Today was a fantastic session where thirteen GoodGymers from GG Bexley, GG Greenwich and GG Ealing came together to make a real difference at Crossness Pumping Station, built in the 1800s as part of London's first sewage system.

It was lovely to have Dinali and Ian with us for their first GG task, and celebrate Mo's 10th good deed.

We were met by Tom, the museum's Volunteering Manager who, after a warm welcome, split us into two groups.

'Team Ballast' worked with regular volunteer Rob and others on the narrow gauge railway. We dug out a shallow trench under the lifted tracks, and shoveled in ballast stones to help restore the line ready for re-opening to the public.

Rob said that it would have taken one person a whole day to complete what we achieved in just one hour 💥.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the site in the Victorian Formal Garden, 'Team Lavendar' was busy cutting back lavender. It smelled lovely! The cuttings will be used to make bars of soaps, which will be sold in the shop.

For both teams it was amazing to see how much we could accomplish by working together.

After tea and biscuits in the Ness Cafe, we had a brief look at the historical display of toilets in the museum - including one of the first flushing models by Thomas Crapper.

Then we put on hard hats and safety glasses, for Tom's tour of the incredible engine hall, giving the opportunity to learn more about the history and engineering behind this fascinating place.

We certainly put all our senses to work, including experiencing some of the distinctive smells associated with the historic pumping station and its original purpose 💩!

Overall, it was a brilliant opportunity to contribute to the local area, learn about its history and engineering, and make a positive impact through volunteering, and show that when we come together and work as a team, we can achieve so much more than we could alone.

We hope to help out at the museum more regularly from now, on so watch thus space if you'd like to join us!

The Community Healing Garden are holding their big summer party next weekend, so needed all hands on deck for party-prep. Luckily, Goodgym-ers descended from all across London to boster numbers - Julian, Marta and Khai from Greenwich; Tracey from Wandsworth; and Manuel all the way from Elephant and Castle!

Head Gardener Hugh started with a tour of the garden and it was great to see the planters thriving despite the endless dry spell - the residents have done a great job with the watering efforts!

The main task of the day was to shift piles of poles, planks and pallets from the central party zone, to the far corners of the garden. Many hands make light work, and by setting up a production line we efficiently lifted and shifted everything in sight. Our efforts were rewarded with a well earned cup of tea and a cookie - but the real celebration will be next week's party - Sunday 6th Sept 12-4pm, all welcome!

On a lovely late summer evening what could be better that an evening wandering around Blythe Hill and Perry Vale helping assess the local flora. Tonight's task was to help Street Trees for Living, a group that has been planting, checking and maintaining trees in Lewisham and generally making the borough look lovelier for a good while.

We were met by the amazing Eva, Leonie and David from the Street trees team and after a brief intro it was down to work. The task was simple: we had to assess trees planted in the last three years to check things such as leaf and trunk health, the state of the ground and that the trees' supports were still adequate, The hardest thing was dealing with how slow the local phone signal was for loading up our assessments. The task came with the bonus of the three Good Gymers getting to explore some pretty local streets that we otherwise wouldn't ever have come across.

And the second bonus reflected the generosity of our hosts: once we were done we were all treated to a drink and snacks in the nearby Blythe Hill Tavern, a well deserved result after a delightful evening.

8 Greenwich Goodgym-ers met in Woolwich on a warm breezy Tuesday for a painting task at Pugin Hall, in need of a nice refresh to improve its appearance as host to several community groups using the hall on a regular basis.

It's a large hall, with several areas needing our attention, so we soon got to work dividing tasks up and down the room. Some of us joined the Ladder day Saints, cleaning & then glossing the window frames, with the more down to earth team painting the skirting boards - definitely not skirting the issue...!

There were doors & walls needing a splash of colour, cue long-handled contraptions and care to ensure an even layer was applied.

When the 10 minutes to task end was announced, we were at a gloss for words, as time had whizzed by to a mellow soundtrack from a local radio station.

Great progress made, with possibly another task here soon to continue this project. Thanks all & welcome Euan to GoodGym! ⭐️"