If only the skies had been as blue as the paint job we did last night!

We started off the evening dry as a bone, and even though the gathering clouds were ominous, we were looking forward to an inside task. There may have been a little bit of disappointment for some in the air after the football the night before but we were cheered up with a flying visit from a friend - great to have you back for a session Jack!

The theme of the evening was positivity (especially given the prospect of our margs and margs social later on that evening), so after our warm up we each told the group something that gives us a little lift. Answers included sugar, gin, ringing a friend, yoga, coffee and entering a race - which I think is a very good range!

We set off for the ROSE clubroom, a space which is the home to lots of important resources for local people, including free workshops, classes and meals, a community engagement group, local clean ups sessions and events for children.

When we arrived we found the place already set up and ready to go, and we were delighted to see that rather than refreshing white walls with more white paint as we usually do, we had a major colour transformation ahead of us. Grabbing our brushes, masking tape and rollers, we set about changing the colour scheme from a browny purple to a fabulous bright blue!

During the course of the evening there was plenty of Changing Rooms v 30 Minute Makeover chat, remembering Smiley Carol and all the transformations that didn't quite go to plan! Luckily the new colour at the community centre was universally approved of, and we managed to successfully get the first coat on relatively quickly. We were on a roll(er)! We'll be back in a couple of weeks to do the other sections of wall.

We were just having our group photo taken and finishing up the last of the clearing up when the skies darkened even more and there came the sound of thunder rumbling. The next thing we knew the heavens had opened. We stood under cover for a few minutes discussing what to do, but it was showing no signs of stopping. There was nothing for it but to bite the bullet and head into the storm. The rain spurred us on to a nice fast run back to base and we were back in record time. Or perhaps it was the prospect of margarita pizzas and cocktails at a local bar? Who knows!

Next week we're back at a local community garden which is being reopened to the public after being shut since lockdown. It would be great to see you there!

We've also started weekly Sunday morning sessions helping out with the junior parkrun in Battersea Park. It's a really great event helping get young people active, so if you'd like to join in the fun then please sign up here.

It's not often we skip the fitness session in Wandsworth, but after a monster task shifting planks of wood across an estate, we decided we'd worked hard enough!

The hard graft was all in a good cause though. A local food waste and community charity had been donated a huge amount of wood. Local leader Hadas has big plans to transform the planks into raised beds to create an accessible community garden in the area. The trouble is they had been left somewhere that was blocking the pavement and people had started dumping stuff in the storage area. It needed to be moved as a priority. Enter GoodGym!

We had a few things to tick off before we started. First was our warm up and a weekly quiz question where we guessed how many balls are used at Wimbledon every year (54 250 in case you're wondering!).

We were also really happy to welcome Elif to her very first session - give her a huge cheer - and Shiv to his first visit at Wandsworth. Great to have you both join us!

We also reminded ourselves of a couple of fun sessions coming up. On Saturday a group of us are doing Clapham Parkrun, followed by a coffee, and then a quick session at the GoodGym garden. Come and do any or all of it - you can find all the details here] (https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/goodgym-wandsworth-x-great-get-together-garden-morning-coffee). Next Monday following the group run we're going to have a special one off social trying out a local bar's offer of £6 Margs and pizzas. What a way to start the week - come and celebrate with us!

After a nice quick run down to Doddington we found Hadas already dismantling the structure and hopped straight into the job at hand. We transported hundreds of bits of wood back and forth. It was the first step in an ambitious plan to build a new garden for everybody to use. There is a wonderful community space that was built on top of a unused car park just the round the corner, and we go every month to help out. However, it is only accessible by a flight of stairs, so it's great to be involved in a project that is convenient for everybody.

After almost an hour of heavy lifting, we had one more challenge. First to see how many GGers it took to shift two massive planters, and secondly to see how many GGers we could fit into said planters! Answers in the photos...

I am just confirming the task for next week, so watch this space, but as always it will start at the same time from BAC before running to a local organisation. Hope to see you there!

We kicked off yesterday's group run with some good news, which is always nice! There was a big round of applause for Paul, who, by completing a whopping 17 good deeds last month left him at number 7 on the GoodGym wide leaderboard. Amazing! If you're going to buy a lottery ticket anytime soon then make sure you take Annabel as the luck is with her - great news that she has got a place in next year's London Marathon on her first ballot attempt! We're with you every step of the way.

Given the huge amount of sport being played at the moment what with the Euros and Wimbledon going on at the same time, we did our warm up and then took it in turns to name a sports venue - the more obscure the better! Options ranged from the classics such as Lords to The R. Premadasa Stadium in Sri Lanka - so safe to say we had quite a range!

We set off for our run down to Doddington Roof Garden for our monthly session there, meeting with Jason who was already getting the lowdown on what needed to be done from Malissa. The jobs were watering, cutting back ivy and hanging mirrors, building a bug habitat and tearing up cardboard to lay as a base in the raised beds.

We divided up in to teams and quickly got to work. We were just working out how to hang the mirrors to make a reflective wall when the whole garden was filled with gales of laughter from the hose area - I'm not sure what happened but there were quite a few damp red tshirts and maybe even one or two guilty expressions?!

Jobs done, a few of the group headed for the pub to secure the tables for the quiz, while others ran over to a green space to do a floor based strength and stability session. It may not have been quite the ideal spot as we were treated to enthusiastic encouragement from a nearby dog, but Chris took the positives, noting how good the wildlife diversity was on the ground there, and a bet between Leanne and Paul saw Leanne earning herself a pint!

Great job everybody! Next week we're back to the Doddington estate to move a whole load of donated wood to a community centre. Hope to see you there! happing GGing everybody.