After a gap in October due to poor Sharon's wrist injury, we were back on the Ham Lands for the penultimate session of 2026.

The morning was less cold than we all expected, with bright sunshine making the scene more cheerful as we took instruction from Sharon.

The job in hand was to rake up loose grass left on the banks beside the road after mowing by the council. There were plenty of rakes on hand so we got going, while catching up and sympathising with Sharon who had a plate in her wrist after the break.

We gathered up the piles of raked grass and transported them in a huge canvas sack to a compost deposit in the trees. Then it was time for teas, coffees and on with our days!

Next time at Ham Lands is on 12th December - sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/helping-the-happy-ham-landers-9a5822f0-79cc-4a49-b795-f23114c8b088

November's Three Pigeons signature task tonight with a jog, a workout and lots of GoodGym energy going into the riverside plots we take care of for Richmond Council.

This evening we were joined by Hannah, celebrating a milestone 10th GoodGym task with a visit to Richmond 🥳 Meeting at the Tap, five of us set about a very necessary warm-up as November stretched its cooler arms out to pull us into the night! JP and Monika then set off on a brisk walk along the high street while Hannah, Kash and Liz set off across Richmond Green, discussing the benefits of 'jeffing'. A planned mix of running and fast walking, it can help ease joint impact, enable runners to cover longer distances and has the added benefit of getting to take in the lovely riverside views more too!

At Buccleuch Arcade things were looking good after Saturday's task there, perfect surroundings for a 10 minute bodyweight workout on the lawn. Those who didn't want to join headed straight to the Three Pigeons plot with tools to start some robust weeding, litter-picking and cutting back. When the whole group joined together it was, as always, amazing what eight sets of energetic hands can get done in 45 minutes as a huge Hop plant was removed, a bag of rubbish was plucked from the plants, the border was freed from weeds and a general sweep-up left the plot looking cared for.

Just time for a group photo with the floodlights on before we all scattered back into the night for hot dinners!

We visit our sponsored plot on the first Saturday and second Monday of every month, we would love you to join us!

It was the first Saturday of the month which meant we were back to our Three Pigeons plot. It was great to welcome two GoodGymers to this task for the first time!

We spent the morning weeding, tidying up the beds, raking up leaves and doing a bit of litter picking along the way.

After a busy morning, we went for a warming hot drink nearby and a bit of a catch-up.

Thanks so much to everyone who came along and helped out!

A chilly Monday November evening saw four GGRs put in a hole lot of effort in planting bulbs for Petersham Common.

Ken , assisted Manuela set about getting to the bottom of things by digging the hole that the bulbs would be planted into.

Soon they were joined by Adam and Sam , following their run from the Tap Tavern.

We successfully then budded together to plant around 300 bulbs, which will hopefully become un-bud-lievable in the spring time!

A bright Halloween morning saw 5 GGers gather at the Short Lot allotments by Kew Bridge.

The team welcomed us and explained that help was needed on some of the lots held by older members who were less able to manage heavier physical work.

Chris and Adam got to work on one plot while Alex and Manuela took the other, soon joined by JP. We got stuck in to weeding and tidying and soon saw the fruits of our labours - literally, where there were gooseberry and raspberry bushes.

A solid good deed on a bracing morning was rewarded with tea and coffee, before we headed off for a spooky Saturday.

There must have been a poltergeist or spooky ghosts on the loose in Richmond, causing havoc and some last minute change of tasks.

An awesome foursome were out posting leaflets for Richmond Aid, a charity that supports local disabled people to live their best lives. Specifically, we were spreading the news about the upcoming ‘Time To Shine’ awards, witch aims to celebrate the contributions and achievements of disabled people in the Richmond Boo-rough.

It wasn’t long before all the flyers had been posted through letter boxes. Ghoul achieved. In true Halloween spirit we were joined by a feline friend for the evening, and we even managed to avoid the rain.