It was great to be supporting at Luton Futures for another fabulous celebration being put on for some of the older residents of Luton. It was the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of VE Day, so we felt honoured to be invited to share this event with some of the locals who have memories dating back to the war or post war period.

First to arrive was Dani who was soon put to work putting out the cutlery on the tables. Then when Gill joined her they were tasked with festooning the hall with metres of Union Jack Bunting. Dani must have got in some serious elevation as she went up and down the ladders to attach the bunting strategically from points around the ceiling.

Omar was next to join the fray, and was soon helping with bunting, before being requested to help with one or two of our GoodGym Allies to unload the food and load up supplies form the other community centre where the food was being cooked.

Bread rolls, cups and water were placed on the tables before Dani had to make an exit, But Omar and I continued with the preparations.

We were later joined by Derrick and Mayra, who were on hand for providing an excellent table waiting service as well as doing a blinder on the washing up.

The party goers had an excellent time and Vera commented on the feedback she had received about GoodGym and felt that once again the GoodGYm team had ensured the success of the party. After the hall was cleared and cleaned we said our goodbyes with the sound of Vera Lynn fading in our ears., "We'll meet again, don't know where. don't know when..." although I have a very good idea that it won't be long before we do and Vera has hinted where the venue will be.

Watch this space, your excellent help will be requested soon for another community event.

This morning, Sam and Dani met the rest of the set-up crew down at the boathouse in Wardown Park. With set up complete, we were joined by Martin who was volunteering as a marshall and we snapped a photo of the 3 of us. This was Martins first visit to Parkrun since reaching the 500 milestone, so his new T-shirt was on display, we got a pic before he had to don his volunteer his vis! All in all, today was a job well done. It would be great to have a few more sign ups for the next Parkrun takeover on Saturday 14th June. Save the date!

This weeks group session saw the team head back to the Penrose Roots to Recovery Garden. 7 GoodGymmers got to work, tackling weeds, stinging nettles and grass cuttings. Everything was raked together and transferred in to wheelbarrows, to be deposited on to the gardens compost pile. Eventually it will break down, ready to be reused in the community garden. The team tidied up the areas around the gardens raised planters, and around the sink / shed making it a nicer environment for the groups attendees. Always a great place to help out, we couldn't resist getting a group photo with the 2 scarecrows. GoodGym Lutons next recruits?!