As we waited outside Old Spike for Marcus to finish up cleaning, we enjoyed the warmer weather than the inferno that was presented to us inside. We met newbie, Michelle, who came over from work in Mayfair, but lives in Acton! Wow, we appreciate her attending our GoodGym session, which is so far away from her work and home. Thank you, Michelle and I hope you'd enjoyed your first GoodGym experience!

On a warm and muggy day, waiting inside Old Spike wasn't ideally as we welcomed Alastair, Alex, Becky, Daryl, Emily, Emma, Gemma, Paulin, Mikhail Nathan and Tim as Sam quickly went through the GG intro speech before heading outside to get warm on the Green!

After our warm-up, Sam's ice-breaker for tonight was a question on yesterday, which was: Yesterday, was International Day of Charity, what is your favourite charity or the one you donate/fundraise to the most?

We had the obvious ones like GoodGym, Cancer Research UK, NSPCC, RSPCA and MacMillan, but Clare gave us a heart-warming answer as she had fundraised for a friend who was in a coma. Charities are not just organisations, but are acts of kindness.

---

Arigato, Kanpai

With Sam leading from the front and Lindy backmarking, we made it to Salvation Army Camberwell Corps within 20 minutes to find Folarin, Mikhail and Paulin already there. Paulin was helping Valentina setup the cleaning stations by filling buckets with warm water.

As we piled in, Olive, Magda, Vic and Abigail met us at the task as we had to split the group into three:

• Team Gardening, who weed the outside garden and a partial part of the parking lot consisted of: Daryl, Mikhail, Olive and Vic.
• Team Window Cleaning, cleaned all the windows inside and out consisted of: Clare, Elena and Gemma.
• Team Disinfecting and Cleaning Toys, the rest of us assisted with the main job of the evening, which was to disinfect and clean the toys in the cupboard and all around the main hall as the Salvation Army Camberwell Corps prepare for the toddlers to come back and use this space next week.

Within 45 minutes, we managed to complete our main task and even put all the toys away back into the cupboard, which in itself is a task of minds (how do I find all these toys in?!). After a quick group photo and small speech to Daryl for his selfless act on Sunday to help another GoodGymer cross over the finish line at the Big Half, we ran back to Old Spike.

Since it was the first Wednesday of the month, a few of us walked over to Kanpai for a couple of rice beers, sake, corn fritters and skewers to say our goodbyes to this establishment before they move "homes" from Peckham to Bermondsey.

---

Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out tonight! Firstly, a massive thank you to my taskforce team, Daryl and Lindy for backmarking the run there and back. Thank you to the rest of you for coming along as you saw that power in numbers means we can get not one, but three tasks done within 45 minutes! Thank you to those who stayed on afterwards for a final farewell drink to Kanpai before they move to Bermondsey!

---

Thank You to Valentina

GoodGym is all about getting fit and doing good! We praise the runners/cyclists/walkers who come to get fit and help out, but we often forget about our task owner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Valentina who recently moved over here from the US and was covering Catherine! Thank you for having all the items and tools ready for us to tackle the tasks and we hope you saw a massive difference within the 45 minutes that we were there. We will be back in November and we'll arrange that shortly.

After discussions with the BetterPoints team, they decided to give away 100 BetterPoints for each GoodGym session a user attends (redeemable to twice a week). This is why Sam had a print out of a QR code prepared for those who want to claim their points! Just another way of rewarding yourself by getting fit and doing good!

As we all gathered in Old Spike on the last Wednesday of August, we welcomed in Abigail, Alex, Claire, Clare, Daryl, Elena, Emma, Gemma, Lindy, Nathan, Nelly and Steve as Sam talked all things GoodGym before announcing that it was Steve's 500th good deed! He draped him in the GG cape before giving him a golden party hat and balloon with a faded 500 on it. Congrats Steve!

After our warm-up on the Green outside, Sam's ice-breaker question for tonight was either: What is your favourite fun fair game (due to the Peckham Rye Fete this weekend)? or What TV game show would go on?

We had all suggestions from hook-a-duck to coconut shy and toss-a-ring (on a bottle) to the claw in the Arcades.... For TV game shows, we had those who wanted to win money in The Chase to those who wanted to challenge themselves in Survivor, Takeshi's Castle and Total Wipeout. We also had some weird Japanese hostess game and someone brave enough to try Big Brother...

---

The Heartbreak Insect Hotel

Our run took us over the hill and down again as we ran at a comfortable pace to tackle 3k in 22 minutes. As we arrived on-site, we saw Folarin and Mikhail waiting for us, but we also met Sophie, who came for her first good deed after being invited by Clare to come along (with a bribe to get ramen later...). At the back of the group run, we had Magda who jogged along with us as we arrived in Camberwell. Here we were, all 17 of us, eager to get going. We were met by Catalina, who had brought over the tools for us to use. The main task was to clear back a weeded stepping stone pathway in the Wildlife Triangle, but she needed a few volunteers to help her bring over insects for the bug hotel, but also transport woodchip to the allotment.

Our man of the night, Steve and Claire put their hands up to become the transporters of the catepillars whilst newbie, Sophie and her friend, Clare put their hands up to transport barrows of woodchip mulch to the allotment. The rest used the limited tools and gardening gloves to clear back the path in the Wildlife Triangle.

With 90s tunes blaring, the site got a transformational change within the 35 - 40 minutes that we were there. A few insects got to live in the bug hotel whilst the extra catepillars got the other end of the estate... Sophie and Clare managed to move mountains of mulch (at least, 5 barrows full) and we all got to celebrate Steve's 500th good deed at the end with mashed up vegan cupcakes that had unsparkled sparklers.

As 20:00 approached, we said our goodbyes and ran the most direct route back to Old Spike before a few of us decided to continue Steve's celebrations with a slice of pizza and a few beers at Voodoo Ray's!

---

Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out tonight! Firstly, a massive thank you to Lindy for backmarking the runs there and back and being the constant support to Abigail. Thank you to the rest of you for getting on with the task and the run wasn't so bad either. Lastly, another congratulations to Steve for hitting 500 good deeds and to Sophie for claiming her first!

---

Thank You to Catalina

GoodGym is all about getting fit and doing good! We praise the runners/cyclists/walkers who come to get fit and help out, but we often forget about our task owner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Catalina for bringing out the tools and telling us what tasks needed to be done. It was quite a stark contrast within our 35-40 minutes session and we're always pleased to help out at Elmington Community Garden. We will be back to help support you come October before it gets cold and dark!

After the day threatened to be a wash-out, thankfully, as the GoodGymers met up at Old Spike, it started to clear as Katy, Tim, Emma, Louise, Gemma, Daryl and Claire chatted away as they met up. As Sam gave his GG update, he did not forget that it was Gemma's 50th good deed tonight as he draped her with the GG cloak and gave her a green balloon (Green for Gemma)!

After Sam delivered his intro speech, they made their way to the alleyway as it was closer to go out that way after their warm-up. Sam prepared them in advance for tonight's ice-breaker question, which was: Yesterday was World Wide Web Day (this is not to be confused with the Internet), so what is your favourite most visited website (make it harder for yourself...choose a website that doesn't have an app and is just on the World Wide Web...)?

A couple of us chose GoodGym.org, there were classics like Google, Google Maps, Facebook, Tumblr, Reddit and more obscure ones like receiptify.herokuapp.com...

---

Still searching...

As we judged our selections for websites, we ran through the backstreets of Peckham through the Surrey Canal Walk and across Old Kent Road to get to Galleywall Nature Reserve. Arriving slightly late, we found Frances already getting stuck in with breaking down the shed with Alan, Folarin and Jessie had just arrived and as Jane was giving out the tasks, Emma came in with her bike.

There were a variety of jobs, but due to a GG corporate volunteer group cancelling for a session on Thursday, our main priority was to dismantle/prepare the area around the old shed. Joining Frances in the shed we had Katy and Tim. Emma, Claire and eventually Jessie (who started off pinning wooden stakes into the ground to support a tree and clearing items around the shed) helped with digging and burying a hose pipe. Folarin partnered up with a Galleywall Nature Reserve volunteer as they cleared a path near the polytunnel of weeds. Louise and Emma first joined Jessie in pinning up the tree before moving to clearing items. This was the task Gemma and Daryl started with. Finally, Sam did some litter picking.

All these little tasks added up so much value in the 40 minutes we were at Galleywall Nature Reserve. Well done team!

A few of us departed from Galleywall whilst others like Jessie joined us on the run back as we had our monthly social. This time, we decided to visit CLF Art Lounge by Peckham Rye station as it will be moved soon due to the expansion of Peckham Rye station. Joining us for the social we had Nelly and Louise's partner come along.

---

Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out tonight! What an unforgettable evening as not only did we do amazing work at Galleywall Nature Reserve (to be continued), but we celebrated Gemma's 50th good deed in style....yes, the monthly social was planned for the first Wednesday of the month, but it was still fitting.

Thanks to Daryl and Emma for backmarking either way.

---

Thank You to Alan, Eddie and Jane

GoodGym is all about getting fit and doing good! We praise the runners/cyclists/walkers who come to get fit and help out, but we often forget about our task owner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alan, Eddie and Jane for their continued support for this massive re-development project at Galleywall Nature Reserve. We were pleased you had plenty of tasks to split the 12 of us in 4 teams. There will be more next week!

We haven't had a proper summer in England and our last Wednesday in July only summed it up - downpours. As Sam waited inside Old Spike, runners like David, Emma, Tim, Isaac, Nelly, Paulin and Claire all came in to take shelter, catch-up and listen in to Sam's speech.

After Sam delivered his intro speech, they made their way to the alleyway (as they were going to head out this way and the Green was wet and slippery) to do their warm-up. Sam prepared them in advance for tonight's ice-breaker question, which was: Two days ago was National Wine and Cheese Day, what would be your pairing and the second question, since we will be doing our first HIIT session of the year, what is your favourite workout exercise?

There were a variety of wines and cheeses that I forget, but the exercises I do remember. We had from wall sits to planks to squats and ab crunches.

---

The impossible compostable

Running in the spitting rain, we ran through the backstreets of Peckham and East Dulwich to get to East Dulwich Station before venturing behind Champion Hill towards North Dulwich and finished on Sunray Avenue with a hill climb. We took our time and arrived with a few minutes to spare. Thanks to Paulin for backmarking on the way there and to Emma on the way back.

We met Rose at the top of Sunray Avenue as we arrived at Denmark Hill Community Garden, but unfortunately she had received devastating news about funding for another project. We let her collect her thoughts whilst we litter picked the area of rubbish. At this point, both Clare and Folarin had walked over to the task.

When Rose opened the tool shed, she knew there would be one task we could tackle in a group. There was a compost bin that should have been collecting compostable food waste from the residents and from the garden, but upon tipping the compost out; we realised nothing was usable. Unfortunately, some residents were using this compost bin as a normal bin - plastic bags, dog poo, etc. were in this compost. We took it in turns (in groups) to bag the waste in black bin liners and threw it away in the normal bins. The smell from the compost will stick in our memories.

Whilst one team was dealing with the compost and watering plants that did not receive enough rain water (due to trees shading the beds), the other lot were doing a 5 minute HIIT blast with Sam. The five stations were: push-ups, wall sit, squats, lunges and tricep dips. Every station was a minute long. After one round, the teams were swap jobs.

The rain did increase, so with 10 minutes to spare and having completed the main task, Sam decided to call it there and run back to Old Spike (via the quickest route).

With no motivation to stretch in the rain, we rushed into Old Spike to "get dry". Hoping for drier Wednesday night group runs in August!

---

Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out tonight! It was pissing it down with rain from start until the end, so I appreciate that you all are weathered runners and took on the task like champions too! The added HIIT session did burn my triceps for days, so I hope you all got to feel the effects of the workout.

---

Thank You to Rose

GoodGym is all about getting fit and doing good! We praise the runners/cyclists/walkers who come to get fit and help out, but we often forget about our task owner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rose for coming out in the rain after receiving some devastating news too. We hope we could put a little smile on our face by cleaning and clearing out that compost bin plus doing some litter picking.

With Andres needing the time and space to clean up and close Old Spike, the team met on the green. Luckily, it was a dry and warm Wednesday evening as Katy, John, Nathan, Isaac, Lindy, Claire, Daryl and Emma were all up for the 3.5k run to Galleywall Nature Reserve. After Sam delivered his intro speech and a few people dropped off their bags and bikes in Old Spike, Sam led the warm-up before asking his ice-breaker question for the week: Since it's Bastille in two days' time, what's your favourite thing about France?

We had all sorts of answers from your classics: croissant, cider, pastries, cheeses, snails, frog legs and wines to relatives and colleagues being from the French nation.

---

Saturday night, I feel the air is getting hot...like you baby

Leading from the front, Sam ensured the group barged through Rye Lane before joining and watching out for cyclists on the Grand Surrey Canal Walk! After running across Old Kent Road, we just had a kilometre to go as this is one of our longer group runs, but we arrived at Galleywall Nature Reserve on time. Thanks to Daryl for backmarking.

At the site, Paulin, Vic, Magda and Folarin were already on site as they were taking directions from Alan, Eddie and Jane. Yet, we re-grouped as we arrived to properly give out the tasks.

Firstly, Daryl and Magda were given bin liners and litter pickers to give up litter from the site. Jane needed three people to empty out the old shed and put these items into the new one. Katy, Emma and Claire were up for this whilst Lindy and Paulin were advised by Alan to remove nails off two wooden boards using a drill. Finally, the remaining group of John, Isaac, Folarin, Nathan and Vic teamed up with Eddie as he had a massive task of digging out the foundations, moving soil and preparing the foundations of a new shed. Emma did arrive slightly later, but Jane still had new tasks for us. She asked Emma to search the site to pick up and collect any loose nails. Unfortunately, during this re-design project lots of fasteners (nails, screws and bolts) have been left behind after the scaffolding to the building next door had been taken down.

After 40 minutes, listening to tunes and working on each of our own task, we had to call it a night. Yet, Eddie wanted to make sure we finished off the foundation task, so each person took a slab to put down on the (un)even soil and sand base. With a quick group photo on the foundation, we said our goodbyes and the same group apart from John ran back to Old Spike. Some called it a night whilst others were up for one drink at The Angel Oak.

---

Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out tonight! Thank you for keeping up with the long run either way! Alan, Eddie and Jane appreciated that we had a large group to do various tasks around the Nature Reserve. We were able to complete a few tasks and left with the foundations of the shed set and in place. Next time, we might build the new shed!

---

Thank You to myself

GoodGym is all about getting fit and doing good! We praise the runners/cyclists/walkers who come to get fit and help out, but we often forget about our task owner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alan, Eddie and Jane for preparing the tasks for us to do and getting us in order. We will be back on the 2nd of August!