Step right this way!

After a cancelled task tonight we thought we would be litter picking around the river in Woolwich but Andy came to the rescue with another task at Glyndon! After a short run up the hill from the station we met Sarah at the centre and were briefed with the task which was to clear out a section of the infamous shed or should we call it snoopers paradise because who knows what you'll find in this room of mysteries. The delights tonight included three drums of increasing sizes, a guitar, guttering, wires and clothes galore. Our job was to get all the chairs out ready for picking up to be taken to a different home (they'll be in a better place with lots of other chair friends) then returning all the useful items and putting all the clothes in the clothes bank. However one obstacle was that the clothes bank was very full. No matter- we had Marta on the team tonight and she resourcefully used a broom and a large metal pole to stir, prod and push the clothes in as deep as they would go so we could heap more on top.

At the end of the session the garage looked that much clearer with a little walkway space which wasn't there before and we headed for a run back down the hill to Woolwich.

Great job team- we made a big difference in a small time! This weekend we've got a task at Mycenae House and we'll be celebrating our the GoodGym Greenwich ninth birthday - please come along to any part of it you would like to!

Next week we're at St Luke's for our first task in the lovely church.

Until next time!

This evening after retrieving a couple of our much valued members who were lost 🥺, we all made the short but hilly run up to Glyndon, meeting Julian and I was presented with a gorgeous birthday treat from Gail's - nom nom nom (thanks Marta! ❤️)

Andy quickly got us stuck in clearing the car park of all the debris and stacking boxes in the infamous shed of nightmares. We split into teams to get the jobs done with the usual efficiency whilst chatting away. Exellent photos from Chloe this week who has also made incredible strides with her fitness - it's amazing to see how far you've come, Chloe!

Andy kindly gave us a card and lovely box of chocolates which we tucked into before a quick tour of Glyndon for those who haven't seen into the underbelly of the community centre - who knew there was a gym there?

We ran back down the hill to the station and stretched before heading our separate ways. Well done team.

Next week join us at Shrewsbury House for our last group run of 2024!

*Credit to Khai, the GoodGym Greenwich Pun-master

A humid Wednesday evening bought us to woolwich for a gentle run to our old haunt, Glyndon. Tonight we were tasked with cleaning up the driveway and weeding the gravel in the garden which was done with our usual efficiency if I do say so myself. Heartened by the difference we made in a short space of time, we headed back to enjoy the rest of our evenings. Good work team!

Next week is gardening at Christchurch!

Until next time.

Tonight's GoodGym Greenwich session was in celebration of one of our all time heroes, Julian who has achieved the much coveted goal of completing 500 good deeds! That's 500 tasks, most of which have involve a decent run there and back...let's do the calculations on how many km that is, bear with me - maths isn't my strong suit. (say 3km is the average run and then there and back that's 6km each session so that's 6x500 and yes I'm doing that on my calculator in case I put too many zeroes on, we don't want an over inflated ego do we - so that's 3000km thereabouts!) 3000km all in the name of doing good. Now that ain't bad.

Anyone who has had the pleasure of doing a task with Julian will know he puts everything in to whatever he does. He'll be the first up the ladder, the one pulling up the most brambles and he'll lead the run the odd times we don't have a run leader. He's way up that ladder in the GoodGym greats with his commitment to what we do and he's an inspiration to all of us. Julian once said if he were a plant he'd be holly - prickly - but in fact he's one of the kindest and generous people and we're privileged to have him on our ranks.

I should stop there, that's probably faaar too much for a humble guy. Talking about GoodGym greats though, I didn't think it possible to think more highly of Sarah but she outdid herself last night when she produced a safety pin from her bag when I was saying I needed another pin for the fetching sash we furnished Julian with for his special night. She explained she carries one around just in case (you never know when you might need a safety pin!) Absolute legend. Reminds me of my nanna who used to carry her lippy around with her (you never know who you might meet) she'd say in her thick Brummie accent as she applied it liberally at opportune (and sometimes inopportune) moments on our days out.

After a warm up involving gloves and water bottles to fill in for Arthur's ball pit balls - and a rather competitive rivalry between the married couple in the group (caught on camera with those lovely squats to get that much closer to the gloves) - we ran up the what always feels to me like a very long Burrage road to the Glyndon Community Centre. Andy got us set up with clearing the back garden and weeding round the front. On our way round, Kerry and I spotted what I thought was a hedge covered in cobwebs you get for halloween...but then I remembered it's May. Brin later told me it's tent caterpillars. Just the thought of that was gross but I just made the mistake of googling them and now I'm going to itch all night.

You know you want to google them too. Go on, just do it.

I feel like they're on me, are they ON ME??!

Okay, it's going to be okay, just keep reading and I'll take your mind off those hairy little...oh my God, did you see this one? Deep breaths everyone, go to your happy place. There are no caterpillars in the happy place.

We ended our evening in a happy place, with a couple of drinks at Salt and friends Darryl, John, Sarah and Laura joining us to celebrate.

I'll leave you with Julian's words about one of the many joys of GoodGym.

"Join GoodGym because you discover all sorts of lovely places you wouldn't even know exist"

We're at Christchurch Community garden next week - hope to see you there.

Until next time!

And so another year begins with a bang with the January Challenge! This week the Charlton contingent ran together to Woolwich to start our group run, where we warmed up with someone passing by joining in before catching her train - always nice to bring the community feel on our Woolwich starts!

We set off for Glydon to freshen the paint in the back room. A little tlc goes a long way here and many a painting job has been completed by our merry bunch. Lovely way to start the year and always worth coming out on a drizzly evening for GoodGym - friends, a little exercise and doing some good always make January much better.

Nice one folks, see you next week!

Wednesday was a chilly one! Sarah and I warmed up and had a leisurely run to Glyndon where we met Pieter, Andy and an unwitting rocking horse I've named Nigel. Andy showed us the cupboard Nigel was to be packed away in. How many cupboards have we tidied, sorted, repacked and cleared out at Glyndon? Surprisingly large cupboards and it's deceptive how much you can fit in them.

We had to take everything out to put Nigel in - face down was the best storage position, poor thing - and then remember where everything went back, not least slotting the TV in for easy access. A trip to the shed later (full of all manner of things needed for a community centre) and we were finished in plenty of time for a nice run along the river.

All the best Nigel, we hope you get your Toy Story moments to canter around Glyndon of a night.

Nice work team, until next time!