This evening, Doug, Amanda and I headed over to One Church to lend a hand with preparations for tomorrow’s lunch for people experiencing homelessness.

We were welcomed by Stephan, who was incredibly organised and had everything ready for us. Our task list was clear: chopping carrots, potatoes, apples and pumpkins – plenty to keep our hands busy while the conversation flowed.

And what conversations they were! The four of us covered so much ground – from travels to Japan, to memories of the Covid days, volunteering, the realities of homelessness and the weight it places on someone’s life, to workplace bullying and ways to tackle it, the rise of AI and how it’s shaping our daily lives – and plenty more in between.

Two hours slipped by quickly, filled with chopping, chatting, and laughter. As we wrapped up and said our goodbyes, we all left feeling just that little bit better than when we walked in.

16 Goodgymmers made the short jog over to Brighton Community Kitchen on Queens Road for our regular clean-up mission. We welcomed new Goodgymmer Charli, who has recently made the big move from Worthing over to Brighton, for her first task.

The Brighton Community Kitchen does vital work in the community to teach valuable cooking skills to those who might otherwise might not have access. Recently they have been working with the Marcus Rashford-backed project to provide meals over the holidays to children who are eligible for free school dinners. They have hosted classes for both the children and their parents to impart practical day-to-day cooking skills.

We were excited to see that the Kitchen has recently been upgraded with new sinks and a Food Dehydrator. The dehydrator particularly allows them to preserve vegetables that wouldn't otherwise by used, store them and later use them as ingredients. There was a big batch of Tomatoes, Onions and Carrots in the dehyradator during our clean.

Jo greeted us with her usual enthusiasm and gratitude, along with her famous todo list on the wall. This time we cleaned all the windows both inside and out, transformed the drawers from chaos to order, gave all the stools and work surfaces a good cleandown, scrubbed the ovens and of course sorted the cheese graters! Our extra large turnout meant we were able to knock-off all the tasks in no time.

With our tasks finished and everything ticked off of Jo's list we sauntered off into the summer night back to our own (slightly less sparkly clean) kitchens.

Four GoodGymers took over All Saint Church kitchen’s under the guidance of lead chef Amaryllis and new GoodGymer Amanda and Sarah, this Monday!

Oven pasta was on the menu for the meal of ChoirWithNoName. Every Monday the choir get together and share a communal hot meal after their rehearsal. This week also said goodbye to the choir director Ziggy, who covered during Freya’s maternity leave.

We did three amazing gigs all-together, including the Big Xmas Singalong that was a sold-out event, touching our hearts as usual and fully powered by your amazing energy and shining purple colours, as so you like, dear Ziggy.

The highlighted song of the evening: “Blinded By Your Grace, Song by Stormzy”

I'm blinded by your grace I'm blinded by your grace, by your grace I'm blinded by your grace I'm blinded by your

Lord, I've been broken Although I'm not worthy You fixed me, I'm blinded By your grace You came and saved me

I said a prayer this morning I prayed I would find the way To another day, I was so afraid 'Til you came and saved You came and saved me And the rain was pouring 'Cause the sun faded away Now I'm in a better place No longer afraid Blinded by your grace You came and saved me I said a prayer this morning I prayed I would find the way To another day, I was so afraid 'Til you came and saved You came and saved me And the rain was pouring 'Cause the sun faded away Now I'm in a better place No longer afraid Blinded by your grace You came and saved me

Thank you, Ziggy! This is only a goodbye. We will sing together again.