5 GoodGymers met Pam and a couple of other volunteers from Colchester in Bloom to empty the planters on the high street, ready for them to be filled with beautiful new plants later this week.

We removed the plants, dug about to remove any remaining roots, emptied some of the soil to make room for some new, cleared up the mess, removed any litter and loaded Pam's car. All while having a good catch up and accepting compliments and gratitude from the passing public.

If anyone is able to help them, Colchester in Bloom will be meeting at the town hall at 10 this Friday morning to put in the new plants.

5 GoodGymers met at the Mercury Theatre and headed down the hill to Middleborough (no S, despite autocorrect's best attempts) to meet Pam and some gardening tools.

The garden around the old drinking fountain had become overgrown, the paving area with many slip hazards and a fair bit of litter around the place.

We quickly set to work pulling weeds, trimming plants, removing moss from the paving, picking up litter and moving dead leaves (but not too many - a friendly passerby stopped to remind us that hedgehogs love the fallen leaves). It was amazing how quickly the area looked much smarter.

We then attempted a bit of night time photography before heading up the hill to return the tools to Pam's house.

Lovely evening with you all, I thought it was fun despite what Ray's facial expression may suggest....

3 GoodGymers set out on a damp evening to make sure the FoodBank stays clean and hygienic to care for those in need across Colchester.

It felt like a mammoth task to clean such a big floor space between the 3 of us but everyone set to work straight away sweeping the floor and mopped (almost) all of it. Alexander did a great job cleaning up the office area and Ray made sure we didn't leave until all was clean in the area where customer come in.

Look out for another opportunity to help out the foodbank on the first Tuesday of each month for the rest of this year - their funds are stretched so they really rely on volunteer support.

After a last minute change of location, 4 GoodGymers enjoyed a pleasant evening walk over to the Colchester in Bloom allotment, including a brief encounter with Frazer en route.

It was lovely to meet Rebecca who was visiting from York GoodGym who got stuck straight in (with Louise) watering everything to keep it going after some dry weather. Alexander got to work with the strimmer, an important job to keep the allotment looking smart (as required to keep hold of the allotment), while Ray delighted Pam with his work to rescue some fruit trees.

We promised we would be back again soon to sort out some barrier boxes which need cleaning out so they can be put to good use.