Today, Levita and I headed down to a Meet and Greet event with Kingston’s local Councillors and a ton of brilliant voluntary groups from across the borough. It was the perfect chance to get out there and chat about all the ways GoodGym can lend a hand to organisations doing amazing work in our community!

It was great to catch up with some of our long-standing partners. Always a treat to see the familiar faces at Staywell, Kingsgate Food Pantry, KVA’s Surplus to Supper Hub, Save the World, and Refugee Action Kingston.

We also got to mingle with plenty of new groups to brainstorm future team-ups and hand out leaflets. We connected with:

• Kingston Association for the Blind
• The London Buddy Scheme
• Learn English at Home (LEAH)
• Kingston Carers Network
• The Kingston Society
• Malarum Ithayangal CIC Tamil Women’s Community Group
• Balance Support CIO
• Kingston Voluntary Action (KVA)
• Shine Bright UK
• Kingston Eco-Op
• Superhighways
• Connected Kingston
• Kingston Community Football

Whether we were convincing folks to lace up their trainers and join us for a run, or finding new ways our volunteers can help out local residents, it was such an inspiring day!

This evening we met at Mrs T's after having walked ( myself) and cycled (JP) where we carried many items from the garden around to her driveway for collection as the items were not needed [ this included a firepit, barbecue, outside storage box, bike ] . Also we then moved things to keep to be stacked neatly so that we could clear up all the debris from the tree that was causing distress. Mrs T was so pleased and couldn't thank as enough and couldn't believe the transformation. it obviously meant a lot. She mentioned that this was the longest time she had stayed out there for a few years, she had decided to stay out with us, chatting and holding bags open for the tree rubbish.

Tonight’s GoodGym adventure took our group in two directions - to Canbury Community Gardens and Latchmere Park.

The Latchmere Park task was quite straightforward - fill 5 planters with compost. Just a small matter that the compost was in 3 1/2 ton sacks about 100m away from the planters! Emily, Ken, Laura, Petra and Dave donned their gloves and proceeded to fill and empty countless wheelbarrows. the time flew and the task completed with 5 mins to spare. Off to the pub!

Slightly more involved at Canbury Gardens with compost to turn, an elderflower tree to tackle, watering to do and gardening to squeeze in before darkness descended.

Claire kicked things off with an excellent briefing, particularly impressive given the jet lag from her recent trip to Korea! Rachel then provided an unexpected highlight by confidently picking up one of the resident chickens. Despite never having held a chicken before, she looked like a natural, comparing it to picking up her three-legged cat. The chicken seemed perfectly content! 🐔

Luke, Saber and Jonathan got stuck into turning the compost, while also attempting to secretly sign Rachel’s birthday card without her noticing.

Meanwhile, Jana and Marie-Noëlle gave the dead elderflower tree a giant haircut. Marie-Noëlle wielded the enormous loppers on the larger branches, carefully avoiding the tomatoes below, while Jana tackled the smaller ones. Saber later took over with a saw and ended up up the tree, prompting a few concerned looks as we watched his balancing act! 🌳😂

Claire tracked down the wheelbarrows and collected water from the river with Rachel, who later became our human lighting department as daylight disappeared.

Jana then tackled one final job, digging a hole for a donated berry bush, which we just about managed to get planted and watered before darkness took over. 🌱

With everything wrapped up, Claire entertained us with tales from Korea.

Compost turned, tree dramatically restyled, water collected, bush planted, chicken cuddled and birthday card covertly signed, another productive and slightly chaotic GoodGym evening! 💪🌿🐔

Rachel, Emily and Ellie took on marshalling duties at Runfest Richmond, armed with hi-vis vests, big smiles and the very important mission of guiding runners to the top path through Canbury Gardens.

With runners coming in fast, the trio enthusiastically pointed, waved and shouted directions like seasoned professionals. Between dodging speedy runners, keeping everyone on the right track and making sure nobody accidentally wandered off for a scenic detour, the three of them brought plenty of energy and laughs to the morning. Dave joined in at the end to keep morale high.

Who knew telling people that they are 'looking strong' and to 'go for it' could be such an entertaining job?

Saturday afternoon, a team of two GoodGymers, Saber and Marie-Noëlle, joined forces with the Friends of Fairfield Park group. Responding to a local call to action, we took responsibility for our shared green space with an eco-friendly cleaning mission. The atmosphere was industrious and fun, the sun was warm and bright. The local park was transformed: 7 bin-liners full of rubbish, all tied up and ready for final sorting and recycling. Afterwards, the team celebrated their hard work by coming together to share some well-earned homemade biscuits.

This afternoon on the spur of the moment? Sabir and myself met to rehydrate all the colourful flowers in the Gg plot. This was very much welcomed and a promise made for more drink on Tuesday.