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

What a glorious morning we had at Mycenae Gardens yesterday! After joining a post Junior Parkrun coffee with those double deeding heroes amongst us, we had a warm up and quick discussion on what we're looking forward to this winter. Answers ranged from mulled wine to winter being over!

Twelve runners set off on the 3km run, including Roshan who completed his first ever good deed with us - great to have you along Roshan! On arrival, after a briefing from the amazing Fiona we got straight to work.

The task for the day was pruning bushes and low-hanging branches, then dragging the cuttings over to the dead hedge. Everyone pitched in, weaving branches into the hedge to reinforce it and make it sturdy. Seamless teamwork and the hour flew by faster than we expected.

With the hard work done and a few thorny fingers to prove it, we rounded things off with the best reward: coffee and cake. And just when we thought the morning couldn’t get any better, Ceci choreographed some dances to make it an extra memorable session (check Instagram for those!).

I absolutely love our community and how we all bring something different to make it special 😁

Next up: This Wednesday we’ll be painting at Brooklands

On Saturday we've got Talk and Tidy with the friends of hornfair park And maintenance at Westcombe Woodlands.

Until next time! ❤️

Rachel

We were blessed with yet another morning of sunshine at Hornfair Junior parkrun, and it truly made all the difference. The bright weather brought an extra spark of energy as we supported the event and cheered on the young runners through a smooth and cheerful session.

A big congratulations goes to the two young runners who received their milestone wristband's. One of them reached an astounding 200 runs, an achievement that deserves every bit of celebration. The post-event cakes shared among volunteers and families made the milestone even sweeter.

Once our first task wrapped up, we continued heading over to the Old Cottage Café. With the usual friendly team, we enjoyed a well-earned coffee and a catch-up before heading off to the next mission of the day: gardening at Mycenae Garden. We were pleased to see such a strong sign-up—clearly the sunshine had everyone motivated!

All in all, it was another wonderfully spent Saturday—sunshine, community, coffee, and good deeds all perfectly ‘park-run’ together. Here’s to the next one!