It's been a busy old year at GoodGym Wandsworth and we have climbed to an extraordinary 11 071 good deeds!

We marked this amazing milestone with a night of even more doing good, a festive task, delicious baked treats and some amazing singing. Not only that but we were able to celebrate Ali's 30th birthday. What a way to see off the year...

During our warm up we discussed our favourite things to eat on Christmas day - we're looking forward to Christmas pud, yorkies, cauliflower cheese, risotto, pasta, smoked salmon and even...parsnips!

It was great to be going back to a task we hadn't visited in a while. Arriving at the Venue community centre we were met by Hadas and split into three groups. One team tackled the decorations, one had the job of packing away chairs and tables and the third got to grips with clearing the outside space.

It didn't take long for the place to be transformed. It had been looking a bit neglected but with all hands on the deck making space for a big local event and giving it a festive makeover it quickly became a community Christmas wonderland.

The final step was to switch on the lights, so after a countdown it was up to Ali to do the honours. Great work everybody - it doesn't take much to make a big difference.

We ran back to base for stretches, even managing a sprint up the big final hill and perhaps an even quicker sprint over to the pub for a night of sweet treats and plenty of karaoke. Turns out that GG Wandsworth has a lot of hidden talent in its midst - take a look at the photos to see the star turns in action!

There are missions happening over the Christmas period, including the opportunity to help out with a big community meal at the BAC on the day itself. Our first group run of the year will be on Monday 5th January - join us to kick off another amazing year of GoodGyming.

Have a great break everybody and thank you for a year that has been filled with unforgettable memories and a huge amount of doing good (and squats). Roll on 2026!

A cracking crew of volunteers rolled into Unigate Woods armed with gloves, loppers, and the kind of optimism usually reserved for IKEA instructions, and got stuck into a proper woodland glow-up: bramble got a ruthless trim, dead trees were chopped down to size, and fly-tipping was given the boot (because nothing says “nature” like someone else’s mystery rubbish). There were scratches, sweats, and at least one “this branch is definitely winning” moment, but by the end we’d cleared paths, reclaimed space for actual plants to exist, and made the woods feel a whole lot more un-litter-gate and a lot less bramble-ramble. Turns out many hands really do make light work—especially when those hands are also hauling a soggy carpet out of a hedge.

On a wet Monday night in Wandsworth we bought the festive cheer, beginning with a warm up and a survey about Christmas films - do they make you ho ho ho or are they just about as fun as an over boiled brussel sprout? The grinches just lost out in the votes, and the verdict is in - Christmas movies are here to stay!

It was great to see some new faces along to our run - a huge welcome to Emma and Giulio who came along to their very first session. Give them a big festive cheer!

Our job for the evenings was at Larkhall park, a regular location for GoodGym visits. Every time we come we work hard on various spots throughout the park alongside the regular volunteers who help keep it a safe and welcoming green space for local people.

Last night we divided into two groups. The first team was to tackle the big bed at the entrance of the park, the second went off to help shift a massive pile of soil and to clear an area of leaves.

Before long it was action stations and everybody was hard at work. Jordan and Felix took on the massive soil shifting challenge, while Jason debuted his fabulous new invention - the spade light. Quick, somebody get it patented. It only took 40 minutes for us to make a big difference and the Friends of Larkhall Park group appreciated how much got done. Well done team!

The fun didn't stop there though - there was just enough time to squeeze in a circuits based fitness station in the playground. It featured squats, ladder runs, curtsy lunges and plenty of laughs.

Next week it's our final group run of 2026. I'm just finalising the task, so keep an eye out for the sign up page. We'll follow this with a social at a local pub - time to get those vocal chords warmed up!

There are plenty of opportunities to spread the Christmas joy this week, including:

• Helping collect donations and other jobs at Battersea's oldest church tonight. We really need a couple more volunteers for this - and you will be rewarded by celebrity speakers and mulled wine!

• Supporting a carol concert for the elderly on Thursday

• Putting up Christmas decorations at a church in Battersea on Saturday morning

For our first run of the month, and with the countdown to Christmas well and truly underway, we were back at the beautiful Doddington roof garden.

To kick off the night we welcomed Salaheddine to his first session - lovely to meet you Salaheddine and great having you join us last night!

We did a warm up and discussed our favourite Christmas songs, which ranged from Jingle Bells (in multiple languages) to East 17's classic, Stay. A very diverse mix of festive bangers!

We ran down to the task, stopping to check out one of the tasks for the evening - a massive tonne bag of soil that was looking for a good home! With our eyes on the prize we carried on to the garden, where half the group grabbed tools and went back for the soil, and the other half got on with jobs on site.

While Sophie, Salaheddine, Jordan, Johnnie and Jason tackled the composting and path digging at the roof garden, Catherine, Felix, Matthew, Annabel, Letizia, Steph and Beth were busy digging soil into tugs and wheelbarrows before transporting the heavy mud the kilometer back to Doddington - talk about a good workout! Great to see that the soil - which turned out to be fantastic quality - was put to good use rather than being wasted.

After all that hard work it was almost time to wrap up - but not before a fitness session which really tested our lower body. Featuring pogos, curtsy lunges, squats and jacks we did a five minute finisher which challenged those leg muscles! Great work everybody.

Half of us ran back for stretches while the other half successfully represented GoodGym at the quiz - a job well done all round.

I mentioned a lovely mission happening next Tuesday at the oldest church in Battersea. If you fancy a night helping out at this beautiful location raising funds for the brilliant Katherine Lowe Settlement then please sign up here.