Great turn out tonight

It was lovely to see Roxy and Anne back today after recovering from a combination of injury and illness 🤒

Joining them was Sarah and Ryan, Paul, Gillybean and John

We had been asked to do an Autumn tidy up and in all honesty that's exactly what it was in this well cared for, pretty courtyard garden.

Leaves and pruning were the theme tonight. Most of the team were sweeping and gathering up leaves and weeds but I did turn round and find Gill stuck into some pruning too ( never misses an opportunity! 😍)

Tonight was a fairly short but satisfying tidy up whilst chatting with each other.

John missed the final photo as he is on extended nurse duties for Mrs R who is recovering from 2 operations 😍

Thanks everyone and see you all next week 😊

Julia xx

It was great to welcome back Mel and Paul for their second task with us - Luckily it was dry and marginally less dark than their first task with us last week! Both got stuck into digging a trench for the bulbs to be scattered in. Progress was swift!

Propped on a bench, it was also great to have our dedicated photographer, Belinda who is re cooperating from a foot operation capturing some lovely shots. Thank you for turning out on a November night when you could have snuggled on the sofa with a boxed set and Jellybean the 🙀

Gillybean was in charge tonight and armed with boxes and a large sack of daffodils and other spring flowers she shared out carefully between us all.

Paul and John dug out the border on the other side of the garden before planting the allocated bulbs there too. All work tonight was aided by Uncle Ivo's GG work lights :)

Paula dug out a half moon bed where we had previously planted sunflowers. Whilst the area needs a lot more TLC, this garden should look very pretty in the spring months.We will return to sort the grass and weeds another time!

Whilst the rest of the team went home , Mel and I headed out for a very sociable and enjoyable 2 km run.

Job well done :)

Have a great week and see you next time

Julia xx

**A big GG Worthing welcome 🙏

On a dark drizzly night at the end of October we were really pleased to offer a very warm GoodGym welcome to Mel and Paul who joined us for the first time on our task tonight. It was so good to meet you both and we sincerely hope it will be the first of many tasks together.

Despite the darkness and rainy conditions there was plenty of cheery chat :)

There is an area of Goring Greensward that is not covered by Worthing Borough Council bins and attracts a lot of rubbish. As a dog walker in the area it has been bugging me for a while. Last month myself, together with Mr and Mrs Robinson ( aka John and Belinda) we had made a really great start but tonight, with more people and armed with our trusty GG work lights together with bright head torches, we continued this fantastic work.

In the course of the task I learned that Sarah and Ryan have recently been to Italy - did anyone know this ? If they hadn't before the task they certainly will do by now ! However, on returning from running, both of them completed their virtual Great south Run on Saturday and Sunday in signature style - well done both of you :)

Ricky had also completed his VGSR in true Ricky style and pace - many congratulations :) Ricky was very illuminated tonight ( see the photo) which, given the theme of the evening @thisgirlcan ' lifting the curfew' was perfect timing.

Daisy also happened to mention about her up and coming holiday in the Lake District where the weather looks forecast to be dry ! Regardless of the weather Daisy will love it - tonight she especially loved clearing up all the litter ( quite competitive ! )

As ever, Paula and Barbara dug in tonight with their usual energy and good humour helping to ensure that, despite the weather, the task was a really worthwhile one.

With the dark nights here we will continue to do good in the community throughout the winter months - your continuing participation and support is much appreciated. In addition to the Monday night tasks and community missions, I will be adding in fitness and socials to help us through too :)

Have a great week

Julia xx

October hues

After some morning torrential rain we were fortunate to have a stunning balmy evening for our final visit of the year to Heene Cemetery to help with an autumn tidy up of previous strimming and pruning work.

After 10 years of volunteering , sadly, it was the last time Sue would be there in her task leader capacity. Sue has been a wonderful presence and energy in the cemetery and we will miss her. However she's handing over to Kevin and Tracy who we will really look forward to working with.

Belinda is enjoying some days celebrating her 60 wonderful years and it was so nice to see her tonight in advance of a few parties! Wishing you all the best for both your celebrations together with ops B 🙏

It was also great to unexpectedly see Paul who after traveling for a month or so with John in his camper van, Priscilla, was back with his full force and energy 😀

Ricky was also celebrating 5 glorious years of GoodGym volunteering and also completing his virtual Great South Run earlier in the day.

Roxy and Gillybean teamed up to bag up all the debris. Both are recovering from injury and we are keeping everything crossed for a speedy return to regular running.

Sue and John worked hard with the chopping up and raking. Sue is enjoying her recent retirement and filling her time with some fantastic volunteering for local good causes👏

After the task we headed to the pub to raise a glass to Belinda' s birthday together with a great chatty catch up with good friends 😊

What a lovely evening !

Fading light

We arrived at St Botolph's on what had been a very gloomy day, meaning the light was fading fast. It was our last visit of the year to this pretty church garden under the watchful eyes of Rik and Val. However we will be aiming to get some work done at Heene Church rooms over the winter months,

Roxy and Suegot stuck straight into sweeping leaves with Belinda getting her steps in, wheelbarrowing big piles of leaves to and from the compost heap.

Paula and John worked on digging over the doomsday font that we had spectacularly unearthed several years ago before planting up some palms and other shrub that Val had provided. John, Roxy and I also moved a huge stone from the font area around the corner to where the other large stones/ rocks reside - Roxy stepped into help after I got distracted after completing 50% of the task !

Sue from Heene Cemetery did some great sweeping whilst Rik and Val, our leaders, beavered away weeing and clearing moss from gutters.

Happy Birthday to me!

Roxy had very kindly made me a yummy chocolate cake birthday which was still warm so we shared it out and I took home the remainder-such a kind thought. Thank you Roxy!

Next Monday

We are at Heene cemetery for our final visit of the year - Ideally we would like to start at 5:30 pm to catch the light.

*Welcome *

Tonights pun is dedicated to the newest members of our GG family

Handsome Ben was born to our very own Natacha and Steve last Friday whilst Nick and I welcomed our beautiful granddaughter Frankie Bea into the world last Wednesday. Very exciting all round ( and busy !) May they both have a wonderful life - maybe they may date each other one day 🤣😍

Mondays task

Back to this evenings task ..... We met up with Val and Rik who coordinate the volunteering in the church garden. Val is always super organised and has all the tasks on a board which is colour coded for both choice together with intensity guidance.

Gillybean got stuck in with digging out more unwanted shrubs ( I can't remember the name of them 🤣) It was good to learn that her heel is gradually improving and that she's getting the medical help she needs to expedite the process.

Belinda and Sue picked a high energy and very prickly job of pulling out very large brambles. They managed to clear a huge area so a great job done 👏

John also picked the strenuous job of digging over the area behind the old air raid shelter . The aim was to try and get it levelled too. Its fair to say that John went a long way to make this happen !

Barbara and Paula buddied up to pull persistent ivy off the stone wall. Paula was fresh from her 60th Birthday celebrations 🍾 and it was great to hear all about her adventures - especially the zip wire one! 😀

It was great to see Anne tonight who was helping Sue from Heene Cemetery with some pruning and sorting whilst Val dug over the compost heap and generally organised the whole task 😇

With the October light fading fast we finished up with a group photo and some chatter !

We are back next week for our final visit of the year to St Botolphs before the light goes.

Have a great week everyone and spare a thought for the sleep deprived new parents!

Julia xx