5 GoodGymers, including the lovely [Katie] who we met for the first time, joined up on a pleasant Sunday afternoon to help weed, plant and water a community allotment.

We were met by James who was delighted to see us as he had recently been given notice that they would lose the allotment if it wasn't cultivated within 30 days. We were able to transform 2 large over grown beds from thistles and grass to fresh soil ready for planting, and even got one of them planted up with some squash which would become food for those most in need.

We were inspired by James's enthusiasm and vision for the plot, which you can read about further in a recent article in the gazette ([https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/23605328.colchester-allotment-grower-needs-help-feeding-foodbank/]).

(Kudos to Bob for the title)

On a wintry Wednesday night, eight cheery Goodgymers met for an evening of running and painting. Tav had a friendly chat with a newcomer who had popped in for more information on GoodGym, whilst we discussed important issues like the best route to the Christmas meal venue! It was lovely to see Stu who stopped by with smiles and greetings that sent us on our way with added fervour. News items included a reminder of the mission run this Saturday at 11am to The Cannons for carol singing and general Christmas merriment with the residents there. We will be under the guidance of our talented musician, Emily, so it’s sure to be a fun and wholesome occasion. It will be great to have a sizeable group and you don’t have to be an expert singer, it’s all about creating a festive occasion and making a positive difference to the lives of those in the home; so pack your sparkle and your voice and join in…simple! Note too, that if you come with a friend – a potential GoodGym member – you could be rewarded with a special GoodGym jumper, the perfect partner for your Christmas jumper! The run announcement was the Victoria Park half marathon and 10K this weekend – good luck to Ella who is taking part as practice for her spring marathon.

So then our run, which took us out under the gorgeous silvery moon for a pace along the river, up steadfast Brook Street, out onto the dark recreation ground to the guiding lights of GO4 social enterprise café. Our task tonight was painting the toilet areas which meant a substantial area of wall to freshen. We worked in two teams, one for the blue paint and one for the white - how sensible! Then it was a task of two halves with a stylish look of two-tone rooms, blue for the bottom half and white for the top. We all loved Pepi’s choice of fresh turquoise/ aquamarine/azure (much discussion - we couldn’t decide) and agreed it brightened the cloakrooms perfectly. We stuck at it, rolling, brushing, balancing on ladders, bending on delicate knees, reaching under pipes and stretching up on toes until our painterly workout was done. The result was amazing and it just needs a patient Pepi to do the cutting in and fill the tricky gaps with colour and GO4 will have been spruced up nicely.

Tav took the time for a brief interview with Piter about the valuable activities organised at the café to help improve the lives of community members, especially the unemployed, through training and work experience. The café is worth a visit, it’s open five days a week – Wednesday to Sunday - and you can support a worthy cause whilst eating attractive Christmas cupcakes (I’ve seen them) and admiring the local artwork and a wall plastered with endearing photos of dogs! We enjoyed our time at GO4 and after a warm goodbye to Pepi and Piter we blasted out into the freezing air and ran our painterly legs across the grass, shelving any Spurs talk in favour of talk about the much anticipated ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ GoodGym version. Inspired by last week’s foodbank singsong, Ella has worked hard to produce a GG take on this famous festive song, taking time to replicate the exact rhythmic pattern (Alex’s request). What a star! We look forward to joining the rendition of that on Friday. What will replace the Five Gold Rings?

We traced the same route back to the Leisure World bridge where we stretched and cooled down our well-exercised limbs. It was a fabulous evening with running friends and a very worthy GoodGym keep fit and do good session. Thank you and hope to see lots of you on Friday.

As Wednesday evening (the best time of the week) rolls around again, good gymers all over Colchester don their red T-shirt’s and head to Leisure World for another night of do-gooding.

Once the whole team was assembled Tav told us all about the exciting community missions happening on Super Saturday in celebration of 10 years of goodgym! A whole decade, how incredible! Only 3 more years before goodgym becomes a teenager and things might get a bit more difficult - make the most of it while we can hey! There was also many congratulations to be shared, Bryanne and her daughter absolutely smashed a 2k, and Emma, Bob and Ian took on the challenge of the Langham 10k and came out the other side triumphant! Great running everyone, well done!

With an on route warm up we set off to Go 4 Cafe at the recreation ground for some hard core litter picking. We were greeted by Pepe who gave us all some much needed and appreciated refreshments after our run. After marvelling at all the adorable dog photos that were displayed in the cafe, we chose our weapons (either a litter picker or bin bag) and set out to make sure no piece of litter was left unpicked. Bob dazzled us all with his unrivalled litter picking skills meaning the recreation ground and surrounding areas were left without a bottle top in sight! We headed back to the cafe, 3 bags of litter heavier than before and were lucky enough to have a great view of the beautiful full moon.

On the route back we ran in a snake formation with the runner at the back then sprinting to the front or weaving in and out of the other runners. We came to the conclusion that summer was officially over as the head torches had to make an appearance to guide us safely back to Leisure World. And with that another good deed was done.

Lastly, to all my fellow Colchester good gymmers, as it’s my last session, I’d like to say: you all inspire me everyday and you’ve changed my life for the better, see you on the flip side.