It was a drizzly start to the session last night, but it was distinctly cheered up by seeing lots of lovely regular faces, some new ones to the group and even a familiar one back after a little time away - everybody is welcome at GoodGym Wandsworth and always will be!

After a warm up which activated our major muscles we did a quick poll to find out our favourite plants and flowers as tonight we were off to Paradise Community Garden. This space was once derelict land but has been transformed into a stunning garden full of flowers, bees, a pond and a community area for local children and residents to use.

We had a long list of jobs to do, but as always our first task was trying to crack the lock to get in. Thanks to Annabel's expertise once again we made our entrance to find the first of our jobs right in front of us. The head gardener Vicky had sent across some detailed instructions about how to fix the wobbly, unsafe path. She had marked the slabs to be replaced with chalk crosses, which added an extra element of challenge as it had been raining all afternoon. Luckily the chalk had mainly survived so we got cracking shifting heavy slabs and replacing them with hardcore. Now I know the clue is in the name, but the sheer weight of the hardcore bags was shocking! Well done to Steph who somehow managed to transport them to their final destination using a pretty wobbly wheelbarrow. Now that's a workout and a half.

Meanwhile another team was sorting out an uneven path in some dim and dark conditions, while other jobs included moving a massive stove and some heavy tiles around the garden. I think it's safe to say this was quite a labour intensive session but it's these kinds of jobs that really make a difference to small teams of volunteers that run important spaces such as Paradise.

After 40 minutes of hard work we all locked our tools back up and gathered by the exit. Or did we? Turns out that while Eva and Athene were having a surprisingly relevant discussion about how they'd fare in escape rooms and were concentrating so hard on their job in hand that somehow I had missed them in the depths of the garden. Luckily my mistake was spotted before they had to spend the night there!

To finish off the evening we did a five minute leg blast which tested our muscles and built strength, as well as displaying the many ways you can do a variation on fast feet!

Next Monday we're off to Sacred Heart School to help with various gardening jobs with the head. Until then, have a great week GoodGym!

Despite the less than pretty weather, an amazing group of GoodGymers, led by Lorna, headed out to lend a hand at Age UK in Wandsworth.

After a warm up the group ran up to the Gwyneth Morgan Day Centre for older people, a lovely local resource which offers vulnerable and older people physical disability specialist day services and aims to maximise people’s independence by providing support and activities, community-based outreach work and help to become digitally connected.

They have a fleet of buses they use to transport their users to the centre and they asked us to come and help them out by giving them a good wash so they are spick and span for our lovely local residents.

The team got to work with gloves, sponges, buckets and soapy water giving it some proper elbow greaseand bus-ting moves to transform the vehicles. Well done everybody, great work!

Don't forget there is an extra opportunity tomorrow to help out an environmental clothes charity tomorrow, and next Monday we'll be popping up to Paradise to help out this great community space. Until then, have a great week all!

It was the first of our monthly trips to help out at Doddington community roof garden last night, and after a brief discussion about whether it was going to snow or not at the beginning of the night, little did we know what we really should have been ready for...the rain. Cold, wet rain....

Still, it didn't hold us back. We did our warm up and had a quick discussion on food we can't stand which included all the classics - mushrooms, beetroot, and anchovies. After a 2km run down to the garden we arrived and Malissa quickly went through all the jobs that needed to be done. The joy of coming back on a regular basis is that we can see the garden evolve and grow, we start to know the tasks that need to be done and when, and we can really see the difference we are making.

The main job was digging so we divided up into groups to tackle the removal of soil so that when the compost arrives this weekend it can go straight in. If you fancy a great upper body work out and massively helping out at the garden, then on Saturday morning at 11am we have a massive task carrying up no fewer than 800 bags of compost donated by the council. Hope to see as many as possible of you there!

Meanwhile, there were several other tasks being completed elsewhere, including giving a buddleia bush a good pruning, moving several plants in the St John's Wort family, and spreading woodchip. We also moved many, many trugs - more of a challenge than we had expected given they had no handles and the rain made them really slippery.

By this point we had achieved a lot but we were thoroughly wet and becoming uncomfortably chilly so we decided to call it a night. We were determined not to finish without any fitness at all though, so Sophie led the group in a token squat session before we headed off.

Some of us went on to do a fun pub quiz where very weirdly two separate GG teams ended up with the exact same score of 103 points, coming joint third. That's a little sprinkling of GG magic right there.

Next week the task is yet to be confirmed but we will be having a session as normal so watch this space. Have a great week GoodGym, and stay warm!

With love in the air, we kicked off the run last night naming one thing we care about - and they included our Mums, family, friends, running, trees, chocolate and football. Happy Valentine's Day one and all! We were keen to spread the love in our community, but there was a last minute change of plan.

Instead of the previously scheduled litter pick in the area, we responded to an urgent call from Hadas who asked us to come to the Waste Not Want Not charity to help move all the food collected for the community into storage so that they can get some major works done.

This organisation saves food that would be otherwise wasted and uses it to feed the community. They have big plans to turn the hub into a dining area, with space to store more goods, and facilities for vulnerable people including a shower for those struggling with homelessness.

Our job was to load up the van so we got stuck in straight away. While the team inside packed up all sorts of weird and wonderful things including barberries, masses of anchovies, an innumerable number of beans and vats of pesto...some of which may have ended up meeting a bit of a sticky end on the floor. Meanwhile the van team were doing an amazing job getting the van stacked up with as much stuff as could feasibly be made to fit in the most efficient way possible.

Our last task was to dismantle the shelving units - something which looked a lot easier than it was! But with a bit of elbow grease, some team work, lots of ingenuity and the use of a hammer, they were soon down and ready to be packed. What a job team - well done to all of you! It's just incredible to see the impact many pairs of hands working together can have in just one short window of time.

We finished off the night with a little fitness session which featured three minute mountain legs. We spotted some snowdrops (spring is coming!) and then made for base to do our stretches.

Next week we're back to Doddington Roof garden to help sand down and paint benches - you can sign up here.

Until then, have a great week GoodGym!

The temperature was dropping last night but excitement levels were on the rise as we headed back to St Mary's School and its epic slide!

We kicked off the night with a much needed warm up and welcomed Patsie to her very first session. As it was Blue Monday - supposedly the gloomiest day of the year although there were no signs of it in Wandsworth - we all named something that brought us joy. Food was very popular, especially, cheese, chocolate and lasagna, as was running, football, dogs and being outside.

It was about 2kms down to the school and we made it there in no time. Jared, the school's brilliant head, was waiting for us with plenty of sacks, and we soon got stuck in. The job was to empty the raised beds on the upper terrace so that the school could create a climate change garden. The area will be filled with plants for the children to help identify, sow and care for, particularly ones that don't need as much rain and so will be sustainable through climate change.

It was chilly work but we soon warmed up with some labour intensive activity. While the upstairs team shoveled, filled, then posted bags through the entrance to the slide, Jordan and Dave were waiting at the bottom to catch them. They were then transported through the building to the courtyard by Jamal, Jared and Catherine in a very efficient human chain! Great work everybody.

Next week we've got an inside task at a local scout hall, which we'll be giving a big spring clean. See you there to banish those January blues!