Three of us GoodGymers were at Crossness Pumping Station museum this morning. After observing a minute's silence for Remembrance we got kitted out in hard hats and safety glasses before getting busy in the spectacular Victorian engine hall.

Our tasks were to dust and wipe down some of the ornate ironwork on the ground floor, and polish one of the brass handrails high above on the level where we were side-by-side with the tops of the giant beam engines.

The brass took some serious elbow grease to remove decades of tarnish. In an hour we'd only tackled a small section, but what a transformation! A big thank you to Yee, part of the wider team of Crossness volunteers who worked alongside us, bringing the handrails back to a glorious shine.

Afterwards we enjoyed hot drinks and a lovely chat in the museum's punily named Ness Cafe.

Restoration of the huge engine hall and the surrounding Crossness site is an ongoing project that will take years to complete, and it's all being carried out by an amazing team of volunteers. We're very happy to be playing our small part in preserving this wonderful piece of history.

If you'd like to join us next time, we'll be back on Sunday 13 December and we'd love to see you - sign up here.

It's been a long time since we last helped out at The Exchange in Erith, so it was great to be back.

The Exchange has a wonderful garden, and we'd been asked to help turn a large compost heap by moving its contents from a full pen into the empty one next door.

First, we needed to clear away nettles and brambles, and collect discarded flower pots and litter to give ourselves better access. So it was on with the heavy-duty gloves and out with the secateurs and litter pickers! This didn't take long, and soon we were ready for the main event.

If you've never moved compost, you might be surprised just how hard work it is! We certainly got a good workout as we forked the material from one side to the other. As part of the process, we also cut small twigs and stems into shorter pieces to help them rot down more quickly. Anything thicker than a pencil was picked out and tossed into one-tonne bags to be disposed of elsewhere.

In our allotted time, we managed to turn over about half the compost, so there may well be a return visit to finish the job.

Karen, manager at The Exchange, seemed very pleased with our efforts and rewarded us with hot drinks in the lovely coffee bar. It was a welcome chance to sit and chat over hot chocolates and coffees before heading home, tired but happy!

When Mr Davies, the head teacher at St Peter Chanel Primary School, asked if we could help the Year 5 APT (Air Pollution Team) with some planting, we were very happy to lend a hand.

Working alongside the children, we planted heather, cyclamen, hardy shrubs, grasses and herbs in the flowerbeds outside the school reception, making the area greener and more wildlife-friendly 🐝🌻🌱.

As we worked together, the children explained that the whole project had been their own idea. They told us they had even walked to the local B&Q to choose the plants themselves (with a little help from the shop's staff). Everything was funded by money they had won through the London Children's Flower Society's 'Growing Together Grant', which also covered the cost of compost, brightly coloured trowels and some rather cute penguin-motif gardening gloves!

Once all the planting was done, we helped give everything a good watering and the job was complete.

It was brilliant to see the children so engaged with the task and talking so confidently about their project. We hope they're really proud of what they've achieved – the flowerbeds look fantastic, and it's lovely to know the children have played such a big part in making their school a greener place 🌿🌼

Mr Davies sent us this message:

A huge thanks for the team’s support today - it was greatly appreciated and we’ve already had so many comments about the front of the school!

Thank you Mr Davies for inviting us to be involved.

We also loved having Lisa with us for her first task as a full member of team GoodGym Bexley. (You may remember Lisa and her husband Justin joined us a few weeks ago as honorary GGers in their official capacity as Mayor of Bexley and Consort.) Great to have you with us Lisa 🥳.