On a sunny early September evening, we headed out to a local school to give their garden a much-needed boost. A grateful headteacher, Helen proudly showed off the progress made with play areas over the summer holidays and also pointed us in the right direction for our tasks for tonight.

It was a happy coincidence that both Sue’s, Sue and Suemade their return to GoodGym today—and even better, they found themselves teaming up! Together, they tackled the stubborn weeds and grasses that had been creeping into the beds, making short work of an area that was looking particularly wild.

Meanwhile, Julia joined forces with John Ryan and Paul to take on the flowerbed—our new nemesis. This sprawling patch of bramble and weeds seems to bounce back as soon as we turn our backs, but the team made great progress clearing it once again. This time, though, we were rewarded with a surprise discovery: pumpkins growing among the chaos!

Ryan did a stellar job switching between both groups, keeping the wheelbarrow moving and ensuring all the debris made its way to the compost heap.

All in all, another productive evening in the school garden—sunshine, teamwork, and pumpkins included!

This evening, three GoodGymers Roxy, El, andPaula – headed over to visit our lovely resident Margaret at Beehive Care Home to lend a hand in the garden.

The task for this evening was all about a bit of TLC for the outdoor space: weeding the lawns, pruning back overgrown plants, and clearing out fruit and veg beds that have now finished producing for the season. With secateurs in hand and plenty of elbow grease, the team soon had the beds looking neat and tidy, ready for a fresh start in spring.

As always, Margaret was delighted to see the GoodGym crew and grateful for the support in keeping the garden looking cared for. There were lots of smiles and a real sense of teamwork as the group worked away together.

A huge thank you to Roxy, El, and Paula for pitching in and helping make such a difference for both Margaret and the Beehive Care Home community. 🌟

Squalls well that ends well

The first Monday of September brought us a blustery evening, with squally showers sweeping through during the day. By the time we gathered, the sun had broken through, but the wind was still whipping around and there was a definite autumnal chill in the air.

That didn’t stop my brilliant crew of Paul,Ryan , Gillybean, John, Roxy and Meganfrom teaming up for tonight’s task. Armed with litter pickers, bags, and plenty of determination, we all set off along the beach towards the pier.

The wind had clearly left its mark. The wind whipped across the promenade and litter had been blown into awkward corners. Underneath the pier was especially bad, but between us we got as much done in the time we had. By the end, it was satisfying to see the whole area cleared and looking so much better.

On the way back we took a moment to admire our GoodGym flowerbed which is looking extremely healthy and still not reached its best yet ! It may need a few more weeks before it will be a contender to win the community competition 😀

A huge thank you to everyone who came out in less-than-ideal weather to make a real difference for our community and our coastline.

💪 Great work team – windy or not, you smashed it!

Have a good week.

Julia 😀

With Littlehampton 10k enticing many of the regular volunteers away to run, John and Belinda headed to the leisure centre to help. Belinda directed proceedings, and John made his usual token gesture.

3 GoodGymers together with a local recruit set their Sunday alarms early to arrive at 8 am at the Littlehampton 10k ready to assist in registration and giving out medals.

Many thanks to Barbara, Daisy and Stéphane for giving up their lie in to help out. Barbara also recruited Rachel to help too which turned out to be super useful.

By all accounts it proved to be very windy and very busy.

Daisy ended up helping out with water whilst the others concentrated on medals.

Thank you all on a great job done 🙌🙏

A Visit to Margaret’s Care Home

This week’s bi-weekly visit to Margaret at her care home saw El, Roxy and Barbara lending a hand in the communal garden.

Armed with gloves and plenty of enthusiasm, the team got stuck into some deadheading and weeding to help keep the garden looking neat and flourishing. Margaret was there to share her company and encouragement, and together everyone took time to admire the bursts of colour now brightening up the space.

It was a lovely hour of gentle gardening, cheerful conversation, and teamwork – proof that even a little care goes a long way in keeping the garden thriving and enjoyable for all the residents.