What did you do last night?

We spent a lovely hour in nature, building bug hotels for Holy Trinity Lamorbey Primary School.

Seven of us headed to the school, where a stack of pallets and bricks was waiting to be transformed into new habitats for insects and other tiny residents.

Working in two teams, each took on a hotel of their own. We started with an upturned pallet and filled it with leaves, twigs, fallen branches gathered from around the grounds, plus a haul of pine cones we’d collected and brought along. Once each layer was packed, we set bricks at the corners to act as spacers and repeated the process. By the end we'd created the bug equivalent of two multi‑storey skyscrapers!

Afterwards we enjoyed a slice of battenburg cake (I know, when was the last time you had battenburg!) which rounded off the session very nicely!

It was a really peaceful, enjoyable task: gentle activity, plenty of fresh air, and lots of good chat. And best of all, the new habitats will support the school’s eco learning curriculum, giving pupils a chance to explore and understand the wildlife right on their doorstep.

Next week it's something completely different when we visit Parkview Care Home where they always have something lined up to keep us busy, with their lovely residents lending a hand. Sign up here.

In the evening sunshine, four of us met in Danson Park, having walked and run there. Marianna came with her daughter, and they brought Jay along too – perhaps our new canine mascot 🐾?

We kicked things off with a 10-in-10 fitness session; ten back-to-back exercises, one minute each. High knees, butt kicks, lunges, squats and more got us moving and chatting about how Jay came to live with Marianna, Martin's adventures in Thailand and Fraser's election to Deputy Mayor of Bexley.

For the main event, we headed into the surrounding streets, delivering leaflets to promote a sports festival taking place in the park later this month, organised by Danson Watersports and Bexley Mencap.

It was lovely when a local resident came out to say hello. He'd been been at the Big Paddle Clean Up last week and recognised our red T-shirts on his smart doorbell as we approached his front door!

As we walked up and down driveways, we kept a wary eye on the heavy grey clouds gathering overhead. We hoped to avoid the rain, but with only a handful of flyers left to deliver, a loud clap of thunder signalled the inevitable and the heavens opened. We were soaked through in seconds, but in true GoodGym style, we finished the job.

Here's hoping our efforts help attract plenty of people to the event.

And fingers crossed that the weather is a little kinder for our group task next week. We'll be finishing off the bug hotels that we started building at Holy Trinity Lamorbey School. Why not join us?

In life things don’t always go to plan, and this morning was one of those occasions.

Our original task - gardening at All Saints Church in New Eltham - had to be called off when Neal the Church Warden sadly put his back out. Wishing you a speedy recovery, Neal!

But this is GoodGym, and there’s usually a Plan B, and it's usually litter picking...

We gathered at the church anyway and were delighted to welcome Hope to his very first GoodGym task. Great to have you with us!

With litter pickers and bin bags in hand, we crossed over the road to Southwood Park, and what a hidden gem it turned out to be.

We were pleasantly surprised by how little litter there was (a rare problem!), and we guessed a dedicated ‘friends of’ group must be keeping it looking so good.

Still, litter picking is never just about the rubbish. It’s about getting outside, stretching our legs, and having a good natter. This morning delivered all these - sunshine, fresh air, and great company made for a cracking stroll.

We stopped for a few photos by some murals, and while most people have to clock up 100 good deeds to earn their GoodGym wings, you'll see in the photos that Hope managed to get his on day one!

We’re hoping to rearrange the gardening session at All Saints soon, so keep your eyes peeled on our listings 👀.

This was our monthly visit to Parkview Care Home.

After meeting up with Andy we headed out to the garden area. There was lots of watering to be done as everything was very dry. We also needed to remove a build up of moss from the pathway.

Some of the residents came out to give us a helping hand! It was a great workout trying to scrub the moss off and satisfying to see the difference!

A big thank you to everyone who turned up! A great effort by all!

What a lovely first session at Holy Redeemer Pre-School!

We were met with a warm welcome from Laura and Shelley, the school's managers, who lead us into their outdoor space which they have been working hard to spruce up in recent weeks.

They'd already given furniture in the mud kitchen a fresh coat of cream paint, and our job was to do the same for two wee benches and apply a protective layer of wood stain to the rather impressive play house.

We decided to start with the play house. First we needed to deal with the heavy-duty clear pvc blinds that formed the windows. Attempts to roll them up proved tricky but then we realised they could be unhooked along the top! Once they were off we were ready to get going with paint brushes. It was a really relaxing task in the evening light, and of course there was lots of chatting.

Meanwhile Laura and Shelley sanded and painted the wooden frame of a large freestanding plastic screen that the children use for drawing on.

With the house done -both outside and inside - Johnny re-hung the 'windows' while the rest of us turned our attention to the benches. A quick sanding and some brisk brush-work meant we got them finished in the nick of time.

So much achieved in just an hour. We're looking forward to coming back again, to continue the renovations.