It seemed like the end of the summer holidays as we had 17 GoodGymers sign up and come for our group run tonight. Andrada, Daryl, Fi, Lindy, Maria, Nelly, Paulin, Rosalind, Steve. Once everyone had arrived, Sam talked through some changes happening at GoodGym Southwark after his time is up before continuing with his usual speech.

Tonight's ice breaker question, Sam asked everyone to think of their favourite beach as it would be National Beach Day on Friday. Yet, everyone didn't answer the question until we arrived at Salvation Army Camberwell Corps.

We had British beaches, Mexican, Greek, Indonesian, Icelandic and Thai.

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Cleaning frenzy

Our last visit to Salvation Army Camberwell Corps. was in May, so Valentina was happy to see us as we met up with her, Mikhail, Elena and Jessie who ran to the task. After going through our list of beaches, Valentina had 4 jobs for us tonight. The first group with Steve, Lindy, Rosalind and Isaac had to clean and oil the newly donated chairs. As the other groups:

• Daryl, Alex, Andrada, Gemma helped more donations from a cupboard to the newly installed donation bin outside before helping the next team.

• Paulin, Fi, Maria, Jessie and Sam started on the disinfecting and cleaning the baby toys.

• Nelly, Nathan and Elena were tasked with the outside activities which included window cleaning and sweeping.

As we busily cleaned in various ways, the time ticked towards 19:55 as Sam called "time" knowing that it would take 5 minutes to pack up and take a group photo. Some of us were up for a pint after the run, so as we headed back we made our way to The Old Nags Head.

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Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out last night! Valentina is always happy to have our help and can't wait to have us back in October! Thank you to Mikhail for taking the photos and to Maria for backmarking the runs.

Another week goes by and another two newbies. Well, technically, Sana has done a few community sessions with BFC, but this was her first group run and she brought along Kp who came to claim her first good deed! Cecilia was back! Great to know she enjoyed the first session and wanted to come back for more.

As Old Spike filled up, Sam got started with his intro speech earlier as the group had to split up and go to two tasks. Yes, not everyday we have two tasks, but there was a call-out for GoodGym to help out at an urgent task and we responded. Before we got on with the running, Sam asked his ice-breaker question first which was: "Who would you write a fan fiction book about / what would be your specialist subject on Mastermind?"

Only Nelly and Sam relieved their fan fiction book, which would be based on Hopper from Stranger Things and Taylor Swift, respectively. Others opted for the latter question and people had topics like breeds of dogs and cats, nature and artists from specific dates...Justin Bieber from 2009 - 2012, anyone?

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Spick and span

After a quick warm up on the Green, Sam led Roberta, Fi, Nelly and David on a run to Sedan Way/ East Street to fill planters with topsoil as they weaved their way around people on Rye Lane and the Surrey Canal Walk before cutting through Burgess Park to get there within just over 20 minutes to meet Peter, Ed and Vic. They used the 35 minutes they had to fill 3 planters out of 5 whilst listening to the Eurovision playlist... Meanwhile, Maria and Emma worked as a team to led and backmark the second group consisting of Andrada, Cecilia, Kp, Rosalind and Sana as they met Valentina, Elena, Isaac and Phil there. The team split into two, one focusing on the gardening and tidying up the outside whilst the other half concentrated on window cleaning. They did both tasks with efficiency as they were done before 20:00 and opted to set out of their run back earlier.

As both teams ran their routes back, they bumped into each other on Rye Lane with around 500 metres to go! Great timing team as they could stretch and do the cool down together. Thanks to Emma for backmarking and walking back with Kp and Sana.

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Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out last week! Congrat again to the newbies; Kp and Sana for coming along and hope you had a lovely first group run session with us. Kudos to all!

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm very very late, hello, goodbye", like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, Sam (for the first time in his 2.5 years as Area Activator) was very late for the group run and opening Old Spike Peckham as he was held back at work.

Arriving at 18:47, Sam saw everyone gather outside Old Spike Peckham, but to add to his woes, he found out for the first time too that whoever locked up Old Spike Peckham locked the bottom lock too, which he didn't have. Thinking on the spot, he asked the Georgian Wine Bar next door whether the run group could drop bags and coats in their cupboard room at the back. With some persuasion, the bar manager agreed. That was one less stress to deal with. Amongst all the chaos, Sam managed to introduce Tony who came for his first GoodGym session. Hooray and welcome!

The group were led by Paulin to the alleyway as she is preparing to complete her run leader training and wanted to put a practise in tonight. She did a quick jumping and squatting warm up to get us warm.

Noticing the time was approaching 19:00, Sam skipped the ice-breaker (for now) as he led from the front and Steve volunteered to backmark.

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Refreshed walls

Through the backstreets of Peckham, up Chadwick Road (the hill) and down towards Camberwell, we went as we stopped in various places to re-group. We finally made it to Salvation Army Camberwell Corps. in time (19:15) as we met Valentina, Folarin, Phil and Richard who opted to walk / cycle to the task.

After taking a moment to introduce Valentina and what happens at the Salvation Army in Lomond Grove, Valentina gave clear instructions on what needed to be done after learning what we did from the first session. We had to ensure the entrance hall was clear and that there was lining on the floor before any paint could come out. There was enough tools for everyone, so picking up a paint brush or roller and sharing a paint tray, which Lucy had kindly poured out, everyone picked their bit of the wall and concentrated on applying the second coat of paint.

Having missed out on the ice-breaker poll and question earlier, Sam proceeded to ask: Since it was National Pokemon Day on Tuesday, what is your favourite Pokemon from Pikachu, Squirtle, Charmander and Bulbasaur? Plus, he threw in the ice-breaker question which was to do with "Employee Appreciation Day" on Friday: Do you have any cool perks at work that you want to share?

Pikachu won by a few votes, but Squirtle was a close second. Isaac shouted out that his company is doing the 4 day working week (more or less) as he logs off by midday on Friday. Others had flexi-working, which is almost a similar concept, but with a 5 day working week contract.

Once the paint was out and conscious that we had to clean / wash up afterwards, after 30 minutes, we managed to put on a second coat of paint and the team started to head to the kitchen to wash up the water-based paint brushes, rollers and trays.

Valentina was happy with what we had achieved and she will get one or two volunteers to touch up certain parts of the wall that needs to be touched up.

By 20:05, we had to rush off back to Peckham as like a school bus, we said our goodbyes to Adrian, Andrada, Folarin, Isaac and Nelly. After a quick stretch and having reached the Georgian Wine Bar, it was only fair that we brought something from the bar/shop, so Sam and Steve bought a lovely deep red, which was recommended. A great way to end the night!

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Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out last night! It was a bit of a hectic start and we managed to work out a solution to drop off our bags and coats thanks to the Georgian Wine Bar next door. I will ensure Old Spike Peckham does not lock the second lock next Wednesday. Thanks to Steve for backmarking both runs and kudos to everyone for getting stuck in. Another warm welcome to Tony and we hope to see you at another group run or GoodGym session soon. Next Wednesday will be a calm one as we run over to Denmark Hill and Champion Hill to deliver Get Rid Of And Donate (GROAD) flyers to homes and flats around there and on top of that, we have our monthly social, so why don't you join us?

Love was in the air! ❤️

10 love-sick (not really) GoodGymers opted for on a date night with GoodGym.

8 out of 10 cats...GoodGymers were up for the just under 3k group run to Salvation Army Camberwell Corps and met Sam at Old Spike. As runners came in, we caught up on our week and the festivities of Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) and Valentine's Day, the former social date was a more preferred topic. As 18:45 arrived, Sam promptly went through his usual GG intro speech and his ice-breaker snap-poll for the night was to do with, of course, Valentine's Day. Would you prefer to receive a dinner, gift or flowers? Everyone voted for dinner... Sam even prepared an ice-breaker question: Awkward / unusual first date question or scenario?

We had from consoling a Prince fan upon hearing he had died to the date assuming our GoodGymer took drugs in the bathroom (she just had a runny nose...) and from headbutting, the date leaving half through a date to spirit animals not matching....there's been a few awkward dates amongst us.

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You colour my world

After a quick warm-up in the alleyway, Sam led the group through the backstreets of Peckham and up Chadwick Road (the hill) and down towards Camberwell. We were quite pacey this time with Paulin backmarking (both ways). At the task, we met Valentina, Richard and their son, Lucas as well as newbie, Diana and arriving as we just arrived, Sander.

Richard and Valentina had prepared loads of paint, paint brushes and liners to put down to protect the carpeted floor. Yet, before we got going with the painting, our runners got a deserved drink of water, biscuits and heart-shaped Haribos sweets.

Since there were 10 of us and plenty of painting to be done, everyone picked up a paint brush, stirred the paint and concentrated on their section of the entrance hall. Diana and Joely concentrated on painting the main door from inside as it had received a lot of marks over the years. Isaac and Paulin had their fair share of paint on them as they took on the ceiling and high wall roller paint brushes. David, Fi, Laura, Sander, and Steve had smaller brushes to paint the finer parts of the walls.

In 45 minutes, with romantic tunes blasting, we managed to complete the first coat of paint. It was such a therapeutic task and we will be happy to come back in two weeks' time to put on a second coat. But next time, we will ensure we have plenty of time at the end to clean the paint brushes as we left that to the last minute and I feel guilty for leaving it all for Valentina to do!

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Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out last night on Valentine's Day! Appreciate the love and the faster than usual pace on the run there and back! It was lovely to meet you Diana and thanks for coming back for your second GoodGym session, Joely. Finally, a massive thank you to Paulin for backmarking on both runs. We're off to Thorlands Gardens next Wednesday to continue with the garden project there!

Old Spike Roastery was a welcomed sight for everyone on this cold night. Sam welcomed in Daryl, Gemma, Isaac, Lindy, Maria, Nelly (who reach her target tonight, hooray!), and Tim. We even had Andy come back for his second group run in a row and Alex came back too! But more importantly, we celebrated Emma's major milestone of reaching 100 good deeds! She earnt her wings!

Sam did his customary GG intro speech and highlighted that we are close to the end of the year. Noticing that it was a cold night, Sam did a more active warm-up to ensure everyone's core was warm. After the warm-up, everyone gave their answer to tonight's ice-breaker question.

Since it was French Toast Day on Tuesday, Sam's ice-breaker question for tonight was: What is your favourite topping on a French Toast?

A few people couldn't remember the last time they had a French toast, whilst the majority had a sweet tooth with sugar, lemon, cinnamon, maple syrup, fruit compote, bananas and berries. Some went for cheeses and hams...

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A petition to bring back gooseberries...

Off we went through the backstreets of Peckham as Sam lead the way whilst Daryl backmarked as we ran up Grove Hill and down towards Camberwell and eventually to the back roads where Salvation Army Camberwell Corps is. Valentina let us in as Alex, Mikhail and Olive had just arrived to met us there at the task. Then Phil arrived slightly afterwards.

Like we have done many times before, we were here to clean and disinfect the children's and baby toys that is used at this nursery as many kids use them daily and germs do spread, especially during the winter months. Yet, tonight, Valentina wanted us to clean the blue mats on both sides and loads of chairs too. Since we were a big group, we managed to clean, dry and put back all the toys and equipment within the 45 minutes that we were there. To lift the spirits and keep the mood festive, Sam put on his Spotify Christmas playlist (but no Coldplay please...).

By the end of the session, Sam asked those who hadn't answered the ice-breaker question to give their answer. Everyone seems to have a sweet tooth, but we got into the topic of bringing back gooseberries as they are very much an underrated berry. We will look out for Isaac's petition soon.

After our group photo, we said our goodbyes and ran a more pace-y pace to get back to Old Spike for a lovely stretch before a few of us decided to go to The Gowlett Arms for a pint.

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Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out tonight! Firstly, we welcomed back Alex and Andy. I feel it's harder the second time as you know what to expect - hahaha! It ended up being a 3k run each way, so I don't know where I got 3.5k each way.... The task was done in an efficient matter, so thank you for arranging yourselves in small teams. Finally, thank you to Daryl for backmarking the run and to Mikhail for taking the photos!

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Thank You to Valentina

GoodGym is all about getting fit and doing good! We praise the runners/cyclists/walkers who come to get fit and help out, but we often forget about our task owner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Valentina for preparing all the tools for the task in advance! We will be back in the new year (on Valentine's Day) to paint the hallway walls!

Halloween might be just around the corner, but our group runs land on wicked Wednesdays, but especially this Wednesday Sam was preparing to howl his GG speech to those who would listen...

As the clocks stuck 18:45, there was an eerie silence from those who came to Old Spike for the group run as Sam updated everyone with what's going on in GG Southwark.

Sam's ice-breaker question for tonight was Halloween themed: What is your scariest nightmare / character?

Many of us instantly thought of Freddy Krueger, but we had Annabelle/Chucky (creepy dolls), the girl / victims in The Ring, the creepy person in Luther, dogs, snakes and even Richard pitched in with his son getting hurt.

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Fang-tastic time

After our quick warm-up in the alleyway, Sam lead the way whilst Maria backmarked as we ran through the backstreets of Peckham, up Grove Hill and down it on the other side to arrive in Camberwell. A last 500 meter sprint to get to the Salvation Army Camberwell Corps.

We met Richard and those GoodGymers that said they would meet us at the task: Folarin, Isaac, Mikhail and Vic.

We were here to clean and disinfect children toys for their nursery. These toys get used four times a day, so a clean from time to time is very much needed. Yet, Richard also needed 1-2 people to sweep the leaves outside, so with a headtorch, Folarin did this quickly.

The rest of the team grabbed the toys from the cupboard and put them on the prepared foldable tables. With warm water and a sponge, everyone proceeded to disinfect and clean toys whilst listening to Sam's Halloween playlist. Mikhail was our photographer for the night and ensure he got a photo of everyone getting involved with the task.

Those who had been here several times knew the setup and so an orderly system was in place with Isaac and Lindy putting on a spook-ta-cular performance in putting back the toys in the cupboard...as there is an art to it.

As 20:00 hit and with everything done, Sam called it a night as we had to dash off back to Old Spike before the vampires come out. Going via the slightly longer, but more direct route with Maria backmarking, we made it back in time for a stretch and a cool down.

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Thank You to all the GG-ers

A personal thanks from me to all those who came out tonight! That hill is always tough to run up, but I felt like we didn't struggle as much this time. Thanks for working as a team to complete the task in less than 45 minutes. Many hands do make light work and hopefully, it was enjoyable too!

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Thank You to Richard

GoodGym is all about getting fit and doing good! We praise the runners/cyclists/walkers who come to get fit and help out, but we often forget about our task owner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Richard for staying later to open up the centre and prepare the tables, sponges and warm water for us to clean and disinfect the toys. We will be back on the 29th of November for more plus any extra bits and bobs that need doing.