🎂 Last night we celebrated a very special milestone – 10 years of GoodGym Hounslow. What better way to mark a decade of doing good and getting fit than with a festive task followed by a birthday party?

But first, a huge shout-out to Alanna, who clocked up her 100th good deed! An amazing achievement. Well done, Alanna, that's a really impressive amount of litter picking, tree planting, wall painting and squats!

Our task for the evening was at the beautiful Chiswick House and Gardens. Our job was to weave Christmas wreaths using wisteria gathered from the grounds. Everyone's creativity come out, and the results were beautiful. The profits from the wreath-making go straight back into supporting the charity, and we now have the skills to make our own wreaths for our front doors this year. Win - win!

Then it was time to swap the gloves for glasses and head off to celebrate. It was wonderful to see so many of you there, sharing stories, laughter and memories from the last ten years. Back in November 2016, GoodGym Hounslow became the 26th GoodGym area to launch. We gathered at the Town Hall to clear leaves on Turnham Green, but could not possibly know what lay ahead.

From those early days of one, two or three runners we have grown into something truly special. Today a core group turn up week after week to do some good and get active - and,of course there's always the pub afterwards!

Over the decade, you've clocked up an astonishing 7,000+ good deeds, helping charities, community groups and local projects right across the borough. The jobs have been wonderfully varied: but GoodGym has always been about much more than the nuts and bolts of it. It's about the friendships, the support and the community -we've celebrated the good times and supported each other through the harder ones.

And while we're sometimes accused of having an unusual enthusiasm for destruction, what we've been doing is building a wonderful community.

A huge thank you to all whether it's you've done one good deed or one thousand. No job is too muddy, too cold or too strange for you! Ten years, thousands of good deeds, countless friendships and innumerable Old Packhorse prawn crackers - here's to everyone who has been part of the journey. Happy 10th birthday, GoodGym Hounslow! ❤️

As usual, the GoodGym Red T-Shirt Team volunteered at Acton Junior Parkrun, helping to make the event a success. We were fortunate to enjoy a lovely, crisp Sunday morning, with the beautiful autumn colours beginning to appear on the trees around the park.

Our team was wonderfully diverse, with Michelle and Alan joining from Hounslow, and Sevan, Kash and Maria from Ealing.We were also joined by John, who ran 11 km from Camden to Acton Junior Parkrun just to help us volunteer, showing remarkable dedication and commitment to supporting the local community. It was great to have volunteers from different areas working together to support the event.

We welcomed 61 young runners on the day and, as always, it was wonderful to see so many children taking part and enjoying themselves.

One memorable moment involved a determined 3½-year-old runner who was unfortunately disqualified as the minimum age for participation is four years old. Despite that, the young runner certainly made an impression, even leaving Michelle waiting for a high five at the finish!

There were also a few challenges at the finish area. Some children missed the clearly signposted finish funnel, either running past it or not wanting to separate from their parents. Among the final finishers were a young brother and sister whose enthusiasm never faded. Their mother described them perfectly, saying:

"They were like dragons flying."

Comments like these remind us how much joy and confidence junior parkrun brings to children and their families.

I am always happy to see the positive impact we have at Acton Junior Parkrun. The volunteer team consistently shows how much they appreciate our support, and that appreciation is one of the reasons we are always delighted to return and help whenever we can.