A lovely mix of regular, old & new faces was eagerly waiting to set off at 7PM sharp - give Joan Alexandre a welcoming cheer for his first Goodgym experience and a warm welcome back to Alice!

After a little break, tonight we went back to see Nilesh at the Forest Recycling Project, always a chance of a messy adventure! This time there was a variety of jobs to do, from painting the storage container outside to mixing up paint to marking tins and labeling them as well. Linda bravely took on the riskiest job of mixing up, with an interesting pattern on trainers and leggings as result - good thing she came prepared! Jenny also showed a few paint stains, perhaps best not to ask how she got it on her face...? Or perhaps James C & Joan could shed some light on this.... For a change it seemed i might get away clean this time, but crushing a few paint tins especially brought in meant as always my hands didn't stay clean.

As always at FRP, time flew by. Vicki luckily noticed it was time to pack up and head back to base. A few stretches later, it was job done - over 6k ran and a nice dent made in the never-ending pile of paint tins to be sorted. Apologies for the few pictures, i got a bit distracted by a little side job for Nilesh.

Three of us went down this sunny Saturday to help out the lads at FRP with their paint giveaway.

Babies, children and dogs

Customers could come in and browse the towers of tins of paint across two floors; so Peter provided guidance upstairs, Stefania labelled stuff downstairs, and I was on the door keeping back the (mostly civilised) crowds.

Evidently a fun day out for all the family, people brought along babies, children and dogs to have a nose around too.

"Fifty Shades of Grey"

The guys who work there ordinarily (recognisable from the layers of paint caked onto them) had the knowledge to quickly direct the customers on the types colours and quantity of paint they needed, including a lady who came in asking for “fifty shades of grey.” Turns out she wanted paint, not a book (nor to be beaten-up.)

After a few hours we drifted-off variously to play rugby, have an afternoon out in Richmond, or in my case, to repaint the kitchen with some free paint. Thanks FRP!!

GoodGym Redbridge will be back during the week to help them with whatever the aftermath there is from today. Sign-up here...

On a muggy summer's evening, three of Goodgym Redbridge's finest met to run to the Forest Recycling Project and ran 7km in the process.

The Forest Recycling Project has been a regular haunt of the past two years and it's a place guaranteed to give us a task just a little bit messier than any others. This week the group embarked on the 3.5km run over to the site in Leytonstone to paint the floor of the kitchen and toilet. With just a small group the run took no time at all and before long the team were sweeping the floor, pouring paint onto the concrete and spreading it around - by the way, pouring paint straight onto the floor is oh-so-satisfying!

With James and Stefania painting the kitchen and Peter doing the toilet the team were soon done and off back down the road bumping into Goodgym's very own Ed who was out on his own eBay mission!

Fancy getting involved? We've got a cracking task painting the metal work at Wanstead House Community Association. You can sign up using the link on the right of the report.

On a cool but pleasant spring evening, seven of Goodgym Redbridge's finest runners met to help out Wanstead Community Gardeners and ran 7km in the process.

It's been a while since the team got stick in with Marian and Wanstead Community Gardeners, so when we got an email asking if we could help with a BIG task we jumped at the chance. Marian and her team, reclaim bits of unloved land around Wanstead and Snaresbrook and transform them into havens of colour and beauty. We've been working with her for almost two years and we are proud to run past things we have help make happen in the local streets.

This week's task involved digging up plants at the Alan Burgess Centre - hope to AgeUK and right on Wanstead High Street. With seven runners in attendance and the briefing done it was a short jog down to the centre to meet Marian. Armed with forks and spades the group set about digging up plants, which will be moved to planters near the station, and clearing a flower bed for new top soil and planting in the next few weeks.

With sleeves rolled up and sweat on brows the team worked hard to get the deep rooted plants out and the beds cleared and within 45 minutes the job was done, the tools were returned and some trellis was brought up to the centre. A great task and one that would have taken Marian a week to do on her own. Go team!

With all the hard work done, it was time to shake out the legs with a pleasant run around Eagle Pond! Job done!

This seems to be a month for Plan B's... Ignoring the persistent drizzle, Matt, Jay & myself were all ready to go and visit Forest Recycling Project for some more paint related adventures, but unfortunately something came up. So again it was Plan B to the rescue.

With a hint of foresight we did bring along some Goodgym cards, so a visit to Leytonstone Station to spread the word on Goodgym was a decent alternative, with the added bonus of being dry indoors! After some lovely conversations and a stack of cards later, it was time to make our way back to base. There we found the lovely Anna waiting for her document check!

Apologies for the few images, trying out my big camera I didn't bring a smaller lens for the close quarter work!

Next week James will be back from his adventures. Perhaps we can reschedule visiting FRP, or maybe James has something else in mind. As soon as we know more, we'll update the info. In the mean time, you can sign up here

For a first time being official Run Leader in James' absence there was no time to be nervous how things would go. Within a few minutes of arriving the lovely Rosemary & Lindsay popped in to have their documents checked and chat about the different sides of Goodgym. Unfortunately they couldn't stay but by the time they were done the others started arriving, ready for the group run, including new runner Cedric, who just came round curious what Goodgym was all about.

With Beth checking to see if my welcome speech hit all the right notes we were off for our jog over to the Forest Recycling Project. Chatting away the 2 miles disappeared and we met up with Nilesh, who had just the right amount of things waiting for our team. Maja, Sabina, Matt & Cedric went upstairs to help Sarah-Jane and continue with sorting & cleaning the toys, which apparently included steam cleaning a fluffy pink bunny! The remaining 2 went back down to the familiar painting department, with Beth tackling some doors & myself painting the toilet room floors. All too quickly the clock sped past 8pm, meaning it was time to say our goodbyes and make our way back.

Returning to Wanstead House we stretched some stiff muscles before parting company, tired but happy with a job well done!

Next week we once again will be doing some good around Wanstead with James back in charge, exact details yet to be confirmed. Keep an eye out for more info and sign up here to join in.

Last but definitely not least, thanks for making my first time in charge a nice & smooth running experience!