A sunny Saturday morning saw seven of us gather in the canteen at the Community Hospice, where we were joined by with Jason, the Head Gardener.

Ivar had arrived first, with a batch of his legendary home-baked Norwegian solskinnsboller (‘sunshine buns’). We normally save the sweet treats until after the hard work, but these pastries were too tempting to wait, so we tucked into them there and then!

Suitably fuelled, we headed out into the gardens, where Jason asked us to clear a patch of ground near the children’s playground. Straw-like Foxtail Barley had taken over, some weeds too, and leaves had piled up from the overhead trees. For the next relaxed hour or so, we pulled up the straw and weeds by hand to avoid disturbing the soil too much, and raked up leaves. Hopefully - when we get some proper rain - the grass can grow back and blend in with the rest of the lawn.

This was one of those lovely GoodGym sessions where the task was almost secondary to the setting: sunshine overhead, a friendly robin coming to see what was going on, plenty of chatting and a chance to enjoy being outdoors together while doing some useful work.

And, as always, the time flew by. While a couple of people headed home, the rest of us and Jason landed back in the canteen, for lunch or another bun and a cuppa.

We’ll be back again next month, and if you spot Ivar on the sign-up list, consider his sweet treats an extra incentive to come along!

On paper this task sounded straightforward: move a broken fridge from Mrs A’s house into the garden, ready for collection by the council.

There was, however, a problem: it was a large American-style double fridge that, despite our best manoeuvring, was slightly too big to fit through the doorways!

After some head-scratching, we realised there was only one solution: the fridge doors had to come off.

After googling how to remove the fixings, and a visit to borrow a screwdriver and pliers from the helpful neighbours, we were able to take off the doors.

Shuffling the giant appliance inch by inch through the house we got it to the front door. Then came the next challenge: getting it down the front step and onto the driveway without it toppling over and squashing one of us!

With teamwork, patience and a healthy respect for gravity, the fridge was finally outside and we were intact.

What had initially looked like a simple bit of moving turned into a full-scale operation — but another GoodGym mission successfully completed!

What a lovely task, helping at Parkview Care Home's Summer Party for residents, their families and friends!

To get everyone in the mood we handed out garlands then we ran the popular bottle tombola and served drinks. Johnny had his Pimms-making technique down to a fine art🍹!

All of this against the backdrop of an Elvis tribute singer who got everyone All Shook Up with his classic songs. Think Viva Las Vegas meets Bexleyheath!

Once the celebrations were over and Elvis had left the building, we pitched in with clearing everything away.

A great afternoon of helping out, having fun and spending time with the residents🎉💪.

This weeks, Team GoodGym Bexley was back at Days Lane Primary School continuing our mission to give their fences a fresh new look before the children return in September.

After getting stuck in last week, there is something especially satisfying about returning to a task and being able to see the progress from one session to the next.

As ever, the evening was a great example of what GoodGym is all about: keeping active while doing something positive for the local community. Some of us walked there and back together, and while painting might not look like a workout at first glance, after plenty of squatting, reaching, bending, stretching and moving up and down the fence line, everyone had certainly earned their GoodGym credentials!

For anyone who wasn't quite so keen on picking up a paintbrush, there was also a spot of gardening to tackle, meaning there really was something for everyone to get involved with.

And the GoodGym good vibes continued thanks to Marianna, who very kindly baked cheesecake for everyone to share. It was totally delicious and after all that painting and gardening, it was the perfect way to round off another productive session.

Another evening of keeping fit, doing good and making our local area that little bit nicer, one fence panel at a time!