On Sunday, a lovely team of GoodGymmers headed to Welling High Street to give the Christmas tree its festive glow — and wow, did we earn it. The wind was relentless, the kind that tries to steal your tinsel and your dignity at the same time.

But honestly? It just made the mission feel even more special. There’s something about standing in a blustery square, sharing baubles, holding branches steady for each other, and laughing when the wind tries to decorate you instead of the tree. Teamwork turned what could’ve been a battle into a brilliant, joy-filled hour.

And the magic didn’t stop there — we even had a surprise VIP drop in! Father Christmas himself swung by to check out our handiwork and officially sign off the tree. (We’re pretty sure that counts as being on the “Nice List” twice.)

Despite the weather, the tree came together beautifully — fast, too. It’s amazing what a group of kind, determined people can do when they pitch in together. Now Welling has a Christmas tree that shines a little brighter because of you.

Windy? Absolutely. Heartwarming? Completely. Festive? As ever.

8 goodgym-ers met the Friends of Hornfair Park team for a chat & cleanup session today. We were greeted by a couple of Rockin' Robins ready to cheer us on, and soon, armed with litterpicks & bags, we plotted our route. It's a big park with lots going on, so the area outside the lido was first, which involved a battle against the hedges, then on to the tennis court perimeter and fences at the edge of the park. 

A veritable cocktail of weather awaited us, starting with a weak Winter Sun, progressing as the task went on to the beginnings of a Dark & Stormy.

The same could be said of our litter pickings, which ranged from discarded clothing, lots of trademarked takeaway boxes (no free advertising here...) and the evidence of a few parties including vodka bottles, beer cans and even a large lampshade resembling a disco ball...!

A great team makes the task fly by & soon we'd run out of time but had made an impact on getting the park a bit tidier, so excellent work all.

Take care & see you all soon 🙂

Despite the December chill, Julian led a determined crew of runners to yesterday’s GoodGym Greenwich task. Khai, Ceci and Kerry joined him on the run, while the rest of the team met us at the Brooklands School. We were especially pleased to welcome back Sevan, making a triumphant return after a work Christmas do, and Aman, who left Bristol early just to make it in time. That’s the kind of commitment that keeps GoodGym glowing - heroes, all of you!

Our mission for the evening was to paint the staff room and finish cleaning the cupboards. And true to the evening’s punny title (No Whisk, No Reward) we kicked things off by seeing what on earth we could use to stir the paint... it actually wasn't a whisk but we couldn't resist Khai's excellent pun anyway. With slightly fewer rollers and brushes than ideal (and absolutely no spare whisks), we embraced classic GoodGym ingenuity and made do with what we had. Before long, the first coat was on the walls and the cupboards were sparkling.

We didn’t quite manage to get around the whole room this time, but fear not, we’ll be back in January to finish the job!

Looking ahead, there’s plenty more GoodGym goodness on the horizon: 👉 This Saturday: Talk and Tidy and Westcombe Woodlands 👉 Next Wednesday: get ready to flex those painting muscles again for an indoor task at Arthur’s school!

Brilliant work everyone🛠️🎨💪🏽❤️

Until next time,

Rachel