So much has changed since our last monthly visit to Doddington community garden, and the joy of going regularly means that we can see the difference we're making over time! This visit we were delighted to see that the beds we had dug last time were flourishing with courgettes and other crops.

But first things first. We kicked off the session at our usual meeting spot for some warm ups, and it was brilliant to welcome back some familiar faces and to have Rida join us for her very first session - great to have you part of the team!

We did some warm ups which tested our coordination as well as our muscles, and given we have just had a bumper week of fireworks, Halloween, Diwali and there are now 50 days until Christmas, we asked the group which is our favourite holiday. Answers ranged from Christmas, Boxing Day, bank holidays, Easter, Eid, Halloween and our annual leave. Goes to show we all love a party!

It was just a short run or cycle down to the Doddington, where Malissa wasted no time getting us to work. There was weeding to be done, trees to transport and a new bed to be dug, lined with cardboard boxes and then refilled with compost again. This is going to be planted with red onions for the community to enjoy, so keep your eye peeled next month!

After a good 45 minutes of hard graft we downed tools and went down to the square for a lower body challenge. Three minutes of seriously tough exercises with no break, all working those glutes, quads and calves - and everybody rose (or squatted) to the challenge. Great job!

All that was left was to run to the pub for the monthly pub quiz, and this time there was two bumper teams ready to battle it out. Team IstanWool (who will ever forget from this day forward that angora wool comes from the Turkish capital?) were pipped to the post by Paul, Dave, Jo, Laura, Justin, Jason and Catherine's megabrains...but we still have to beat our nemesis at the bar! Definitely next month.

Speaking of which, don't forget to sign up for our Christmas party where there will be plenty of festive fun to be had, and also this special mission to get everybody a warm coat this winter.

Faced with a garden absolutely filled with brambles Jason and I wasted no time getting stuck in. Luckily we both had heavy duty gloves to avoid all those thorns and only came across one spider the whole session. In case, like me, you’re not a spider lover, Jason’s top tip is peppermint- apparently they hate it! Good to know. After 90 minutes the garden looked significantly more bramble-free and Jason and I even had a chance to go through the tactics for tonight’s post group run pub quiz! Everybody welcome!

Friday morning visit to VGCC to help setup, set tables, display veg, meat, drinks, in preparation for guest arrival.

Mr B invited me into his flat, we got to work sorting through a large collection of books and magazines and placed them on his shelf. This helped create walking space in his flat for him to get around.

Every session at GoodGym is special, but last night was especially special for a few reasons!

First of all we got to welcome Carol, Abi, Adam along for their very first group run with us - let's give them a big GoodGym cheer! It was also fantastic to welcome back some familiar faces too.

The evening was in collaboration with Sport England's This Girl Can campaign, which aims to remove all of the hurdles for women to participate in sport. This is particularly relevant at this time of year when the clocks have gone back and the evenings are darker. There is a lot of anxiety around running after dark, especially for women, and last night's session was a chance for us to help make wider society more aware of this and what we can all do to help.

So just before we started the task we went round the group to reflect on how running after dark made us feel. There were lots of different answers from us all, including concerns about running in parks (which takes away some fun and freedom of going for a run) , worrying about trip hazards, how every sound is amplified, being hyper aware of everything around us, and the disappointment of avoiding it all together. It was really interesting to hear everybody's thoughts from lots of different viewpoints.

If anybody in the group every wants to go for a run but doesn't feel safe, then feel free to message the group in whatsapp and we can hopefully get a buddy system going - I for one am always up for a social run!

What also made the task slightly different yesterday was that, rather than run to a community organisation like we normally do, we had our session right at our meeting spot at the BAC. So all we had to do was turn the corner to find the amazing permablitz garden. This space is available for the whole community to use, and anybody is welcome to help themselves to the produce grown at this edible garden. It's all planted so it's sustainable, organic and full of pollinators.

This is a wonderful community resource but it's also a huge space, and so we rolled up our sleeves as head gardener Polly took us for a tour of the garden. We saw fennel seeds, curry plants, learned about walking onions and admired all the amazing herbs. Some of the volunteers who work at the site have accessibility issues and the leaves falling around the planters have made the paths slippery and unsafe. So while half the group set about litter picking in the beds, the other half got stuck in clearing the walkways.

Meanwhile there was plenty of planting to be done, so we grabbed our gloves and a big bag of bulbs and got stuck in. Great work everybody, you've made an amazing difference in just a short amount of time. And good news! The blue keys were eventually located....

With no run involved, we had to make up for it with an full body work out. It was so good to see everybody throw themselves into loads of different circuit based exercises, including those dreaded hill sprints, tricep dips, bunny hops,lunges, lateral jumps and so many more - all of which were made doubly hard by doing them on that incline!

Next week we are back with a bang - expect lots of lovely Diwali and Bonfire night fireworks as the back drop for our run! We'll have an extra great view of them as we're going to the Doddington rooftop community garden for our monthly session followed by the pub quiz social. Everybody welcome, the more the merrier!

Which way is North???

Three Goodgymmers arrived at the Goodgym Garden at the Omnibus Theatre.

I was in disguise (I think a lack of Goodgym top on display and my newish beard & baseball cap, and Jordon walked straight past me).

Stephanie soon after arrived with the gigantic compost bin.

A team decision was made to have a coffee and read the instructions before placing the compost bin.

Caffeine ready when made our way into the Garden…

We were then tried to work out and which direction was direction was North for best placement of the bin.

Decision made, but a small obstacle…. -A gooseberry bush needed to be relocated. - At rapid speed the bush was dug up by Jordon, and Steph started preparing the ground for the compost bin. - I dug the hole for the bush to be re-planted.

After bush was re-planted and the bin was is place we tidied and the started to fill the composter. - Weeds, leaves, fallen apples, (to my own enjoyment dropping tomatoes in the bin) next seasons produce will be ready to be turbo charged which a bit of nourishment from the bin….

Sunflowers “one I should say should they stay or should they go…” some maintenance was required and despite Steph’s best effort using everyone’s friend google we were unsure if they will grow again next season…. Seeds collected & fingers crossed for 2025 flowering…

Tools packed away we set off in our separate ways to enjoy the pleasant sunny Sunday.

Should we name the new Compost bin??

Paul