Back at Westcombe Woodlands, and this time we had royalty. Alongside mere mortals Jenny, Aman and Ivar, Marta rocked up fresh from junior parkrun having officially ascended to the GoodGym pantheon of gods with 1000 tasks!!

No red carpet awaited, so we made our own, hauling bucket after bucket of woodchip up the narrow paths and spreading it across the mud.

By the end, we’d mulched the mission, and left the trail looking tree-mendous.

On a grey, but thankfully dry, Sunday morning, six GoodGym-ers headed down to support Hornfair junior parkrun in Charlton. We helped the wonderful volunteer team with various roles including marshalling, timekeeping, and delivering the first timer's welcome.

After the usual lively warm-up, the junior runners were off! There were plenty of smiles as everyone completed two kilometres in their own way - by running, walking, skipping, and jumping. 23 runners took part this week, including a few coming along for the very first time - a big increase on the 6 from last week!

To top it all off, this event marked a truly incredible milestone - it was Marta’s 1000th good deed! And what better way to celebrate than surrounded by community spirit and high-fives?

A fantastic morning all round, which was followed by the usual coffee and catch up at the wonderful Old Cottage Cafe, before a few of us headed onwards to more volunteering at Westcombe Woodlands.

What a buzzing morning at the Community Hospice today, and a warm welcome to Mo for her very first GG task!

Head Gardener Jason kicked things off by showing us the peonies we planted last month. They’re looking strong and healthy; here’s hoping for blooms later this year.

Our main mission was a satisfying round of ‘chop and drop’, cutting back tired growth to make way for fresh spring shoots. Instead of letting the trimmings break down where they fell, we raked and gathered them up and added them to the compost heap elsewhere in the garden.

We also tackled two stubborn rose bushes and a couple of thorny brambles. Deep roots and all, they didn’t give up easily, but neither did we!

With tools put away, flower beds ready to spring into new life and all of us feeling that warm glow that follows hard work in good company we wrapped up with a few team photos, attempting to capture the energy of the morning. Let’s just say our synchronised jump shots need a little work… check out our social media feeds to see the results!