What a Tuesday evening to be alive — and running! We had a gloriously large group join us tonight, with perfect weather rolling out the red carpet for our feet. Lacing up alongside regulars Fi, Jo, Michael, Ben, Tilly and Katie, we were thrilled to welcome back Rich and — making his Lambeth group run debut — the legendary George! 🍾💪🏼 First run done, George. There’s no going back now.

With an extra spring in our step (and an extra 3.6km each way to justify the post-run snacks 😅), we set off on a slightly longer route than usual — and the group ate it up like it was nothing.

Our destination? The Weir Link, who were absolutely delighted to have us back. And honestly, the feeling was mutual — because when we arrived, the tools and equipment were already waiting for us in the bin shed, like a beautifully organised welcome gift. No faff, no fuss — just straight to the good stuff. 🙌

Front and back, we got stuck in clearing out weeds and leaves to give the centre grounds a proper spruce-up. The weeds didn’t stand a chance against this lot. What they thought was job security turned out to be a very short-term contract. 😂🌱

Big love to everyone who came out and gave their evening — and their knees — to make Lambeth a little greener. The Weir Link were over the moon to have us, and it shows just how much this community cares. ❤️

See you on the next one! 🏃

Hang on, didn't Brenda and Harvey meet up at junior parkrun earlier in the day? Yes, indeed, they did! And now they were back to Brixton for the continuing story of keeping the litter at bay. They joined the team of volunteers from Young People's Movement, collected high vis and litter pickers, and they were good to go.

Luckily, a friend from Lambeth Council's street rubbish waste team who they'd met on their last visit, was way ahead of our intrepid two! He was on the case - collecting litter, bringing our team up to speed, and making sure all parties pulled in the same direction. A gent.

Brenda and Harvey worked the way around their pitch, leaving the whole area looking (almost) spotless! Job done, Brenda headed off to tackle another good deed. And Harvey went home :)

It was great to see happy faces receiving enough food, as there was plenty to hand out to the customers.

Received two deliveries that required quickly managing food packing for customers on Friday.

Once Brenda and I had discovered that the arms of Mr A's large-ish sofa folded down flat, the task of manoeuvring it out of his living room and front door became a little easier...albeit we still needed to negotiate 4 flights of stairs for it to reach ground level - thankfully Gravity had also joined us as the third member for this task, and so with a bit of caution as everything was quite narrow, we slowly allowed the sofa to make its way down each flight with a human brake at one end, and we soon had it out of the front door and parked behind the communal bins as requested.

Thunder? Lightning? Merely a warm-up act for GoodGym Lambeth, who absolutely refused to let a bit of dramatic weather stand between them and a good deed. A magnificent seven assembled at Papa’s, ready to get their hands dirty — and we mean that quite literally.

A huge welcome to Rich, joining us for the very first time! 🍾 He turned up on a stormy Tuesday evening to do unpaid weeding with strangers, which either speaks to his tremendous community spirit or his very adventurous social calendar. Either way, we’re delighted to have him! 💪🏼

A special shoutout to Fi and Katie, who stepped up as makeshift superheroes when AA Yianny was running a little behind schedule 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♀️ — safely shepherding the group from Papa’s like the absolute legends they are. No cape required (though it might’ve helped with the rain).

The full heroic lineup: Fi, Dan, Michael, Ben, Tilly, Katie and the newly initiated Rich. What a crew. 🌟

Tonight we returned to help our beloved Roses of Brixton — the wonderful Annick and Jean — giving their gardens a thorough seeing-to. We’re talking weeding, sweeping, clearing, and cleaning… and then things got avant-garde. 🎨

Yes, we laid carpet. As a weed suppressant. 😱🤩

Look, when you think about it, it makes perfect sense — the weeds get a cosy living room, which you might say is to die for. Truly the most passive-aggressive gardening technique known to humanity, and we are HERE for it. The gardens are looking lush, Annick and Jean were thrilled, and the weeds are already regretting their life choices.

Another brilliant evening of running, doing good, and laying soft furnishings in unexpected locations. See you next time! 🌿❤️

GoodGym Lambeth — getting fit, giving back, occasionally redecorating.