With news coming in that there had been damage to the community garden at the Weller Centre over the weekend, we were prepared for the worst... but thankfully, while there had been some of the fruit and veg damaged, overall the garden was OK!

There was still plenty for us to do, and we all set to work. Holly went on the hunt for litter, Chris got to work shredding the branches that had been cut down by other volunteers, Jenni started to move the compost piles and Shirley emptied the shed to get it reorganised, which turned out to be a big job!

With all the litter gathered, and the muscles aching from soil turning, Holly and Jenni helped Shirley (along with Katie and Penny!) get everything sorted to go back into the shed. Organised, stacked and much easier to get to!

Chris' shredding job had been complete too and there was then even space in the shed for the tool - borrowed from the excellent 'Library of Things' - to be tucked away too. Job done!

We'll be back at the Community Garden again in a few weeks for more!

This evening we were joined by Charlie for her first GoodGym session, and she'd even run from home to join us! Superstar! Nick had come with his own litter picker as well, which meant we could all get stuck in.

And we certainly had a lot to do! On our last visit to the Kennet, we went for a lovely long stroll and collected very little, but this week, there was loads! We only made it a few hundred metres down the path before having to drop off two full bags and get started on some more!

Nick made the interesting discovery of several parking tickets... hopefully no extra fines going to anyone! A shame they weren't giving out fines for litter though, with 8 bags full we decided to call it a night and head our separate ways for the night.

Chris and Jenni went to Reading Rugby club to help with some of their club house renovation. Now the roof has been finished there's plenty to do inside so they can reach the try line before the new season starts!

We joined the scrum of volunteers who were there for the day. During the morning we repainted a corridor and the benches in one of the changing rooms while we were there. It made big difference in a small amount of time!

We might be back again in the coming weeks as they progress with the work.

Three GoodGymers and one enthusiastic new recruit (not officially GoodGym yet but we’re working on it!) rolled up their sleeves to get stuck into some garden maintenance at the Weller Centre.

The lawnmower may have been out of action, but that didn't slow us down. Armed with determination (and a strimmer), we cut back overgrown grass, chopped stubborn twigs prepping them for the shredder, and cleared a good amount of litter from the area. A surprise highlight was the stunning sunflowers standing tall, a cheerful reminder of what a bit of care and attention can do. lovely gardens and we can't wait to go back.

Three GoodGymers turned out early on Saturday morning to support the Reading Thames Valley Parkrun. Despite the light rain, spirits were high and the runners were out in force. We saw a seriously speedy turnout from the runners — including two kids who absolutely flew through the 5k with impressively fast finish times.

We helped with marshalling, time keeping, and time checking at the finish line. It was great to be out supporting the local community and getting our GoodGym dose of fresh air and teamwork. Thanks to Reading Parkrun for having us – we’ll be back (hopefully with sunshine next time!).

Four goodgymers went to Ardler Road allotments to meet Jeremy to help with looking after the plot growing fruit and veg for food4families to give to local organisations.

Jenni and Noor, joining us for her first task, walked to the allotment, Sam went for a run along the Thames on the way and Chris met us at the task.

There was planting, watering, weeding and some maintenance to be done on the site and the team got stuck in!

Chris showed Noor and Sam how to plant the cornichons, although the soil was very dry and tough! The rain we'd had earlier in the evening hadn't managed to get into to ground, so Jenni got to work with watering and pumping from the well.

With Noor and Sam now experts at planting, they got to work with planting some calabrese and giving them some protection from slugs with cardboard collars.

Chris helped Jeremy with some maintenance of the supports for the taller crops, but with a shortage of tools to cut string, the pair had to get inventive and make use of any spare twine they could find on other poles to be able to get the plants to stay on their bamboo canes.

As always, the mares tail weeds were creeping in, so after watering, Jenni got to work pulling these out. Hopefully they will stop popping up soon!

After 45 minutes of work, everything we had on the task list for the evening was completed! We love coming to the allotment, we always learn so much and its great to help such an important cause... we'll be back again soon!