After some wondering and running along the colourful streets in Hanover, Brighton GoodGymers landed to the Phoenix Community Centre to join Simon and other residents from the Phoenix Estate Community Association and Hanover Action.

Hidden, mainly by the weeds 😊, in the heart of this small neighbourhood within the Hanover and Elm Grove area, we found a small allotment that Simon looks after with passion and where he grows vegetable for the Phoenix Food Shop. This is a Social Supermarket run by the community for the community to provide an equal provision of good quality and nutritional food at an affordable cost.

And so, equipped for full action and spit in two groups, one weeding and the other one painting over graffiti, GoodGym contributed to several grassroots initiatives aimed to make the Phoenix estate a better place for residents to live and thrive.
We welcomed new member Elle and returning Jenny!

Let's tell our friends WHAT's ON at GoodGym Brighton.

It is a wonderful life in a wonderful land!

On a very warm Tuesday evening 9 GoodGymmers braved the long uphill jog to Manor Paddock - a lovely communal garden in sheltered housing that we visit regularly to help them keep the space tidy and accessible for residents.

On arrival we met some more GoodGymmers and our host Luc, who put us to task with a list of jobs for the session.

The main task for the evening was digging out two large Lavender bushes which had become quite unruly, and replacing them with some smaller plants for the summer season. It was tough going, but at least it smelled great!

The rest of us got our hands dirty helping with other jobs in the garden; collecting dried grass for mulching, cutting back conifer bushes and weeding in the raised beds.

Once we were done (and had made friends with resident Doggo Max!) most of us made our way back to our meeting point - enjoying the cooler temperatures and downhill elevation.

And a big welcome to first timer Jenny , we hope you enjoyed your first session with us :)

10 of us met for our monthly social Park Run - this month at Preston Park. We also welcomed down first-timer Natasha from Tower Hamlets! It was beautiful running conditions.

After a post-run warmdown we headed for a special refuel. A favourite bakery of Pippa , Cielo, were opening a new branch at 10am only minutes away from Preston Park. We arrived there just before 10 in time to join the queue for the grand opening. After recovering with huge brownies, dookies (apparently a thing) and coffees we went off on our ways.

Following a brief but comprehensive deluge hitting the coast, this week's task - a slice of green community action as part of WWF x GoodGym’s Workout for Nature - saw an impressive fifteen GoodGymers descend on Round Hill Conservation Area to paint over graffiti tags gathered on the local Cat's Creep stairway and hoe stubborn weeds on the nearby Wakefield Road.

After GoodGym's visit, Cat's Creep, famous for its wavering apostrophe (depending on whether you think one or more cats are involved), 116 steep steps and resident toads and newts, was lined once again with freshly painted magnolia walls. Meanwhile, finely honed hoeing skills from the recent GoodGym Palmeira Square challenge meant that the flint wall on Wakefield Road was similarly smartened up.

Through its collective endeavours in the Round Hill, the GoodGym Brighton team are hopeful of another appearance in the local Round Hill Reporter (published since 2000) following previous articles in recent editions. The Reporter is the printed newsletter of the Round Hill Society and is evidence of a lively local community with regular events including an annual water fight.

The mission drew to an energised end with the packing up of tools, swiftly darkening skies and GoodGym area activator/ Round Hill resident Stefania handing out ciabatta and luminous doughnuts sourced via the Olio app, which helps prevent good food from going to waste.

With thanks to volunteers from the Round Hill Society, including Dominic and local councillor Raphael.

Executive summary haiku

Fifteen GoodGymers

paint and hoe. Local acclaim.

Toads enjoy the rain.