We arrived on the farm at 2pm and were met by Kate. After washing our hands for biosecurity we collected our tools were told about our task for the afternoon. There was a large hedge which needed trimming back so we set to work with secateurs and loppers trying to trim it back into a neat shape. While doing this we had to save the hazel which we could feed to the goats later on and had to separate the other components of the trimmings into piles of brambles, holly hawthorn and maple. We were very speedy with sorting the hedge and set to work on another smaller one adjacent to us. Kate was very pleased with our work as she was expecting it would take multiple sessions to sort out the hedge! Our reward for our hard work was to feed the goats the hazel which they devoured. After this we had a tour around the farm visiting all the animals including the adorable 5 day old piglets. We all had a wonderful afternoon and left feeling accomplished.

Will it or won't it? That's the question we ask ourselves every Wednesday for the past month....will it rain or won't it?

Tonight, Sam had the privilege of 10 other GoodGymers join him as Spring and better weather decided to show up. Yet, there was a bitter wind in the air! Joao was waiting for Sam outside Old Spike when he arrived to open the cafe. It was great to see a friendly face as Nelly popped her head inside after taking a short break from GoodGym. Steve, Lindy and Paulin all came just before 18:45 for a catch-up before we got started. Jess was waiting outside as we went around to the alleyway to warm up.

Sam gave away the ice-breaker question early as people needed some time to think about their answer. Tonight's question was to do with the fact it's Earth Day on Saturday, so he asked: What is the best time about living on planet Earth/what is that "aha" moment you have that makes you love living?

Paulin started us off as she had that moment earlier crossing Tower Bridge on her bike and the sun was geaming on her face, Nelly talked about looking at the beautiful landscape out in the countryside, Joao has those moments when he is diving and looking at all the ocean's creatures, Steve often has it when he is just looking around...it's in front of you, Jess pretty much described a summer's day in the park (with a picnic), Lindy when is laughing with her friends and can't catch her breath and finally, Sam was similar to Paulin with the warmth of the sun, but also added hearing the birds tweet in the morning when he wakes up...he knows he's alive!

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1 metre = 100 centimetres

Our gentle 2.8k run from Old Spike to Thorlands took us 20 minutes as we arrived a few minutes before we needed to, but we met Benjamin and Jo at the Walled Garden, where Simon had already prepared the wheelbarrow full of tools.

We made our way to the Kitchen garden, where Simon told us what to do. We had to leave a metre length from where we stopped last time before we could dig another trench to bury logs. Simon had the vision of what this woodchip path that starts in front of the clubhouse looks like and so he measured it out with sticks.

The team was split in two: we had a team going back and forth to get woodchip and logs. This team was led by Lindy and she took Joao, Jess and Nathan (who had just arrived after doing some missions near by).

The second team either used the soil to create a "asparagus growing area" in the Forest garden. Nelly and Steve started on that whilst Benjamin and Jo made headway on the trench and outline of where we would bury the logs to determine the edges of this woodchip path. Sam and Paulin started off with sawing the wood logs that were "out of shape".

Eventually, Vic arrived as she had FOMO and opted to go back and forth to collect more logs from the woodchip pile. A few people swapped jobs as we used the 40 minutes to lay the foundations of the woodchip path in the Kitchen garden. It will be completed on Saturday.

With Simon rushing off to a meeting, Sam called it a day at 19:55 as the team still had to take back the tools and run back to Old Spike. Yet, what a difference it was from the start of the session!

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Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out tonight! As the saying goes "Many hands make light work" and that was proven tonight as we blitz the task in 45 minutes and yes, there's still a little bit more to be done to complete the path from the clubhouse to the "Forest" garden, but progress is progress. So, a massive thank you for coming out and being apart of that experience.

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Thank You Simon

GoodGym is all about getting fit and doing good! We praise the runners/cyclists/walkers who come to get fit and help out, but we often forget about our task owner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Simon for organising the tools and telling us what to do before rushing off to your meeting. You have since commented that the work we did was "brilliant", so happy that you're happy.

Sam arrived at 10:00 to find no one outside Kingswood House. He knew Paulin and James would be slightly late and then found out Maddie (task owner) would be thirty minutes late too.

Still, despite the later start as Aleksandra, Laura, Cat and then Jess showing up. We managed to get all the main task of sweeping and scrubbing the marble floors in the conservatory room of Kingswood House, which would turn into a mental health space with lots of plants.

Sam, Aleksandra and James all took it in turns to use the power washer to spray off the moss on the patio slabs and the difference was very visible.

Throughout the session, Jess kept on giving news that we hadn't heard like the train line from Beckenham Junction to London Bridge would be closed for five months for structural engineering works and limiting volunteering hours by law to 10 hours a week....

Sam took it all in as the truth until Jess revealed at the end, it was all an April's Fool joke...fooled me twice 😜