Monday 27th July
Written by Sophie Humphrey
On another beautiful night in Wandsworth, we were delighted to welcome Becky & John to their first Goodgym session - lovely to have you join us! Before heading off, in the spirit of the commonwealth games, we discussed imaginary events we would like to have the chance to compete in - there was everything from a tiramisu eating contest to speed sudoku and even a spot of sword juggling!
We were back to the lovely Larkhall park and it was great to see it full of people enjoying their evening. We had a great fitness session with everyone contributing their favourite exercises and then we showed some love to the Pentanque court they are getting ready to use clearing weeds away. Great work Team Wandsworth!
Monday 20th July
Written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
Another fantastic Monday night in Wandsworth saw us back at the Gwyneth Morgan Day Centre. The centre provides vital support, activities and companionship for older people in the local community, helping to reduce isolation and enabling people to stay active and independent. Keeping the outdoor spaces looking welcoming makes a real difference to everyone who visits.
First up, there was plenty to cheer about. We chatted about Josh Kerr's incredible 1500m world record at the weekend, before giving a huge round of applause to Felix, who absolutely smashed his PB at the recent London 10km. Amazing running! We also got to welcome Fliss to her first group session - so lovely to have you join us.
After the warm up, we headed out to meet the rest of the crew at the Age UK Wandsworth centre.
Once there, we split into teams and got straight to work. There was weeding, spreading compost, sweeping paths, tidying up huge areas of the garden and plenty of general gardening. But the most coveted task of the evening in this hot weather? Washing the mobility bus! Naturally, the hose had its usual ideas about how the evening should go, but after the customary battle with the equipment, everyone got stuck in (with a few extra splashes over the side of the fence...purely in the interest of keeping everyone cool, of course).
By the time we packed everything away, the transformation was obvious. The garden looked so much tidier, brighter and well loved, and the freshly cleaned bus was gleaming. It's the kind of difference that the centre's users will notice when they come in today.
With the task complete, it was time to raise the heart rates with a Tabata session. Twenty seconds of hard work followed by ten seconds of rest—simple, brutally effective and guaranteed to get everyone working! We rounded things off with a squat challenge and finished on happily wobbly legs.
Well done to everyone for another brilliant evening of running, positive impact and fitness.
Don't forget our big 10-year anniversary party on the 10th—keep an eye out for the sign-up link coming soon.
Next week we're back at Larkhall with Sophie. Sign up and all the details you need right here
Wednesday 15th July
Written by Zaeem
We were greeted by Mrs J who showed us to her lovely little flat. We went over Laptop usage but ran out of team to cover all of her requests.
Monday 13th July
Written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
Last night, GoodGym Wandsworth divided and conquered with two missions, helping spread the word for two fantastic local organisations: Balham Nursery and the Battersea Youth Summer Scheme.
We split into two teams before heading off in different directions. Steph, Felix, Beth and Jordan headed to Balham Nursery, where they were welcomed by packs of flyers, carefully marked maps... and the sweetest surprise of the evening. The children had made us some adorable handmade thank-you cards to show their appreciation for our efforts. They put a smile on everyone's faces before the team set off to deliver the flyers around the local area.
Meanwhile, Pritesh, Matthew, Kate and Catherine made their way to Caius House to collect the envelopes we'd stuffed at a previous session for the Battersea Youth Summer Scheme.
It turns out a stack of envelopes is a lot heavier than it looks! After a bit of quick maths to divide the load evenly, everyone grabbed a bundle and headed off on their delivery routes.
There was time for a pit stop: a team photo alongside a very fancy car (see photo!). Then it was back to the task in hand, delivering every last envelope.
With both missions complete, everyone ran back to reunite at BAC, where we wrapped up another evening of positive impact.
Great work, team! 🎉
Monday 6th July
Written by Anastasia Hancock (she/her)
After Sunday's football excitement, we were a slightly smaller crew than usual. Could it be a coincidence? Whatever the reason, spirits were high and there was plenty of energy where it counted.
Before we set off, it was quiz question time and this week it was a clean sweep: everyone knew that Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all time. It was far too easy for the brains of GG - be warned, next week's question is going to be a lot trickier! We headed down to Doddington for our monthly visit to this fantastic community rooftop garden . It's an incredible local space, not just for growing fruit, veg and flowers, but for bringing neighbours together, sharing skills and creating a green oasis in the middle of the estate. Exactly the kind of place GoodGym loves to support.
A big Wandsworth welcome goes to Michael, who joined us for his very first GoodGym session! It was brilliant to have you with us—and little did we know we'd also recruited an absolute quiz ringer for later in the evening. More on that shortly...
Once we arrived, Malissa showed us to our patch for the evening. Our mission, simple but satisfyingly tough, was to pull up invasive mallow (and a healthy collection of other weeds) before turning over the soil so it would be ready for future planting. Half an hour of digging, pulling and turning later, we'd made a big difference. Along the way, conversation covered a wonderfully eclectic range of topics including all things green, killer cows, and the importance of getting a good night's sleep (particularly if you're Felix!)
With the gardening complete, we moved over to a (semi) green space for a fitness session. This week's theme was unusual planks. There were diamond planks, walking planks, bear planks, commando planks, pull-through planks and side planks.
Then came the decision between stretching at base or straight to the pub quiz - where we're delighted to report that we finished first! The winnings will be going straight into the pot for our 10th birthday celebrations on 10th August. Keep an eye out over the coming week for more details—it's the big one.
Next week we'll be splitting into two groups to spread the word about Balham Nursery and the Battersea Youth Scheme helping two brilliant local organisations reach even more people.
See you there!
Wednesday 1st July
Written by Zaeem
Had a nice little chat with Miss A, did her grocery shop and dropped it off promptly.
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