Just three Goodgymers for this weeks group run, the cold dark winter nights tempting people to stay indoors. But that didn't stop this terrific trio from getting a few miles under their feet and getting a good deed done!

The alleys around Hightown Baptist Church had become overgrown with moss and littered with leaves, making them slippery and unsightly. Our mission was to clear these pathways, making them safe and welcoming for the community.

Sweeping and scraping away at the mess we quickly got the paving clear and tidy, free from the risk of slips and trips! A warming cup of tea rounded off the session before we hit streets again to finish off our session.

Brown Books had been flooded out by faulty plumbing from the flat above and there was so much damage they needed to pack up the salvageable stock ready for a move to new premises next week. So of course GoodGym offered our services to help with the packing. We had no idea how many books there would be, and as we soon ran out of boxes, while Musa carried on packing with help from our ally Hussain, Gill and Omar took turns to go in search of more cardboard boxes: we begged them from other shops and even went diving into recycling bins to retrieve flattened boxes which were then reconstructed back at the shop. Laura joined us and was soon busy packing up great works of literature including a lot of play scripts.

2 and a half hours later, with a mountain of 📚 book boxes 📦 piled up in the centre of the shop, we’d had an intensive upper body workout. With no more boxes available the lights were switched off and Gill locked up

Not one but three regular attendees had their birthday mini party at Singing Cafe today. With domino pizza 🍕 and some reggae music , there was so much fun in the room.

It was my second visit to Mrs J, and she seemed very happy to see me. She offered me a cuppa, then said I was probably too busy, but never one to turn down a cuppa, I was soon in the kitchen helping her to make a brew.

We then settled down to put the world to rights. Mrs J is a very independent woman and it was great to hear all about her many memories.

A team of 6 Goodgymers joined the rest of the Friends of Peoples Park for the monthly litterpick! Here's what we found:

• 11 bags of general waste • 5 bags of recycling • 1 bed cover including clothing • 1 broken steering wheel lock • 1 dumbbell (4kg) 💪 • 1 headless baby doll • 1 (toy) dolphin 🐬

There were two GoodGymers in the kitchen at FoodCycle this evening, both in need of some mental maths as Martin and Gill tried to work out how many packets of mince pies made 100. When they get hot and bothered in the kitchen the old grey cells don't work as quickly as normal. Martin was also using his maths brain to treble up quantities for a vat of his special custard, while Gill was working out how many litres of cream were required for 60 portions of potato dauphinoise. The Goodgymers, OMar, Moamal amnd Dee on the hosting team had less maths to do out front, as there was plenty of food to go round, so it was an easy job to ensure all the guests got a portion of the three course tonight - a vegetable frittata for starters, potato dauphinoise and veg for main, and delightful mince pies and custard for pudding. They were also able to enusre all guests got a generous goody bag as Gill had done a great job with her hubby in collecting a large quantity of surplus form the supermarket yesterday.