last night we ran 6.1km in humid temperature to St Augustines' chruch.

Next week Tuesday will be a big day for them and the community garden, they are going to be judged for London in Bloom. All our hard work in the winter months rain/snow makes them very proud to be a contender in London in Bloom. Unfortunately the judges will not get to see the array of colours we witnessed in spring when the Tulips and Daffodils were in bloom, however, Sue and Bill have taken photos of the flowers and plants throughout the various seasons and put them together in a nice briefing for the assessor.

When we arrived at St Augustines' Sue as always had a list of stuff for us to complete, clearing up the wood chips from the car park, cutting down a dead tree and cutting it up into small pieces for the shredder to be turned into wood chips for the flower beds. We did some weeding and sweeping of the car park for its important meeting next week.

Next week we will be running 1km to our litter picking Picnic in Park Hill, bring your friends and family along with some drinks and snacks.

Upcoming events

22nd July 2023 Summer Social Rounders: Victoria Park (Away game) - North vs. South of the River

30th July 2023 Run for Jo 5k family friendly run in memory of Jo Cox

7th September 2023 GoodGym London Monthly Social

Last night 9 members jogged/walked 2.7km to assist the residents of ECCO, tidy up the boulevard.

We welcomed back Tim who last came to a group run in 2019, he had signed up to attend prior to last night however the demands of family life have kept him away, but it was good to see him and hear about what he has been doing over the last 3 years.

We also welcomed back Mrs D'Silva who recently got married and was coming back from her honeymoon full of joy and smiles.

Almost forgot to give a shout out to our deserter Paul despite working in Croydon and signs up for almost all our weekly runs he finally made an appearance, I wonder if it is because he's managed to twist my arm to participate in the Dino Dash and he wanted to ensure Iwasn't going to desert him so he would have to complete two legs in my absence.

We were joined by Jerry and two other members of ECCO as we cut back the over growth and weeded, it was only a couple of months ago we visited ECCO and and tidied up another part of the boulevard however with the recent rain and now glorious sunshine weeds and trees are basking in the great growing conditions.

After 6 years of operating in Croydon you'd like to think we have gained some form of notoriety (Red T-Shirts GoodGym across the front would be a giveaway of who we are), however without fail each time we are at a task with ECCO, there is always someone who thinks we are there as a punishment, dished out by His Majesty's officials not that we have all voluntarily decided to go out and do some community service out of the goodness of our hearts. We had to succumbed to some jovial advice about staying out of trouble and not to get caught in the future.

Only trouble we got into last night was with the thorns and spiky bushes who ensured our punishment for trying to cut them down and root them out was swift, so much for not getting caught, those words fell on deaf ears.

All in all we had a good time a lot of conversations and planning for our end of the month litter pick and picnic in Park Hill where when we will be celebrating our 6th birthday. Sign up here and take a tasty treat or beverage with you, we will be having a few games and competitions

I know I have jumped ahead of my self by providing the sign up for our birthday celebrations before providing next weeks but I'm just so excited about it.

Next week we will be heading to St Augustine's to add some final touches to the garden before the judges arrive to judge for London in Bloom, sign up here.

We are in need of a new start location, sadly Solutions will be closing down on 30 June, they have been our home for 6 years, despite the various change in their staff they have always been very accommodating to us and will be missed. Especially on those freezing cold nights when tasks are canceled at the last minute and they have been generous to let us have our fitness sessions inside.

We are in the process of trying to find a new start location, so far a few positive conversation have been had with potential replacements but still need to iron out a few things. We are working on getting this sorted before the end of the month so wish us luck or if you are aware of a space we could use with somewhere to change and store our belongings when we are out in the community doing good, please let me know.