Met up with Andy, then Simon. A briefing and discussion that the area we were supposed to clear up had been done already. So we all moved onto Nursery Street and we started clearing litter. Windy evening and loads of rubbish in corners and along pavements. Loads of cars parked and found soiled nappies, and other disgusting stuff. 4 of us managed to load at least 6 bags of litter. Andy brought a large flask of coffee and biscuits to share.

Well, well, well, on the HOTEST day of the year we thought why not have a task at the TOP of Sheffield..

Well it was worth it!

The lovely Angela met us on site and let us in and showed us the fantastic grounds of the school and all the hard work that has been going on there to make it such a beautiful space for the pupils and the community.

Once we had had a snack of the fresh cherries on the trees and had a cup of water and some homemade flapjack we got to the tasks at hand. This week we were understandably watering the plants in the poly tunnel and also spreading some wood chip around the younger trees to help them get established.

What a wonderful space this is and it was a pleasure being able to help with its ongoing development.

We can't wait until the next time!

Tonight a great group of GoodGymers ran to help Common Thread, a group who promote ethical fashion through clothes exchanges. They are made up of sharers and repairers who enable the swapping of clothes.

Upon arrival at their base on the corner of Union Street and Charles Street we were met by Jess and her team of other volunteers. We had a brief introduction to the project and then she outlined what tasks there were for us to get stuck into. The two main jobs for the evening were making signs and placards promoting reducing, reusing and recycling clothing, and piecing together old clothing rails, discarding the dud ones.

James and Rachel took on the job of rail assembly, delving into the depths of the building via a rickety old lift to search out hidden iron. The railing components were taking outside of the building to allow room for construction. Most of the rails were complete and functioning- each component of a full set was marked with a symbol so that if parts got muddled up in future, the correct bits could be easily located. The sets were then tied together with old bike inner tubes, a great bit of 're-cycling'!

Meanwhile, everyone else was making signs promoting the ethos of the initiative with various puns- right up our street! There was a list of phrases to be painted on to old bits of cardboard box pieces. We have some very creative, talented artists in GoodGym Sheff it seems.

After all was said and done, we said our goodbyes and headed off for some box-jumping activity in Pinball Park.

5 Goodgymmers ran up to Durham Ox and met up with David. He handed all the tools to us and explained the tasks. Mainly clearing the cycle paths, cutting off shrubs and bushes that are in the way. Also litter picking, sweeping and clearing. Later Simon Heller came to volunteer too. Lovely to see a familiar face again and I ended up in the pub with him. Bad Gymmer with a glass of small red wine but very enjoyable.

On a pretty damp bank holiday evening three resilient runners ran to meet three persevering Pitsmoor Pickers. Our job for the evening was to clear Stanley Field and the adjacent road of litter. On arrival, after a sharp uphill climb, we distributed the bags, pickers, and loops kindly provided for us by Karen, had a quick briefing, and then set about freeing the field from litter.

Some notable bits we picked during the evening included a suitcase, lots of large nitrous oxide canisters, some bottles filled with an ominous liquid, a condom filled with a more ominous liquid, a waterproof jacket with burn holes through it, and some trainers.

During the pick we were joined by another keen-bean passerby who was so impressed by our efforts that they just had to get in on the action too. Kudos to them.

After a thoroughly soaking 45 minutes, we gathered up the many bags of rubbish we had picked, took some snaps, and ran back to the Showroom to stretch off.