On a crisp, clear and very chilly sunday morning, a group of Goodgymers met up by the banks of the Thames to tackle a persistent litter problem. Armed with pickers and trugs we collected microplastics, bottles, cans and even a lost croc shoe. A morning well spent!

It was our last group run of the year yesterday and what a Christmas cracker it turned out to be!

It had all the hallmarks of a brilliant evening. Lots of lovely new people to welcome, a really impactful task, and not forgetting some incredible cake!

It was fantastic to have Eavan, Xena, Gabriella and Mary join us for their first GG experience, please give them a big festive cheer!

With cake in tow, Catherine set off leading the walking group while the rest of us did a little warm up. We also discussed what we'd most like to find under the Christmas tree on the big day itself, with answers ranging from a set of travel cutlery to a mansion in Wandsworth!

With both groups arriving simultaneously at the Hebe foundation (and a bit of confusion where the actual door was), we were welcomed by Amie who explained the mission of the Hebe foundation. The charity was set up to support and nurture young people in the area, and at Christmas they put together boxes to donate to the most financially challenged families. With the cost of living crisis hitting hard this year, the number needed has gone up.

So we got cracking straight away. While two groups ran off to local supermarkets to pick up spare cardboard boxes, the teams at the hall began assembling, packing and writing labels. After just under an hour we counted over 50 boxes ready to go, but there is still more to do so if you're around next Monday please join us directly at the hall to finish the job.

All that was left to do was a short jog back to base and then to the pub for our Christmas social, where to the delight of the group there was a fabulous sparkly wall to pose in front of! There was also a Wandsworth based quiz, Catherine's absolutely incredible cake, and plenty of laughs. What a way to see off a year of doing good!

Hope to see as many of you as possible over the festive season, be it at next week's mission, parkrun, another social or running/walking/cycling the streets of Wandsworth! Until then, wishing every single one of you a happy, healthy and safe festive season.