Tonight's top team of Balsam Bashers met at Boulter's Lock and before we set off important business needed to be taken care of! Firstly we welcomed first timers Phil and Mary and secondly, Georgeta has completed a huge 500 Good Deeds and she was presented with her special medal, adorned with a special ring found during a sludgy pond clearing mission, and her royal cape!

The team then set off on a chatty 1km walk to Battlemead where the balsam awaited us. We snuck over the fence and through the forest of stinging nettles to the middle of the area. Here Amy reminded us of what we were looking for and then the Balsam bashing began! The Goodgym locust swarm swept through the area relieving the ground of the balsam with a satisfying 'pop'. We found the balsam was bigger round the reeds in the wetter land and had soon pulled up handfuls and helped to stop the invasive species spreading further!

Satisfied with our efforts but knowing there is lots more hiding amongst the nettles we headed back along the river. However, we can't acknowledge a Good Deed milestone without some cake and Amy was the baker tonight! We tucked in as Amy read us some words from Sheila about the amazing selfless volunteering Georgeta has done in the area and especially the social visits which have proved a lifeline to older residents. She is a shining star!!

Nine Goodgymers set to work tidying and sweeping the back garden at Mencap. Sheila, Viv, Jess Mike and Georgetta weeded, trimned and swept the planter area with lightning speed! Roberta, Ben and Sol dug out weeds and tidied the area near the shed. After yet more sweeping and moss removal the garden is ready for the mencap community and the warmer weather! The evening was rounded off by celebrating Angela's 100 th good deed with a wonderful poem and cake from Amy and Sheila.

....and here is Amy hijacking Angela's report to share the poem:

Angela Shaw: A grade A GoodGymer, to be sure!

Active and athletic!

Altruistic and able!

Agile and adaptable!

So amazing, that even without one of her ‘A’s

She’s an angel.

The only problem with Angela

Is that finding rhymes is a challenge, er…

And the word angel

Is also hard for a poet to wrangle.

Her amazing achievements we cannot ignore,

So thank goodness for her last name, Shaw,

Which rhymes easily with words galore!

Angela’s good deeds now number twenty and fourscore

(Which means 100 in the language of yore)

If she has a spare moment, she doesn’t snore.

She’ll go to Nature’s Haven and sand a door!

She’ll shovel sludge to work her core,

And clear away brambles til her hands are sore.

She’ll give foodshare donations to the store,

But on Balsam and Ragwort she’s waging war!

She picks up litter, she sweeps the floor

And she tidies up plastic from the sea shore!

She put the lantern parade leaflet through your door

And doesn’t even mind a pothole chore!

On paddleboard or bike she loves to explore.

And her cycle abilities are really top drawer:

She teaches bike safety to kids in year 4

And even support rides with Peggy the tri-shaw!

So let’s hear it for this legend of local folklore,

Our faith in humanity she does restore,

Hip hip hooray for Angela Shaw!

It's Good Friday, and 8 amazing Goodgymers were helping out at the Easter 10, a popular 10-mile race around West Maidenhead and White Waltham run by Maidenhead Athletic Club. Hundreds of runners took part, all looking for some hydration at our water station at around mile 6. First job was to set up the tables and fill as many cups as possible with water before the runners arrived. Mike and Karen's table won the prize for the neatest rows, but Sheila K and Kay squeezed on the greatest number! Rosie and Amy arrived on their bikes, having been carrying out other duties at the race village first. The first runner arrived 31 mins after the start, and from then on were kept busy handing out cups, furiously refilling new cups and chasing cups which the wind was unhelpfully blowing off the table. All while cheering on the runners. Special cheers were given to Claire from Goodgym, all the MAC runners and anyone else we knew. Meanwhile, Kelley was using her photography skills to capture the action. At last the flow of runners slowed and we could take on some sustainance in the form of cake and macaroons provided by Sheila A and Amy. Well done to everyone for giving such egg-cellant support to the runners

Last night, a big group of GoodGymmers (14 to be exact) along with 2 members of the local council gathered around a large laurel bush on the corner of St Luke's Road and Cordwallis Road. 2 groups had made sure they opted for active travel to arrive at the task - Sophie, Jess and Kelley ran 2km and there was a group of approximately 5-6 walkers who walked around 1.5km.

The task was to chop the bush down to make way for a nature garden for St Luke's School, just across the road. It was probably the biggest bush that GoodGym have trimmed thus far...!

Our task leader brought along lots of tools to help us - loppers, sacateurs and litter pickers - as there was a lot of litter buried deep within the bush! And nobody likes a dirty bush! So we did a sterling job of cleaning it up, chopping it back and our task leader was very handy with the saw to tackle the bigger branches. We worked on the bush for an hour and made a huge amount of progress which our task leader was very grateful for.

It was one heck of a workout and we were all sweating by the end, which meant we definitely all deserved some treats.

Thankfully, the amazing Anne-Laure made sure to plan her 50th good deed with this enormous group of hungry GoodGymmers and Rachel made the most epic cake and even provided homemade brownies for the free-from participants! Amy presented Anne-Laure with the customary handmade GoodGym medal too. Congratulations Anne-Laure on reaching this milestone and thank you Rachel for the yummy cakes and brownies!

I think we can all agree that the task was hard work, a laurel fun and as always, great company. There is a lot of laurel now piled up needing to be taken away so if any GoodGymmers are able to assist please message either Sophie or Amy via the whatsapp who can put you in touch with the task owner and you can self-log a good deed.

Great work GG team!