My first visit to Mr G for several weeks and he was on sparkling form. Looking well and stylishly dressed, his highly amusing worldview was to the fore as soon as I arrived. As well as the usual topics, he told stories about some (sometimes notorious) celebrities who are his distant relatives or old acquaintances.

He showed me a photo of himself in the early 1980s which to my mind bore a striking resemblance to the vocalist in a famous Mancunian band. Sheepishly acknowledging the similarity, Mr G insisted that he himself had pioneered the distinctive hairstyle.

Shopping was straightforward: nothing had changed in the list or moved location in the store. Securing the last paninis on the shelf added to the satisfaction of an enjoyable mission.

There was plenty of chat pre-task about whether we would be planting bulbs in the snow last night, but that didn't stop a group of be-thermalled GoodGymers turning up to help out with the second half of a big task last night. Just goes to show that GG Hounslow is made of sterner stuff!

So, after a much needed warm up at the town hall, we ran down to meet Abundance London for the second part of our mammoth task to plant thousands of bulbs on Chiswick High Rd. The plan is that the spring flowers will deter passers-by from throwing rubbish in the beds, to improve biodiversity next to a busy road, and to cheer up the place with a splash of colour!

Last week we had spent some time clearing away the leaves and doing a bit of weeding. Not only did this prep the area for planting but it made sure the pavement had fewer slip risks from the wet leaves. We grabbed our shovels and bulbs and started work.

There were established plants to get in, tulips, daffs and narcissus, and a limited period before we lost all feeling in our fingers. There was no time to lose!

With hundreds of bulbs to go in, and we dug and planted steadily. By the time we had finished, Karen from Abundance London said that we had saved them days of work! Well done everybody.

Don't forget about the session this Saturday at the Bend it like Beckham task and next week we're back at Harvard Hill - see you there!

Alan and I teamed up to help the lovely Mrs L and her husband on a bright and crisp November morning.

When we arrived Mrs L greeted us and Mr A showed us through to the back garden. Mrs L has lost her sight and used to enjoy her garden.

We were tasked with weeding and clearing fallen leaves. Which we enjoyed and spent a good hour chatting as we worked. Alan, who is on the road to recovery after a nasty knee injury discovered that seated weeding was ideal for his current rehab stage.

After filling two garden refuse bags we ventured back into the warmth of Mrs L’s kitchen where we made a further discovery, that Mrs L’s past occupation had been very similar to Alan’s. Chemists unite!

It's hard to measure the impact GoodGym has had, but nine years and 6217 is a good place to start! Not only that, but we have had 9 people reach 50 good deeds, a massive 17 people soar over 100 good deeds, and one person is well on their way to a giant 1000 good deeds. A special shout out to all the lovely faces that have joined in the last year and are well on their way to reaching their first milestone. If you've come to one session or 500, you've all been part of something really meaningful. Here's to the next year of doing good and getting fit!

We kicked off the night of celebrations with a warm up and thanks to Ariane, a beautiful selection of party hats! In our best party wear we ran up Chiswick High Rd for the first of two weeks of sessions there to first clear, then plant. This is a busy area which often gets lots of rubbish chucked into the raised beds. It has been taken over by Abundance London, a local charity, who want to make it more environmentally friendly. The hope is that if it is filled with spring flowers and cleared of leaves, it will stop people littering, create better air quality and look beautiful too.

We got straight on with the work, clearing the space and packing up leaves into bags. In just a short window of time we managed to get no fewer than 50 bags, which is amazing. The area looks so much better, has reduced the chances of slips and is all ready for our planting session next week.

Everybody knows that no party is complete without a fitness element, so it was on to Turnham Green for our birthday themed session. First up was a balloon relay - everyone got their own balloon and the challenge was to transport it between our knees using lateral jumps. The first team to complete the sprint and then pop their balloon between their knees (squeeze those quads!) wins. The ladies achieved the first victory, so it was on to the next game to decided who took home the prize. This involved keeping a balloon in the air, and involved quick wits, fast reflexes and even faster twitch muscles. Again, it was the ladies that emerged victorious and snagged themselves an early Christmas selection box!

On Saturday we have a lovely mission planting bulbs at Chiswick House -why not join in the fun!

Happy Birthday GoodGym Hounslow - here's to all the litter picked, trees planted, community hubs planted, gardens created and mulch shifted so far!

At Acton Junior parkrun this morning, there was a debate over shorts or not as it felt a lot chillier than previous days. There were still a lot of children having fun in their short sleeves who clearly hadn't felt the change in seasons yet and 48 in total finished the 2km run.

Mostly wrapped up warm, 5 GoodGymers were on the volunteer roster to help the event run smoothly. Maria and Sevan were marshalling, Alan timekeeping and Joanna was handing out finish tokens.

Kash was today's tailwalker and had the most exciting role. When the last child dropped out with 500m to go, she sprang into action, transforming from having a cheetah's tail on her tailwalker high-vis into an actual cheetah. She hunted down the next child who was much further around the course, finishing with them to allow the event pack up to begin. "Great running" as the marshals say 🏃.