Today was a great turnout just under 60 young children undertaking their Sunday morning exercise at junior parkrun.

Smiles on their faces and fab efforts put it by all. They were lucky to just get back by the time this lovely British weather started to warm up.

Definitely felt good to be back on board and giving encouragement to all.

Well done everyone, you all smashed it 💥.

There was plenty for us to do helping with renovations at the much-loved Blackfen Community Library — a vibrant community space powered by its trademark 'Big Hello' and popular Rooted Coffee House☕📚.

We got stuck into:

🧽 cleaning chairs and shining up windows

🎨 painting the loo walls with classic white-on-white

💪shifting crates and furniture into a side room to clear the carpets for deep cleaning, and

🪛 IKEA-style assembly of a flat-pack filing cabinet.

💬 Quote of the day:

“We need four No. 8 screws.” “I can’t find any No. 8s…” “Oh wait—it’s eight No. 4 screws!”

An afternoon of teamwork, elbow grease, and good fun all the way. And a shout out to Simon on hitting ten good deeds 👏.

Wednesday saw us back at Hurst Community Centre, this time to collect litter from around the grounds.

First the car park. Armed with pickers, gloves, and bags we blitzed the rogue crisp packets, stray coffee cups, and cheeky cigarette butts lurking between cars.

Then the rubbish that had accumulated along the boundary walls around the lawn.

Since recce-ing this task the grass had become a thigh-high jungle, and we joked about needing a scythe to cut a pathway though. Still, we swish-swish-swished our way to the wall and started clearing up.

It wasn't long before we realised that sharp grass seeds had launched a stealthy assault on our feet - socks and shoes suddenly felt like they were lined with needles.

To a genuine cry of 'I'm a GoodGymer, get me put of here', we declared a tactical retreat.

Safely out of the grass we took a few minutes to sit down and pluck the spiky seeds from our footwear (and check for ticks).

After a final sweep of the car park to collect more sweet wrappers and rubbish from vacated bays, we headed home.

Prickly grass seeds aside, this was a task full of laughs, storytelling and impromptu trivia snacks. All part of the GoodGym fun.

Note to self: definitely no more wading through long grass on future tasks!

Tried to think of a litter‑picking pun to end this report, but they were all rubbish!

See you next time.

What a fantastic time we had helping out at The Community Hospice!

This was our most popular community mission so far, with GoodGym members coming from Greenwich, Tower Hamlets, Camden, and of course, Bexley. It was great to see so many friendly faces ready to get stuck in!

Jason, the Head Gardener, had lots of jobs for us to do to get the garden looking at its best before the Open Gardens Festival next weekend. And wow—we got loads done!

✅ We pulled out weeds

✅ Cleared ivy and brambles from the wall

✅ Cut back some bushes

✅ Tidied up the whole area

Everyone worked hard and made a big difference. The garden is now looking fresher and ready to welcome visitors!

We also had some brilliant milestones to celebrate:

🎉 A huge congratulations to John gaining his GoodGym crown with his 500th good deed—amazing 👑!

👏 Well done to Zita, Robert, and Caroline for reaching 10 good deeds each.

Go team!

Thanks to everyone who came along—it was such fun, and we’re already looking forward to the next one. 🌼🌳

On a bright Wednesday evening, our brilliant bunch of GoodGymmers headed to Hook Lane Primary School for a hands-on task that combined clearing rubbish, working on the climbing frame, and laying whole lot of woodchipping.

First up, we tackled a pile of accumulated stuff — broken bits of guttering, piping, pipe insulation and other random debris -- ferrying it from next to the shed on the playing field to the official rubbish area. So much tidier!

Meanwhile, Robert lend a strong pair of hands — and a sharp eye for engineering and DIY — to help teacher Dan repair the climbing frame. It's slowly coming back to life for breaktime adventures.

Next came the main event: laying down woodchippings to transform the mud kitchen into a cleaner, safer, and more inviting space for the kids to play.

We shovelled, wheeled, and spread the chippings with impressive coordination — like a very outdoorsy conveyor belt.

By the end of the hour, the mud kitchen looked transformed and ready for all the mini chefs to do their thing 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳.

A big thanks to everyone who came out and made such a positive impact!

Great work team, let’s do it again soon! 💥

On my to the train station i normally see a lot of litter so out of a 100 50% i am with a bag and a litter i done a two or three bags to get to the station # good gym Bexley