Today, I showed up a little late to One Church on Florence Road, where preparations were already underway for Sunday’s meal that will be shared with people facing homelessness. By the time I arrived, Steph was already busy peeling the cardamom, Sonam had taken charge of marinating the chicken, and Dan was keeping everything in order with cleaning and dishes.

Wanting to be useful, I joined in by helping to ground some seeds, taking photos to capture the wonderful spirit of the moment, and doing my part to keep the team motivated. Together, we worked for about 2–3 hours — chatting, exchanging stories, laughing, and soaking up the incredible knowledge and wisdom of Chef John, who guided us through the process with his experience and generosity.

By the end, we all felt lighter and better for having contributed, even in small ways, toward tomorrow’s meal. With smiles and gratitude, we said our goodbyes and headed off in different directions, carrying with us the warmth of community and service.

This week, 12 GoodGymmers made their way to One Church on Florence road, to help them clear space for a community compost to be installed. One Church Brighton is a broad and inclusive church, who do lots of different activities in and around Brighton, from worship to running community cafes, and putting on events.

6 of us braved the run up Ditchling Road, while others made their own way via bike or walking - all of us arriving to a warm welcome from out host (and very own GoodGymmer!) Michael, and Danny from local skincare company My Skin Feels - whose generous donations are funding the new composting site, which will be used by the local community.

After collecting some rather serious looking tools, we all got stuck in clearing an old flower bed and leveling the soil. Although our enthusiasm quickly waned as we discovered just how difficult removing a tree from the root is 😄. Liam, Euan and Frances did a fantastic job digging and sawing until eventually the bulk of the tree root gave way.

Whilst some of us were busy playing lumberjacks, others set about clearing the church walls and flowerbeds from weeds and litter, ensuring the space looked it's very best for the community who uses it.

A big welcome this week to two first timers to Brighton GoodGym, Jorge and Tristian. We hope you had fun and that we'll see you at another task soon :)