The more the merrier! Singing cafe is growing bigger in size and goodgymers volunteers also increasing in numbers

3 Luton Goodgymers met with Konni from FoPP/Edible Hightown to do a litterpick IN the River Lea behind bide-a-while. This stretch of the river had dried up in recent weeks so we were able to get in and get to some rubbish that we wouldn't have been able to, had the water been flowing. Some of the litterpick bingo items found on this occaison, were a bicycle, a children's tricycle, a kissing gate and a large sheet of corrugated iron. There were also 6 bags of litter and 3 bags of recycling ♻️.
It was a lovely hour well spent on a Sunday morning. Well done team 👏 👏 👏

There was a smaller team at FoodCycle tonight. Gill came down earlier to deliver take away boxes and have a bit of a tidy of the store room. Lucie joined the cooking team, Sam did a great job as Pot Washer, and Neill and Susannah were hosts with the most.

There were a lot of carrots in the food donations and the cooking team were able to turn these into a delicious carrotty chilli, as well as including them in the frittata starter.

36 guests were served and there were also takeaways for many of the volunteers. It was great team work and effort from everyone.

We are always made very welcome at the temple and tonight was no exception. Sanjeev was there to greet us as we arrived and soon put us to work at getting the temple clean and tidy. Mayra and Gill we given the task of vacuuming the stairs and upstairs rooms while got started on scrubbing the floor mats. Yasin and Musa got started in the kitchen and were soon emptying cupboards and getting the insides and contents as clean as a whistle. The others then joined and when it was time to go was all looking in fine fettle. Another GoodGym job well done.

There was only one lonely goodgymer at the South Luton Litter pick but he wasn't lonely for long as the local residents made him very welcome. As always, Omar put in a great shift and helped in collecting the mound of litter. Well done Omar.

Each week the Luton Goodgym Group run/walk/cycle is full of fun, laughter and friendly faces. Throw in a little purpose and hard graft and you've got a shining example of what community can really look like. That in my opinion is something to be celebrated. And here in Luton our team love an excuse to celebrate. Which is rather fitting as this weeks task marks the 4th birthday of Goodgym going live in Luton. I know, it's hard to believe that it's only been 4 years since David led the first group 🏃‍♂️ 🏃‍♀️ and this week we return to the task that started it all, as we visit Penrose Roots to Recovery just as the OG team did on day 1. Gill expertly led from the front and after her welcome, warm up and safety briefing, she set us of on our way, 2 and a bit km out of town to our task. When we arrived we were met by Pete the task owner who had us clearing bramble to create a space so that him and his team could safely harvest Pears 🍐 from the tree above (and there are loads to harvest). As we were celebrating or Run Leader for the evening had arranged for some delicious cakes that she had prepared to be dropped off to the task by her husband, which we lovingly call Gilliveroo . Needless to say the cakes were amazing and there was one foe everyone. There were also special toppers for a few of the cakes to celebrate some of the milestones that had been achieved over the last 12 months. One however was particularly apt as the amazing Gail finally became a LGG Centurion and as with all the other milestones this recognition was immensely deserved. Well done, you're a true Legend. It was fantastic to be joined by Rebecca who hasn't been able to come for a while and was there at the first task. Before we headed off back to town, Pete offered the team some marrows that had been grown at the allotment and he was taken up on his offer, so there will be all sorts of culinary delight being created with them this weekend I'm sure. Great task this week, fantastic effort by all and a real sense of pride that the group is growing and making such a positive mark on our town. Well done everyone 👏 👍🏻 You're all amazing 👏 ❤️