to over the break - how many cheeseboards were consumed, who did festive parkruns, who started training for some epic 2026 races.

Before long the path had been transformed into a beautiful, clear walkway so we put everything away and moved on to fitness.

Diving up into pairs we swapped between conditioning and cardio exercises and soon any thoughts of the freezing weather were forgotten as we concentrated on who was doing what.

There are lots of exciting sessions coming up, including:

This Sunday mission in Putney I mentioned. It's going to a fun and impactful one creating a seating area for under fives - be great to see you there!

The January session weaving and bashing balsam on Chiswick eyot

..and next week's group session picking plastic by the river