GoodGym | FGS Team Take on The Tank

From packing Christmas presents with the Salvation Army to litter-picking along the Thames, we’ve taken part in a broad range of community projects around Bermondsey, London. For this month’s Good Gym task we kept it very local and ventured down the road to a community green space – with a giant Soviet built T-34-85 battle tank in the middle of it!

The Task

Once a beautiful community space with a head-turning tank as a children’s climbing frame, Stompie Park had been overcome by mounds of weeds that were suffocating the once beautiful plants and bushes. We were set the challenge to transform Stompie Park back to its iconic and alluring charm that made it so special for local residents of Bermondsey.

Wading through giant patches of weeds, all members of our For Goodness Shakes team jumped at the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in! With just 40 minutes on the clock, it was all hands on deck to fill as many disposable bags as possible. Having just completed a short run, this community project gave everyone a great workout.

And the results? We managed to pack 12 garden waste sacks filled with weeds and left the local residents of Bermondsey feeling pretty relieved to have their local landmark returned to its original, iconic state.

What's with the tank?

A question we also asked when we arrived at Stompie Garden…

The Tank was originally used by the Czech military during the fighting of the Prague Spring reforms war in 1968. After many years of remaining stored and unloved, the tank was shipped across to London to feature in the Richard III movie, which is when it caught the eye of the local property developer. After several attempts at getting his planning permission to build on this empty lot of land that is Stompie Garden today, he decided to purchase this tank and get legal permission to keep it stored on the lot.

After many failed attempts by the council to remove the tank, it remains as a permanent fixture and a story that the locals loved to stop by and tell us all about. Rumour has it the cannon is pointing right in the direction of the council’s office!

If you'd like to find out how you can get involved with Good Gym, you can head to their website for more information www.goodgym.org/