11 GoodGymers had the best of times litter-picking and getting The Secret Garden in Newtown ready for autumn! Getting fit by doing good is just the BEST!

The evening started with 5 of us doing a fitness session in Belmont Park. We ran laps in the park and carried out a circuit session with 5 different stations. Fantastic effort with all those squats, lunges, press-ups and planks!

We then walked over to the task location where we met the rest of the gang. Great to have Liz back with us after a bit of a break and Miriam for her second Community Missions! We hope you enjoyed it! After having shared some news and the best things that has happened to us since last week (curries, getting allotments, birthdays and seeing friends were some of things mentioned), we then entered into the SECRET GARDEN of Newtown!

What an amazing spot!

Pat, the task-owner, took over this little strip of land in the beginning of lockdown back in March and has since then transformed it into a stunning little garden that now can be enjoyed by local residents, families and hopefully, in the near future, the kids from the local school around the corner.

There is even a little hedgehog house for homeless hedgehogs!

Our task was to weed the vegetable patches and sweep up the path. It was such lovely work, there was lots of laughing a chatting going on and I think we all very much enjoyed discovering the hidden ornaments and animal sculptures among the vegetables!

In order to work safely, with social distancing, we also sent a few GoodGymers out for a litter-pick in the surrounding streets which was very much needed! In 45 minutes they filled 4 bin bags! Amazing work!

I don't know how you all felt, but for me this evening was one of those amazing GoodGym sessions that lifted my spirits more than you could ever think. It was so nice to get stuck in together at the task, so brilliant to chat and catch with you all and as always incredible to see what a difference we made by working together! It felt like a rare chance to forget about everything else going on in the world at the moment and just enjoy that brilliant sense of belonging to a community where so many positive vibes are shared.

I hope to see you all very soon again! Take a look at upcoming Community Missions here and sign up!