On a grey, but thankfully dry, Sunday morning, six GoodGym-ers headed down to support Hornfair junior parkrun in Charlton. We helped the wonderful volunteer team with various roles including marshalling, timekeeping, and delivering the first timer's welcome.

After the usual lively warm-up, the junior runners were off! There were plenty of smiles as everyone completed two kilometres in their own way - by running, walking, skipping, and jumping. 23 runners took part this week, including a few coming along for the very first time - a big increase on the 6 from last week!

To top it all off, this event marked a truly incredible milestone - it was Marta’s 1000th good deed! And what better way to celebrate than surrounded by community spirit and high-fives?

A fantastic morning all round, which was followed by the usual coffee and catch up at the wonderful Old Cottage Cafe, before a few of us headed onwards to more volunteering at Westcombe Woodlands.

What a buzzing morning at the Community Hospice today, and a warm welcome to Mo for her very first GG task!

Head Gardener Jason kicked things off by showing us the peonies we planted last month. They’re looking strong and healthy; here’s hoping for blooms later this year.

Our main mission was a satisfying round of ‘chop and drop’, cutting back tired growth to make way for fresh spring shoots. Instead of letting the trimmings break down where they fell, we raked and gathered them up and added them to the compost heap elsewhere in the garden.

We also tackled two stubborn rose bushes and a couple of thorny brambles. Deep roots and all, they didn’t give up easily, but neither did we!

With tools put away, flower beds ready to spring into new life and all of us feeling that warm glow that follows hard work in good company we wrapped up with a few team photos, attempting to capture the energy of the morning. Let’s just say our synchronised jump shots need a little work… check out our social media feeds to see the results!

Eleven Goodgymers came along to tonight's task for our 9th birthday. What a great turnout!

We were back at Box3Education, helping transform their unit in Bexleyheath Mall into a community space. Walking through the closed mall to get there was a little surreal!

Professor Levi met us and we soon got started with painting metal shelving units, and there was a lot of them!

We got stuck in with brushes and rollers, being super careful not to get paint on the nice floor. (Thankfully there were industrial wipes available to mop up drips!). While we worked there was lots of talking and banter, with a few jokes and hot drinks thrown in!

I noticed some black paint on my GoodGym top... I only had my-shelf to blame!

The session flew by and it was time to wash the painting gear and make our way out of the mall.

We then headed to the nearby Wetherspoons where Lisa and Graham had secured a large table for us.

The evening continued with food, drinks and more chatter, plus a chocolate Connie Caterpillar cake complete with candles and a rendition of 'Happy Birthday To Us'! Nine years of doing good and social fitness in Bexley - that's a brilliant milestone!

A great night was had by all, thanks for coming everyone. Here's to the next year!

This morning Eltham junior parkrun marked its 10th birthday, and we were there to help the celebrations go with a swing while also helping making sure the event ran safely for everyone taking part.

It was bucketing down when we joined the other volunteers to collect our hi-vis jackets and high-five hands. Spirits were high 🥳, even if the weather wasn’t playing along 🌧.

Then, as if by magic, the rain eased off as we headed to our positions; Peter as timekeeper, Ivar marshaling at the 'Corner Out of the Bushes', and Johnny and Sarah doing a double act at 'Split Point'.

Three-two-one-GO!

Fifty-four youngsters and their grown-ups set off for two dry, albeit ridiculously muddy laps, slip-sliding round with plenty of smiles.

Once the finishers were through, we helped pack everything away before enjoying some birthday treats - a fitting way to celebrate a decade of junior parkrun with our friends at Eltham juniors!