This morning the sun did eventually shine on as we set about our tasks. A litter pick was done and weeds and roots were dug up around the seating area that had grown through the wood chip, once completed we racked this all to prevent any holes being left. The 4 of us managed to clear a large area but more to do next time and no doubt then more wood chip will need to be placed.​

A small but mighty GoodGym crew of Farzeen, Emily, Saber and Jana headed to Staywell New Malden for an hour of gardening. The task was to tackle the weeds around the Staywell information sign and along the hedge at the front of the driveway. Farzeen and Saber got stuck in near the sign, while Emily and Jana started working along the long flowerbed under the hedge. After all the recent rain the soil was very wet and sticky, and the beds were full of wriggly earthworms – great for the soil but a bit messy for us! With time running out, the whole team joined forces to finish the flowerbed and were proud to clear the whole stretch together. Along the way Jana unearthed an unusual find buried in the soil, what looked like an old nappy pin! To top it all off, Staywell kindly left us some Ferrero Rocher chocolates, which were very gratefully received after a muddy but satisfying hour of weeding. Great teamwork all round!

Went to be a marshal for the junior parkrun. Always need volunteers.

It was a fresh cold day but that didn't stop us getting out for a walk round the park. We met the Mayor and tried the tasty food at the cafe in Fairfield Park and after filling a bag with vapes, plastic and an umbrella, we all headed home.

Today goodgymers from several different areas brought and dropped items for the food bank.

It was lovely to visit a new venue in Kingston for Tuesday's week's task, for all that we've all walked past Hestia's office without knowing it was there. Hestia has an enormous site up a few flights of stairs on Eden Street where it runs the Good Energy Club, a community project created to help people with mental illness or issues with low levels of mental wellbeing through physical and social activities.

There were acres of surfaces to wipe, around table tennis tables, music rooms, conference rooms and offices, dealt with by cloth from Anna, Tom, Rachel, Jana, Emily, Laurel, Sabir, Sekar and Jonathan.

Meanwhile Luke and Marcos performed heroics with a hoover across never-ending carpets as Dave, Louise and Levita refused to allow the thorough cleaning of the kitchen to beat them.

Perhaps the highlight of the whole evening was our host John, who supplied us not only with good humour but Pepsi Max, sweets and biscuits, and might even become our newest GoodGym recruit. While some of the gang headed off for a well-deserved drink for our monthly social at The Albion, we'll all look forward to coming back to a great spot very soon.