It was a warm but overcast morning in Twickenham as four of Goodgym’s finest gathered at the Richmond Furniture Scheme for our monthly mission there.

The RFS is a great organisation which repairs and restores donated furniture which is sold on to the public, at discounted rates for those who need a little more help.

We welcomed back a long-lost Vix and an even longer-lost Pippa and everyone got stuck in to the task, which was to move stone slabs from one side of the car park to the other. We decided to make use of one of the trolleys which Harry dragged across and up a deceptive incline to reach the shed where the slabs were to be stacked.

No slab was too heavy for two and we finished the main part of the task in 4 trips. It then remained for us to shovel the soil (as the slabs had been surrounding a flowerbed of sorts) into bags and across to the same destination.

It was a satisfying mission followed by a coffee in Richmond for those going that way. We’re looking forward to being back at the RFS in September.

Last night we were back at Cultivate London, a local horticultural charity, for round two of an unbe-leaf-ably big task. One that has a big impact though! Cultivate have been collecting all the leaves that fall into the playground at a local school and bagging them up so they turn into mulch. They then sell the nutrient rich mulch to local people and the profit goes back into the charity. Neat, right?

They needed a hand getting all the good mulch bagged up - enter GoodGym! So after a warm up where we cheered Eloise for an epic triathlon at the weekend, we set off on our run.

We arrived to find Romina waiting for us with tools and bags, and got to work. Despite it being just leaves, the filled bags turned out to be surprisingly heavy so it was quite the workout. Michelle, Steph, Eloise and Luis formed a great team to lift and squash, taking inspiration from the noble art of grape crushing. Unfortunately they did not produce any wine this time.

After 40 minutes of solid work we had made an enormous dent in the pile - I'd say one more session should do it! We were rewarded with a tree groaning with plums, and spent a happy few minutes enjoying the delicious fruit before heading back for fitness (just as fun?).

The workout last night focused on lower body, core and arms, and all muscle groups got a good challenge. Next week we're back at Chiswick House for another session in the beautiful grounds. Until then, happy GGing!

Last week, 7 Goodgymmers went to Peckham Rye Tiny Forest to do some weeding.

First to arrive at our meeting point, Old Spike, were Steve and Nelly. I arrived late to find them waiting outside, having a jolly natter. David arrived next, followed by Rosemary and Goodgym tourist Pippa 👋

After a quick warm up and ice breaker, we set of for an artificially long run whilst Steve walked there - this was a smart move since in the humidity, running felt surprisingly hard! A slog around the park, but worth it because it will make us stronger..

We arrived at Tiny Forest - James was already there, and Steve too. They'd already got stuck in. We followed suit, wading and weeding in between the trees. It was a chilled out kind of task, with chatter about recent news reports (someone got arrested for carrying gardening tools?!) and where to go for a drink after the task. The consensus was Franks cafe, which coincidentally was also someone's answer to the ice breaker question: "Whats your favourite place in London to go to in the summer?" 🌇☀️