Scene opens on a muggy evening at Holy Trinity Lamorbey Church... a band of GoodGymers assembles once more.

They came on bikes and on foot—ordinary volunteers with extraordinary resolve. Their mission: to face the final frontier of horticultural havoc—the last section of an overgrown, weed-choked flowerbed.

Leading the charge, parishioner Kevin—armed with loppers and an iron will—took to the trees, slicing through the low-hanging branches like a seasoned warrior.

Below, the muscle crew stepped up. No brambles ignored, no weed membrane left behind. With a mighty heave, they wrestled the deeply buried plastic nemesis from the soil's grip. It wasn't pretty. It wasn’t easy. But it was epic.

In a parallel subplot, Martin—our logistics powerhouse—pushed his wheelbarrow to the limits, transporting mound after mound of cuttings and membrane waste. His destination: the sacred Waste Area, where debris would later meet its destiny—compost or skip, come autumn.

And in the shadows, the smallest but sharpest-eyed guardian of them all: Cola, Kevin’s dachshund. Her judgement was fierce. Her standards, uncompromising. No belly tickles until the mission was complete.

Three heroic GoodGym sessions. Countless weeds vanquished. One flowerbed, reborn.

The groundwork is complete. The battle is won. But the saga isn’t over.

Coming soon…

"Planting Day: Rise of the Perennials" 🌱💪🛠️

I made a long awaited return to GoodGym duties along with Susan, Martin and Cami who was participating in her debut GG task ✨️ - welcome Cami.

We were due to be washing the minibus at Parkview Care Home 🧽💦🪣. However, the evening became somewhat confused when, arriving at the care home, no minibus was in view 🤔.

With the absence of sponges and minibus, the task was aborted. We were offered weeding 🌿, but given the excellent work undertaken by GG Bexley on previous visits, there was a lack of weeds.

So, it was suggested to come indoors and engage with the residents in some games and quizzes.

Susan and Martin played pairs with a number of residents, to match pictures of well-known celebrities such as Morecambe and Wise; Johnny and Sarah were missing from this list.

Cami run a quiz session involving capital cities, while I had a challenge from Catherine, the resident Scrabble champion. A very competitive 40 minutes were spent with Catherine coming out on top.

An enjoyable evening for all concerned and we'll be back to share other activities!

A fab new task found us at Phoenix Football Club painting the home changing room green, to match their team kit. A fitting task during the Women's Euros ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ !

From kick-off we had great teamwork and coverage, and tackled the corner with skill. At full time it was job done and no need for penalties. Looking forward to a return fixture for a second coat.

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Who needs the gym when you have an overgrown flower bed and its underlying weed membrane to clear?

This is certainly the case at Holy Trinity Lamorbey Church where we are helping to tidy up the flower beds along their perimeter wall. Left untended for a long time, brambles and weeds have well-and-truly taken over and this was our second visit to continue the makeover.

This time we were tackling a stretch next to the border that we'd cleared on our last visit.

Alongside parishioner Kevin, team Lisa-Sarah-Karen-and-Susan cut back and dug out the greenery then heaved out the buried and tired weed membrane, wheel-barrowing all the debris to a collection point in the woodland area. It was a good workout in the evening heat 💪.

The bed now looks much tidier and the newly-exposed soil will have a chance to recover ready for planting in due course 🌻 .

At the same time, team Johhny-and-Martin tackled a few cheeky brambles 🌿 that had grown back in the patch we cleared last time. It took lots of effort digging out the roots but hopefully they'll be kept at bay for a while.

From our arrival at 7pm to our finish at 8pm the difference was clear for all to see. So it was time to open some bubbles 🍾 and cut the cake to mark Lisa 's 50th good deed. The celebrations continued with a toast at the micropub across the road. Well done, Lisa 🎊.

As an unexpected surprise across the evening Susan told us that her parents were married in this church 💒. This gives us an extra-special reason to keep lending a hand here 💕.

We'll be back again on Wednesday 13 August so sign up now to join us!

It was a glorious summer evening for our return to Holy Trinity Lamorbey Primary School — greeted with a big smile and warm welcome from Vice Principal, Jane.

This time, we were handed a brand new mission: start to rescue the nursery children's garden, which was looking somwhat sad. Or in Jane’s words, “It’s become a bit of a dumping ground for old outdoor toys and play equipment.”

First, out went the miniature park benches, forgotten play equipment, scattered flower pots, and one lonely compost bin — nicely modeled by Lisa (check the photos for the full fun moment). Some items will be re-homed elsewhere around the school, while other bits were beyond keeping.

Next, we gave the overgrown bushes and plants a much-needed trim so teachers can actually see the children when they’re in the garden — always a bonus in a school setting!

Then we went to war on the weeds. They were stubborn little beasts, poking through the wood chippings and weed membrane like they owned the place. It took some serious heaving and arm-power to get them out until the brilliant discovery that pointed shears = weed-removal magic. Victory!

The added bonus? No clean-up needed! Jane had a genius plan — the Year 6 children would tidy-up the cuttings and sweep the area the next day as part of their Digital Detox Day: a full day of outdoor fun with zero screen time. Win-win!

A big high five to everyone who came along. The garden’s on its way back to being a safe, fun, and leafy little paradise for the nursery children. We're looking forward to continuing its revamp after the summer holidays. 🌼