Crystal Palace GoodGymmers made their way to Alexandra Recreation Ground this evening to carry on with the task of scraping off the old flaky paint on the railings around the children’s play area, ready for a fresh coat once the weather’s a bit drier.

Given how close the park is to the Bridge House, we took the scenic route there via Sydenham. Unfortunately I managed to fall foul of two of the hazards I’d pointed out in the pre-run briefing (poor lighting and uneven pavements!) but luckily I was well supported by lots of concerned GoodGymmers and my well-stocked run leader first aid kit. After a quick break to check for injuries, we ran on to meet up with Millie from the Friends of Cator Park and Alexandra Recreation Ground who had an assortment of tools and protective equipment ready to help us remove the old paint and lichen (and some pesky slugs). My personal favourite was the double action scraper brush tool - watching all the paint flake off was very satisfying!

We worked and chatted for about 40 minutes and made some decent progress in that time. We’ll be back at the park on 21st April to continue the task (hopefully without the need for a first aid kit or head torches!). If you want to try out the scraper brush tool for yourself, you can sign up here

Rail-ly great work tonight team!

Great to join the assembled Friends of this park giving it some love and attention after a lot of neglect… and saving it from possible threat of encroaching redevelopment. Today lots of new plants had been acquired (and some rescued from the adjacent old Civic Centre site) so years of overgrown ivy, brambles and invasive trees needed to be cleared to make some space.

Ratchet loppers and various types of saw saw plenty of action. Brilliant people and brilliant secret spot in Bromley. (Plus, an actual ha-ha!)

GoodGym Bromley (soon to be GG Crystal Palace 👀) were on top form tonight for some fence brushing, helping out the magnificent Friends of Cator and Alexandra Parks before freshening up the kids' play area fences.

We met at the Bridge House as per. Cat's Q of the day; Cook or be cooked for, and what is your meal of choice? Be cooked for obvs?

It was just a short jog down the hill to the park where we nailed the timing as Millie swerved round the kerb to meet us.

Brushes at the ready we flicked off lichen, flaky paint, slugs. You name it, we brushed it.

We completed a serious chunk in our 45 mins or so and stopped off for a quick snap with some pigeons before heading back for stretches.

Nice to see everyone. Shout-out to Cat for leading. Next week, it's decided, it's going to be the first GoodGym Crystal Palace group run.

Paul, Rosie, Mark and Hannah met at Penge East Community Centre to help some windows sparkle like their true selves, both inside and outside. (In fact, one member of the party was so keen that they managed to get there an hour early, but we won’t mention any names…) A system of washing, scrubbing and dry-wiping was quickly established, and we worked our way round the building, indoors first and then outdoors. We finished up with some admiration of the noticeboard of local activities and all the great initiatives going on at the Centre - take a look!