Everyone loves a new venue for a Goodgym adventure, and tonight's did not disappoint. Wednesday 17th July gave us a balmy summer evening for 7 GoodGym-ers to met outside Charlton House to share childhood memories and a few warm up games before a short run to Charlton Manor Primary School.

We were shown to the beautiful Secret Garden at the school, which has recently lost its gardener so needs a few extra hands on deck to get the weeds under control and the growing areas ready for the children to start planting flowers and crops. Much digging and cutting down of unwanted vegetation ensued, being careful to avoid the good stuff like potatoes, leeks & wildflowers. We were joined by the chickens from the school's coop who had a great time pecking around for worms, along with several villages of snails. Before long we'd run out of space in the huge bin we were using for what we cleared and it was time to jog back to Charlton House for some cool down stretches.

There's still lots of work to be done, so we'll be back to this lovely hidden garden with its beehives, chatty chickens, fruit trees and so much else.

Next week we're at Glyndon Community Centre. Thanks all & see you soon!

I don't know why I bother looking at the weather forecast these days. It seems a bit pointless. But despite an unscheduled shower, the rain took a pause just as we arrived at the raised beds outside the old Trinity Hospital. Julian and co did a run through the park while Fiona and I trundled down from Christchurch School Community Garden with the tools for the job, the litter pickers, loppers and trowels and forks all packed neatly into a very handy barrow. I don't know what to call it because it's far more sophisticated than a barrow.

Anyway, we got to work and spent a very satisfying 45mins weeding and between us collected what must have been 10 or so barrows full of weeds. On the animal front we watched some peregrines wheeling about above us and Kerry was particularly taken with several snail families who we had unearthed from the wilderness and who we re-housed in their tidier shrubbery. We even left some GoodGym leaflets out for those curious passers by who couldn't help smiling to see us working away.

Finally, nursing lots of nettle stings, we called it a night and made our way home. Job very well done team!

Next week we're back at Hervey Road. Until next time!

Today was our monthly Sunday group run and a lovely morning it was too. Deviating from the usual litter pick on Woolwich Common we instead ran to the Mycenae Gardens to join their monthly volunteer session. After a quick check in about what's been tricky and what we've been grateful for this week, we did the short run across Charlton Park and past the Standard to Mycenae Gardens, a hidden gem for some of us and a treat to explore the expansive grounds.

We busied ourselves weeding and transferring the foliage to a make a foliage fence to mark out the wildlife space for non humans to enjoy! An hour well spent chatting and doing some good in lovely surroundings. Topped off with a trip to Boulangerie Jade for some coffee and cake = perfect.

Have a good rest of your weekend everyone, on Wednesday we're at Trinity Hospital raised beds with Fiona again - be prepared for lots of weeding (bug spray and hayfever tablets recommended!) Sign up here

Until next time!

On a lovely balmy summers evening, an intrepid group of GoodGymers assembled at the regular meeting point on the front steps of Charlton House, which looked particularly resplendent in the summer sunshine ☀️

Special welcome to Mo who joined us from Lewisham - great to have you with us Mo and look forward to running with you again soon!

After a brief into and warm-up (only figuratively speaking as we were already very warm! 😆) we made our way to the lovely Hervey Road Sports Field community gardens.

There we were greeted by the lovely Annie and Richard who were quick to designate out the tasks between us. As there were 6 GoodGymers for this task we divided up into three groups.

One group were cutting grass and inverting the soil around for some more wildflower meadows. Another group was weeding the newly planted lavender at the side of the carpark. This was because they were wanting to erect a small wooden fence there to prevent the cars from driving over the soil and ruining the lavender when they parked.

The third group were given the task of separating wood and unwanted elements from the compost in some large plastic sieves. This task included a lot of shaking the sieves to get the soil out with the wood chip removed. It was a lot of fun and paid off in the end when we were able to produce some beautiful soil for the garden.

As the work finished, we all felt very pleased with ourselves for what we had achieved. It is especially lovely to be outdoors on a warm summers evening. Annie and Richard are always grateful for the work that we do, and we had a quick group photo and before we knew it was time to head back to Charlton House.

The warm evenings often mean the pace is a bit slower, but the upside is we get to chat a bit more and enjoy the lovely area of London that we live in. Roll on summer and roll on the next GoodGym task!

Tonight it was weeding, watering and composting at the Charlton Station Community Garden. But tonight was an extra special session because we were joined for the first time by Yingying! It was lovely to meet you and we hope to see you again soon.

After sharing our favourite birds, we set off for a run through Charlton, stopping to say hi to Bambi and her other relatives at the animal park, past the football stadium (come on you reds) and through to the community garden to be met by the volunteers already hard at work.

The task was spreading out compost over the flower beds and veggie beds, watering and a spot of weeding. Many hands make light work and soon it was time for a photo, stretching and off on our journeys home. And some of us picked a few beans and some rocket to enjoy with our dinner!

Nice one team.

Next Wednesday we're at Hervey Road - hope to see you there!