There’s no denying that donation sorting is a serious business and when we help out at the Community Hospice warehouse we are careful to sift out the best items ready for the shop floor. But there's always room for a little fun along the way.

Today’s haul really packed a punch with a knockout collection of sports kit — gym gear, an England tracksuit top, a taekwondo top (yes, we learned it’s officially called a 'dobok'), and a bundle of boxing gloves🥊🥊.

🔔🔔Ding, ding, seconds away: cue Johnny and Ivar stepping into the ring for a dramatic slo-mo face-off for the camera. Of course, it was show and no blows... float like a butterfly, pose like a champion.

Meanwhile, Sarah snuggled into a cosy Mickey Mouse blanket hoodie, proving that donation sorting can have its soft side too.

And what about the scarves and neckwear galore that we unpacked? Too good to pass up another photo opportunity, we layered them on for a group shot depicting chic charity shop couture.

From ringside rivalries to fashion statements, it’s safe to say we covered lots of angles today. Plenty of donated bags emptied and sorted in to men's, womens, kids, shoes & bags, linen & homewear, accessories, prom dresses, Christmas garments, and items that, sadly, didn't hit the mark for resale.

The time flew by and at the final bell we headed home, happy that we'd rescued lots of clothes from landfill and set them on the journey for a new life ♻️.

Thank you to James and Andrew in the warehouse team for having us. We'll be back again tomorrow, when Caroline, Simon and will Lisa taking over where we left off.

It feels like a long time since we've helped out at a junior parkrun in the sunshine, but this morning the sun had got its hat on, and there was a real buzz at Eltham Park South as 122 children and their grown-ups gathered ready for the off.

High fives hands at the ready we took up our marshalling positions and cheered everyone round the two laps.

So many smiles, such good vibes, and a beautiful corridor of blossom as we headed out of the park towards our second good deed of the day, at the Community Hospice warehouse.

7 GoodGym-ers met Liz and the team today at a new Community Mission venue, The Pet Cemetery on Shooters Hill, by the Charlton Lido & Hornfair Park. Our mission was a very long way from a Stephen King movie though, with a lovely spring sun shining down on us.

The venue has lots of history, part of Charlton Village Conservation Area. Originally the Blue Cross Quarantine Kennels at Shooters Hill, the site was acquired to house the dogs being brought back home by returning soldiers and families after the first world war. Nowadays, it's looked after by the Friends of the Pet Cemetery,  who work to maintain this as a tranquil space and respectful memorial to the 4-pawed friends buried there.

Lots of volunteers meant we got plenty of tasks completed, including removal of a huge number of Sycamore seedlings, which we were assured would have turned the area into a Sycamore forest if given the chance. Along with this was weeding the beds around the edges to give the flowers more space to thrive, cleaning the wall plaques, sweeping away debris from the tall trees around, and clearing tiny plant growth from between the paving slabs. 

Helped along by a 4 pawed friend, Otis the cockapoo, we were soon out of time but could see we'd made an impact. Thanks all & Have a great weekend ☀️

Last night we met at Charlton house for a warm up and the heady prospect of finishing our task in the light! 🎉

The ice breaker involved sharing our phobias which ranged from belly buttons, to snakes, flying and fingers near eyeballs (eugh). Luckily none of the phobias were encountered on our run through Charlton Park down to the lovely Charlton Manor Primary School.

Here we were reunited with GoodGymers who met at the task and with Michael who was armed with brushes galore, paint, wet wipes and gardening tools. The task was to paint the kitchen and fences in the nursery area and get rid of all the pesky alkanet. We got to it, and many hands make for light painting so after fourty minutes we had a large section complete and lots of weeds in the bin. Excellent job team!

After a quick intervals session in a triangle round the school we stretched and headed home. A lovely evening with a lovely bunch, thank you all 😊

On Saturday we're helping at the Pet Cemetery in Hornfair Park and next Wednesday we're sorting at the Bridge Community centre.

Until next time 👋🏼

Rachel

First task of the evening involved everyone! We had to move three water tanks to the other side of the garden. World's strongest GoodGymer (Ivar) moved one on his own and then the other two needed everyone, not that they had a metal frame and water in or anything!

Next on the list was moving some wooden pallets and then moving part of the compost pile onto them. And then the final task was digging and an area where the 100 sunflowers are going to be planted. We can't wait to see how great that looks later in the year.

After a quick tidy up of tools and a group photo it was time to head back to Glass Mill.

Wow! A record 16 litterpickers turned out for Clean Up Charlton's monthly pick... with 9 GoodGymers included. Our 16 bags of rubbish were a bit lighter than usual as they seemed to be half full of cigarette ends - maybe the stress of a 2:1 loss for Charlton Athletic yesterday? And Ivar was on shocking form as you can see...

With such a big group we powered round Anchor & (no) Hope Lane, Bugsby's Way (plenty of MacDonald's litter there) and Woolwich Road before meeting at M&S for the usual celebratory coffee. Today, the team was really the perfect blend.

Here's a great joke from one of our sparky junior litterpickers: "What did the egg say to me when I told it a joke?" ..... wait for it.... "You crack me up!". He's got a future as a GoodGym report writer!

Thanks team for making SE7 a lot nicer. Love you a latte.

Sidcup Station. 10am.

Six gloved-up GoodGymers met Colin and Sue from Sidcup BID to help tidy up a patch of ground outside the ticket hall. With Sidcup a finalist in Britain in Bloom (Small Town category), it’s full steam ahead to get everything looking its best ahead of judging in July.

Today was all about digging out weeds, collecting up litter and turning over the soil, creating the perfect platform for seeds and plants that will bring some first class floral cheer to the area.

Breaking into the hard soil and squatting to pick up the liberated weeds proved to be a seriously good workout for legs and glutes! So too was collecting it all into bags destined for the green waste depot.

This was one of those satisfying tasks where the before-and-after difference was plain to see although you'll have to take my word for it as I forgot to take photos! However, I did get a pic of the tribute to a railway worker that we revealed. And it was nice that lots of passers-by said 'thank you' for our work.

After handing back the tools and getting a team photo, we said goodbye to Sue and Colin, and made our departure round the corner to En'route for coffee. A lovely way to round off the morning.

We're hoping to stay on board for destination Britain in Bloom, so watch this space! We'd love to have you along for the ride.