It was a night of hellos, farewells and celebrations last night at GoodGym Hounslow!

First off we welcomed Gus to his first session - so great to have you join us. Sadly we also learned that it was to be Maddy's last session with us (for now) as she's returning to sunnier lands. We'll miss you Maddy, send us an invite when you get GoodGym Brisbane off the ground!

We were also bidding a sad goodbye to Pippa, who is off to join GoodGym Brighton, but not before she made a perfectly timed exit with her 100th good deed. Great to see you'll be taking your wings tshirt with you, and come back and visit soon!

With so much going on we had a big group for the evening, which was just as well as we had a big task to match! After a warm up we set off for Gunnersbury park, where we were helping the wardens there clear some areas where brambles had been cut down to make way for grass and trees.

We soon claimed our fleet of wheelbarrow, donned the thick gloves provided to deal with the spiky brambles, and headed off into the dark to find our job for the evening.

The machines the park had used to clear the areas had left loads of cut brambles which they had asked us to tidy up, so we set to it. Talking about the races of the past weekend (well done Harvey, Alan and Steph!) we filled ton bags full of debris, only pausing to gently move a giant bumble bee who had made a home in it.

After a good stint we moved all the bags over to the path and made our way back to base. I've already had an email from the park warden Lizzy thanking the team for your hard work, so well done for all the efforts.

Next week we have a new task helping to tidy up a community centre's outside space. Hope to see you there!

There were plenty of tasks to do tonight at the local Strand-on-the-Green, so without wasting any time, we did our warm ups and set off for our location.

After many months of dark tasks, it's exciting to feel that Spring is just around the corner. It's not quite pitch black when we meet anymore and as we made our way to the school we passed blossom, magnolia trees in bloom and plenty of spring flowers (some of which we had previously planted!). It won't be too long before we can ditch the headtorches.

There was a little bit of a mix up with the gate codes when we arrived (what is it about GG Hounslow and tricky locks?!) but luckily an incoming in came to the rescue and we were able to get our hands on the tools we needed.

While Luis, Paul and Monika grabbed spades and started shoveling the woodchip, Louise and Harvey got busy beautifully shaping the hedges in the car park. Jon swept the pathway until it gleamed, while Florian, Maddy, Jonny, Pippa and Chris tackled the overgrown ivy which was threatening to cut off the pond.

With all these different action stations the evening flew by, but we just had time to fit in a fitness session on the brand new astroturf. With a ball-based warm up (somewhat of a challenge int he dark!) and then moving onto EMOM, we knocked out a huge number of exercises including jumping jacks, lunges, ski jumps and even half burpees.

Great work everyone! Next week we're delivering leaflets to spread the word about swift boxes, and don't forget about the GoodGym-wide social happening in Paddington soon!

Over the recent months we have some big wins at GoodGym Hounslow. As well as all the amazing milestones and PBs, we've built an amazing (and huge) hibernacula, planted thousands of bulbs in one go, and even helped get some new homes for hedgehogs. But inevitably sometimes it just goes, well, a bit wrong.

Last night was one of those times - we still got some good done but it wasn't without its challenges! With our scheduled task falling through due to task owner illness, we had a last minute change of plan. Paul from Active 360 let me know that there was a lot of trash washing up on the drawdock by Kew Bridge, and was keen for us to give it a good going over. He couldn't be there to let us into the arches and get the equipment we needed, but had kindly left us the keys with some neighbours.

It seemed simple enough. However, the first sticky wicket came when trying to figure out which arch we needed to actually get into. It took us a few minutes, but eagle eyed Madeleine soon spotted that the key was engraved. Good. Onto opening the massive lock. As try as I might I couldn't figure it out. No luck. We took turns trying to get it open but nothing was working. I had just run to the shops to implement plan B when I got the good news - lock cracker extraordinaire Chris had managed to do the job. We won't question him too much on where he honed that particular skill... :)

Pickers and bags liberated, we got cracking on the plastic problem, and had soon collected three huge bin bags of cans, bottles and other litter. Sevan even found a discarded pineapple, but we won't mention the other (large and furry) thing we spotted.

Fitness session all planned out, we just had to get that tricksy lock back on before we left. Unfortunately it just wasn't going our way, and our EMOM challenge had to be abandoned in the face of project lock. Apologies for all the inconvenience everybody! Next week we'll be back, firing on all cylinders, and there will be absolutely no locks standing in our way.

A couple of shout outs for two tasks that are looking very lonely! Do you have an hour to spare to help shovel manure for Cultivate London on Saturday? We also really need a Monday hero to step in and help mow the lawn for the nuns at the Comboni centre at lunchtime- can you help?

It was a quiet, more mindful task last night in Hounslow as ten of us ran to the Comboni centre for Spirituality for our Wednesday group run. We had an enthusiastic welcome from the incomparable Sister Natalia, who explained all the jobs to be done.

While one half of the team tackled the weeding, edging, pruning and tidying at the front of the centre, the second group were taken round to the back of the building and got started on various tasks.

There was plenty of weeding to be done, and also the small matter of two very large pots to be moved from the back of the building to the kitchen, where Sr Natalie hopes to grow herbs. It seemed simple enough, but when Chris and Emily tried to lift them, they quickly realised that there was no lip to hold onto. After some consideration, the pair created an effective rolling system which - after a bit of practice - worked a treat!

As this is a spiritual place, we were careful to keep noise to a minimum within the garden, and concentrated on the work itself. before we knew it, 45 minute was up and it was time to leave, but not before a group photo - with Sr Natalie in pride of place of course!

We took a speedy run back to the Town Hall and found a spot for a short leg blast. With five minutes, eight exercises, and no breaks, it was intense but effective, especially with the dreaded squat finisher!

Next week instead of a group run we will be doing a Wednesday community mission helping out at Gunnersbury park, so meet Chris and Tish at the North Lodge in Gunnersbury park at 18:45 for a spot of Valentine's bramble bashing!

We also have two missions coming up which need a few pairs of helping hands. Could you spare an hour to help litter pick at Manor Gardens allotments on the 18th?. There is also a fun session to shovel horse manure with Cultivate at the riding school on the 24th. Happy GoodGyming everybody!