Tonight was another big night of celebrations as we kicked off with a round of applause for Amy W's 30th Birthday. The applause didn't last long though as it got Fergie the dog over-excited, so we then did a big round of jazz hands for all the weekend runners, especially Rich who completed the Lake District Mountain Trail whilst the rest of us were busy eating sausage rolls and drinking Gin at the Marathon du Malton. But the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for Barbara who has been part of GG York since day one and earlier in the week had completed her 600th(!) good deed. What a legend! 🎉

We then numbered off by naming our favourite style of potato featuring hash browns, curly fries and roasties. Then it was off to the task with Ed leading the meaning group, backmarked by Claire. Nikki, Amy W and Tess were the walking group whilst Vicky and Abi run/walked. After a brief pause for some wall squats we arrived at the task to be greeted by Maeve from St Nicks who set us off promptly with scything, raking and digging to spruce up this area of New Walk. Amy H and Tess were having their first scything experience so received a bot of extra tuition from Maeve whilst the old pros were hacking away like there was no tomorrow.

I feel like I should be topless doing this - Rich

The cuttings soon piled up and the dumping area was a fair trek away so we set off some speedy folk to be in charge of shifting the cuttings using a tarp, a wheelbarrow and also a ton bag on top of a plank with some coasters on it. Unfortunately it did mean that there was a bit of hanging around at the end of the task, but that gave us some time to sing happy birthday to Amy W whilst doing some birthday squats. In fact, there was enough time to do it twice so Vicky could record us!

Then it was off to Tower Gardens for tonight's fitness. This time out we played a game of rock, paper, scissors that involved jumping forward when you win or going back to the start if you lost. In classic GoodGym style half the people absolutely nailed it whilst confusion reigned over the over half. After several games (more than enough time to get a handle on the rules) Abigail and the boys were declared the overall winners despite some dubious jumping going on.

Whilst all this was happening Michal had also arrived with a cake delivery to compliment the delicious brownies that Babs had brought along, so there was no shortage of sweet treats available when we got back to CVS. We then said it our goodbyes whilst some people headed off to the pub

It was time for celebrations at tonight's group run with so much awesomeness happening recently. Firstly there was a big round of applause for Jenna who got a new PB at the Great North Run. There were also cheers for Vicky, Neil and Ed who all took part in the Tholthorpe 10k at the weekend, especially for Vicky who achieved a season's best time. We then handed out the GGer of the month award to the wonderful Lucy who is pretty much the ideal GoodGymer, always getting involved, always smiling and leading tasks when she can. Oh and it also happened to be AA Vicky's birthday, but more on that later 🥳 🏅 🏆 👏

After a brief warm up, Ed led out the run to Acomb Primary School where we were met by Amanda who gave us the lowdown on tonight's task. Basically continuing the work we'd done previously in clearing the wooded area in the playing field so that it can be used as a forest school. We were soon getting stuck in, armed with saws, loppers and sheers.

There were brambles, sticks and branches everywhere as the busy GGers made excellent progress clearing a path through the woods. The green bins were soon getting filled up and we weren't short of volunteers for people to climb in and jump on top of them to make more space. Although Steve had a helping hand from Rich in getting back out of the bin!

With the task drawing to a close and the woods getting darker we broke on through to the other side and cleared enough space to see some daylight at the end of path, which meant it was time to down tools and get ready for a bespoke fitness session courtesy of the birthday girl herself.

Now, GGers aren't always the greatest listeners and on this occasion there was certainly a little bit of confusion about what type of animal walk we were supposed to be doing and who was supposed to be doing it. So a bit of a reset was needed, but we were soon back underway demonstrating some perfect bear walks in the correct order. I'm not entirely sure if there was a winner but we certainly enjoyed ourselves.

We then gathered in the cones and sung 'Happy Birthday' for Vicky before making our way back to the Priory Centre where some delicious cookies and cake courtesy of Vicky and Jenna were waiting for us 😋

from Jacqui.

Sally and I did our litterpick around the Moco museum. Modern, contemporary and digital art inside, but outside plenty of discarded Whisky bottles and cigarette packets to fill our bags with! 🚮

did mine at lunchtime today. Thanks again for listing this Paul Brown

Last weekend’s heavy rain will have led to high flows along the River Ravensbourne which in turn washes down litter from higher up stream; it was certainly evident in the tight flood plain in Brookmill Park. A full black bag’s worth was collected, much of it done under the watchful eye of one of the herons (just visible in the photo).

from Paul Salman

One sultry afternoon, when the sun blazed with the intensity of a toddler mid-tantrum, I decided that a stroll along Dollis Brook would be the perfect antidote. Of course, this wasn’t just any walk; it was a GoodGym litter-pick walk with my faithful companion, Gus, who I suspect secretly believed that he was not so much a dog as an honorary park ranger.

The Brook, in its charmingly modest way, was behaving itself quite well that day, displaying only the merest suggestion of rubbish in the usual suspects—benches and bushes, which seem to attract discarded snack wrappers like magnets attract, well, anything metallic. I was armed with my litter picker, a device that is best described as a T. rex arm on a stick, and I had the slightly smug satisfaction that comes with being prepared to do good. Gus, for his part, maintained his vigilant sniffing duties, which mostly involved scrutinizing the places where less civic-minded dogs had left their mark.

As I navigated the meandering path, I noticed a bright orange council van sidling up to one of the bins, the way a cat might stalk an unsuspecting mouse. Inside, a council worker—decked out in what appeared to be the official uniform of high-visibility gear and an air of mild resignation—was dutifully emptying the bins. I nodded approvingly at this sign of municipal upkeep, my litter-picker swooping down to snag an errant crisp packet that had made a bid for freedom in the breeze.

Then, to my mild surprise, the council worker headed directly towards me. For a brief, irrational moment, I wondered if there was some obscure bylaw against unsanctioned litter picking. But no—he beamed at me like I was some sort of civic hero. “Thank you for your litter picking,” he said, with all the warmth of someone who truly means it, as though I had single-handedly solved the borough’s rubbish problem. “Would you like some council bags?”

Naturally, I graciously accepted, trying to convey through my expression that yes, I was exactly the sort of person who not only wanted council bags but also knew exactly what to do with them. It was the sort of small victory that adds a surprising amount of satisfaction to a day.

As I continued on my walk, council bag in tow, something remarkable happened. People—a surprising number of them—began to acknowledge my efforts. “Thank you for what you’re doing!” they’d call out, as though I were a one-person anti-litter brigade. It was immensely gratifying, though slightly puzzling. I mean, all I was doing was picking up rubbish. It wasn’t as though I was rescuing kittens from trees or single-handedly solving the climate crisis.

With my bag increasingly heavier and my spirits proportionately lighter, I made my way towards a nearby bin where I left my satisfyingly full sack of collected litter, neatly tied like a Christmas gift for the sanitation department. I felt an odd sense of accomplishment as though I had performed some small but significant service for the community.

Not one to let an opportunity pass, I even took advantage of the local exercise machines along the way, which is essentially gym equipment re-imagined by someone who has never actually been to a gym. I gave them a go, feeling thoroughly virtuous and a bit like a child on a playground, which, to be honest, was no bad thing.

By the end of the walk, Gus and I were both suitably entertained and I, at least, felt quietly heroic in that way one does after making even a modest contribution to the public good. I imagined that the council worker would drive by later, spot the neatly tied bag, and think to himself, “Ah, the work of a true professional.”

As for Gus, he was far more interested in finding the next promising scent, but I like to think that, in his own way, he was as pleased with our good deed as I was. It was a good walk, a good litter pick, and, as a result, a thoroughly satisfying day.

There was something for everyone at this week's Group Run with cycling, walking, steady and faster options on offer for a fantastic 24 GGers. We started by welcoming first timer Sophie who set off with Vicky et al as part of the walking crew 👋. We also announced the first half of the GoodGymmer of the month award with Mitch getting his turn in the frame for getting stuck in to a load of Good deeds and leading some missions. Well done Mitch 👏

Before setting off, we warmed up with a nod to World Bicycle Day (according to Amy's Garmin) by pretending to ride our imaginary bicycles around the CVS car park, much to the dismay of the more avid cyclists amongst us 🚲. Then it was off the Fulford Ings for Balsam Bashing Round 2!

At the task we were joined by Emma and a rather late Ben, who looked like he'd put in some serious effort to try and catch up with the running crew🏃‍♂! Nicola from St Nicks gave out a brief overview to those who were making their Balsam Bashing debut whilst the more seasoned veterans got stuck straight in.

Anna and Sophie made a fab start and soon got to work pulling out what they thought was Balsam left, right and centre, before Ed pointed out that what they had been pulling out was unfortunately something else! Don't worry guys, there were a few others making the same mistake

There's not too much else that can be said about Balsam that hasn't been said before, but there was much debate over the correct method as well as plenty of new pun options for future run reports. By the way, this week's genius word play came from Abi, not me!

Before too long it was time to head back to base, but not before a quick plank race on millennium field, with some very questionable planks and some very eager plankers

When we got back to CVS we were able to dish out the second half of our GGer of the month award to Lyndsey who had also completed a shed load of Good Deeds over the last couple of months as well as keeping the Friday Lunch Hill Rep Club alive 💪

Fab sesh everyone. See you next week for the third and final bash

A few goodgym members decided to do some litter picking in their local areas could be a local Park or Street at a time of their convenience during April. Quite often this is well received by local people and has a knock on positive effect. Let’s look to do it again in May!

Paul said

My contribution this month was on Blackheath where I picked litter from one of the larger fields bounded on each side by roads - a couple of bags worth of take away detritus was picked from the verges. I had a couple of chats with passers by about GoodGym