A merry way to close the year at the cafe! Weldone to every goodgymer for their relentless support year round. Wishing us all a happy holiday!

On Sunday morning two GoodGymers teamed up with the Luton and Dunstable Conservation Volunteers. Where we worked on clearing scrubland and improving chalk grassland habitat. We cut down a lot of Hawthorn and Rosehip bushes in the process. As always the Wildlife trust volunteers kept us going with their array of cakes and hot drinks.

Not everything was put on the bonfire however, some of the Rosehip was spared for another GoodGym project - assisting with seed collecting.

We had a fabulous team out this morning to help with the monthly Dallow Downs Litter Pick. When they list the task as a litter pick they don't always warn us about the scale of the task, but there is very little that can discourage the GoodGymers in Luton. We started off with litter pickers and hooped bags, but then Sophie - the task owner mentioned that, hidden in the trees was a mountain of items that looked liked they had been tipped from one or more of the houses backing onto this once green space. Always up for a challenge and a work out, several of the team relinquished their bags and were led by Gill up into the trees. Omar retrieved two tyres, and not long after Gill found two tyres still attached to their wheels. These were soon carried down the hill to the entrance of the pathway. They might have been feeling time, but soon Fawaz and Abdulrahman were walking down with a double matress. Two more matresses were unearthed, and additional execricse was gained from some competitive matreess racing fromAbdulrahman and Fawaz on Team A and Ezrik, Atsiba , Teklay and Mohammed. While the team of two did finish first, the VAR decided there may have been some cheating, as they gave themselves a head start. And Abdulrahman and Fawaz then had a further race while carrying kitchen cupboards up high. Nuriya and Zainab did a fabulous job of continuing with the litter picking in the park while all these shenanigans were going on. It was just a shame that Zain ended up slipping down the hillside in the mud at the end of the task, with no matresses there to break her fall. Congratulations to Mohammed as this was his first GoodGym Community Task. We think he enjoyed it, and hope we haven't put him off getting involved in future tasks.

The last group run of the year was the first group run for Ezrik,Atsiba and Teklay. Welcome to the team guys!

This week's task took us to Azalea where Tracey awaited us with a heavyweight assignment:

Step 1: Detatch and remove the two tumble dryers attached to the top of the washing machines.

Step 2: Move the washing machines down the stairs and outside for waste collection.

Step 3: Bring in and install the new washing machines, replace the tumble dryers.

Side-tasks included moving several radiator covers from the top floor, down three flights of stairs to the basement and detatching a faulty TV from it's wall bracket.

After plenty of up-and-down and heave- ho-ing we got everything in its place and said farewell and Merry Christmas to Tracey as we headed out for a gentle run through the town centre on a tree tour to take in all the festive lights.

Finally, to round off the night, and the year of Group Runs, we headed to the Bricklayer's Arms for some drink and a toast to another good year of GoodGym Luton!

Another successful party for the older residents, this time of the Bushmead Area of Luton. They were expecting over 80 guests, and the GoodGym Team arrived bright and early to help with the cooking. Later in the morning the sub-team set off to the community centre to set up the hall and once all was ready the food was transported across ready to be dished up. Then it was all hands on deck to serve the guest who were waiting with relish for their dinners.

After the dinner there was music and dancing and it didn't take long before Gill, Abdulrahman and Fawaz joined Vera and some of the guests on the dance floor. And we were all impressed with Adbulrahman's newly learned dance moves.

After some Carol singing and an introduction to the Chief Executive of the Council, it was back to the kitchen to start the arduous task of washing up and cleaning down. It was a long day but everyone left with smiles on their faces, and Christmas wishes ringing in their ears.

Zainab, Abdullah, Mohammed and I oreoared by peeling begetables: more than 37kg of potatoes, 12 kg of carrots, and Brussel ls Soriuts and 10kg of parsnips at Hockwell Community Centre, in preparation for tomorrow's Christmas Dinner. .We really enjoyed working today with our amazing GoodGym heroes. We didn't even notice the time passing until the task was finished - it was a beautiful day 