Best-laid plans often go awry... and tonight was one of these times. Our resilient leader Rachel had organised two tasks for the evening (as our little group is not so little anymore!) but alas one fell through at the last minute so all 13 of us ended up together at Claremont Gardens in Surbiton. Fortunately the task here was big enough to take us all and then some.

We all congregated by the dried up pond in Claremont Gardens and task owner Georgina explained that the pond needed to be stripped back of rubbish, sticks, logs and dead/unnecessary reeds so that it could be filled up again. The liner had unfortunately failed which meant, even after all the rain fall of 2026 so far, the pond was mostly dry.

Many hands really were needed for this task as there was a whole load to do. Sticks and logs were collected from the pond bed and turned into a bug hotel up on the bank; reeds were pulled up from the driest parts; Dead vegetation was removed; huge clumps of reed roots were extracted and swathes of grass were dug up, roots and all. We found a few of our amphibious friends along the way and made sure that they hopped off to a safe spot.

The hour flew by and we made great progress. The next step is to fill the pond and hope that our work means that the water holds this time! There's plenty more work to do in and around the pond so hopefully we'll be back to check it out again sometime soon.

The mission at Raleigh House was short but seriously satisfying. With the sun shining and spirits high, our team Jana, Charlotte, Adam, and Emily rolled up their sleeves to tackle the front entrance and give it a well-deserved refresh. Armed with some impressive pick-axe style tools (which definitely made us feel more hardcore than your average gardeners), Adam got straight to work on the stubborn weeds around the entrance sign. He powered through and cleared the whole area an absolute transformation and a job brilliantly done. Charlotte turned her attention to the rose bed, which had been completely taken over by weeds. With patience and determination, she brought it back to life, leaving the roses with space to shine again. Jana took on the long bed under the bush no small task but made great progress clearing it out. Adam jumped back in towards the end to lend a hand, and together they finished off the front section, leaving it neat and tidy. Meanwhile, Emily worked her magic on the driveway, clearing all the weeds and making the whole entrance look instantly more welcoming. As if the satisfying results weren't enough, we were rewarded with some lovely chocolate treats from the Staywell staff, very well received! And to top it all off, Jana brought along homemade chocolate brownies, which went down an absolute treat as we wrapped up. A beautiful morning, great teamwork, and a front entrance that now looks so much better what more could you want?

It was time to get in the festival spirit with a record number of GoodGymers running, walking and cycling to the British Heart Foundation.

With 18 GoodGymers we split into two teams; one on a festival themed window display and another on dining room tables.

The festival team were all about colour and fun. Shelving units were shifted and filled with tents and sleeping bags, a guitar wall was created, a pink BBQ was assembled and a swinging chair was given a good swing test. A few animals even found their way to the party to complete the display.

The second squad was the ultimate dream team of practical pros! Featuring the powerhouse lineup of Laura, Marcos, Manasa, Jonathan, Anna, JP and Sam. This group turned 'flat-pack frustration' into a total breeze.

The team channeled their inner engineers to fix and assemble table legs with surgical precision. Using pure Goodgym muscle, they hauled a fleet of tables and chairs out of storage and onto the shop floor. In record time, the empty floor space went from 'blank canvas' to 'ready for business' thanks to their hustle.

And as every festival needs a crowd we all squeezed into our mini festival for a group pic.

A small but mighty GoodGym crew of Farzeen, Emily, Saber and Jana headed to Staywell New Malden for an hour of gardening. The task was to tackle the weeds around the Staywell information sign and along the hedge at the front of the driveway. Farzeen and Saber got stuck in near the sign, while Emily and Jana started working along the long flowerbed under the hedge. After all the recent rain the soil was very wet and sticky, and the beds were full of wriggly earthworms – great for the soil but a bit messy for us! With time running out, the whole team joined forces to finish the flowerbed and were proud to clear the whole stretch together. Along the way Jana unearthed an unusual find buried in the soil, what looked like an old nappy pin! To top it all off, Staywell kindly left us some Ferrero Rocher chocolates, which were very gratefully received after a muddy but satisfying hour of weeding. Great teamwork all round!

Today goodgymers from several different areas brought and dropped items for the food bank.