Thank God there’s sunshine after the rain — I can work outdoors without getting wet. First of all, I trimmed the shrub exactly to the dimensions and style that Ms. S requested. Then, I tried to dismantle the old wooden rack that had been placed on the raised bed for six years. It took longer than I expected because I had to deal with some stubborn, rusty screws using only a screwdriver and my bare hands. After that, there were only about 15 minutes left, so I did my best to remove the weeds (except the holly leaves) on the left side of the raised bed. I think it will need one more visit (Part 3) to complete all the requested tasks.

It was a little bit windy in the willows this morning when we arrived but that made this community task all the more necessary for our lovely neighbour. Primed with tea and choccy biscuits we were more than ready to tackle the task.
It was a swift hike up to the loft to get the winter duvet, then bed was prepared together with favourite teddy's.
We then braced the elements and set to work on the garden. Leaves, leaves and more leaves, together with fir needles and sycamore samaras in abundance. Our neighbour was so very happy with our work, by the end we even got her gnomes smiling now that's what we call a sweeping success :)

Ms S used to keep her raised bed nice. Unfortunately, her legs got some issues that she can't access it to do maintenance for 2 years. She has showed me some old photos of her raised bed which was really clean & neat. Then, I followed her guidances to remove the weeds, trimming the overgrown shrubs and packing the garden waste as requested. Due to the fact that the tasks are more than expected, I guest another visit is needed in order to finish it. It would be great if 2 GoodGymers can go together next round as I found it is very difficult for her to dismantle the old wooden rack placed on this raised bed.

All the volunteers are lovely and I was able to help with setting things up, serve coffees and help create a joyful positive atmosphere for all the guests. We then all had a lovely meal together and then cleaned up. I enjoyed it very much.

Here's a photo of Stefania serving this wholesome daal prepared with much love and care.

This Sunday, me and Rachel decided to do a GoodGym community mission and volunteer as marshals for the Hove Park Junior Parkrun. A wholesome start to the morning — helping the local community, cheering on young runners, and getting a bit of fresh air. What could go wrong?

As I made my way to the park, I started thinking about my own running. You see, I always seem to end up last in my age category at Parkrun (well, they call it age grade, which somehow sounds even worse). And as a 39-year-old staring down the next age bracket, I can’t say I’m particularly excited about it.

Then it hit me: Why volunteer when I could just run the Junior Parkrun and win? It’s a shorter distance, right? Surely, I could take gold!

In my head, I lined up at the start, ready to show those under-14s how it’s done. The whistle blew — and off I went. Run, run, Forrest, run! Parents shouted something (probably words of encouragement, maybe not), but with my headphones in, I didn’t care. I was flying. Some gave me looks — clearly just jealous of my speed.

And as I reached the finish line, I did it. I won! Because age is just a number, and the sky is the limit.

…Did that actually happen? No. Did I end up marshalling as planned? Yes. Was all that just a vivid daydream while clapping and cheering from my post? Absolutely.

Still, it was a brilliant morning — great atmosphere, enthusiastic runners, and plenty of smiles. I’ll definitely be back to marshal again. (Though I’m still slightly amazed they let me.)

Today we combined our October parkrun meet up at the Bevendean Downs parkrun with a community mission helping The Bevy pub’s gardener Dave with some autumnal gardening.

It’s that time of the year GoodGym is often called to help planting bulbs. We helped Dave to clear the big planters to be ready for some bulb-ACTION to spread colours and a little joy next spring in the outdoor lounge of the pub.

We love parkruns! Today was a lovely day for our 5K parkrun-ing up there, with Philippa & Rosie as time keepers and 10+ participating GoodGymers. It possibly goes without saying, but parkrun really isn’t about running at all - despite it’s name - it’s really about community cohesion, wellbeing and the coming together of the community. Pretty much like Good-Gym!