Brrr! Yesterday was a cold and rainy evening – a shocking return to the English weather for Stefania but nicely warmed up by the greetings of a grand group of Brighton GoodGym-ers ready for action!

We conquered Victoria Gardens by running several loops and alternating running fitness exercises with speeding up legs to keep us warm before leading to our task. But, this was not there available to our surprise! Never minded, and freewheeling, this GoodGym session turned to be a great social gathering at Lord Nelson Pub, where Michelle organised a quiz night for us, thank you!

GoodGym Teams: ”Good-ER Gym-ERs” and ”Great Guys” quizzed the names of cakes and guessed colours by answering multiple (and more) questions, but there is never a black or white answer for everthing, isn’t here? (Tom’s quote 😉)

We welcomed Matthew to join the fun and return to our future group sessions!

Five of us met at the Queen Victoria's statue and headed to the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership Community Kitchen, where we joined the rest of the GoodGymers. Jo, our task owner, told us about the family community cooking classes they’ve been running all summer to support Brighton & Hove's funded Holidays Activities and Food programmes to beneficiary children and young people who learned how to make simple, healthy and delicious homemade dishes.

Our job tonight was to clean up the kitchen and make it extra welcoming for the final class on the day after.

We were joined by Tabitha, who’s soon moving to Amsterdam, and Carla, who’s also leaving Brighton soon. It was great to have them with us, and they worked hard to make the kitchen shine. If this was our last time seeing Tabitha, we wish her all the best and thank her for everything she’s done with GoodGym ❤️. We look forward to seeing Carla again before she goes 😉.

After a good scrub, the kitchen was spotless and ready for the coming up grand finale of the family cookery class, happening the day after! We got to tick those tasks off the to-do list—a job well done! 🎂

Brighton GoodGym,Bravo!

Do you know that....

As GoodGym volunteer you can participate to cookery classes with a GoodGym discount code. Furthermore, we could attend a 6-week cookery course at the B&H Community Kitchen by accompanying people they support, as referred by TogetherCo. This is an exemplar GoodGym’s mission that could help isolated people to build up routine and feelings of confidence.

For more information, ask our GoodGym Area Lead, Stefania and email hello@togetherco.org.uk

Well this summer continues to evade us, with a lovely day turning into patchy rain by the time we set off to Vicarage Bowls club yesterday evening. Luckily the rain didn't last and we navigated our way through the streets of Brighton out to the bowls club.

We have been regular visitors to the bowls over the years but sadly our host informed that this will be the last season the club is in use. After ninety-six years the club can no longer get the support it needs to keep running so will be closing come September.

With this in mind we set to work to make the planting look its best for the club's final hurrah! The main task was clearing a huge bed of overgrown brambles and weeds. All nine of us set to work cutting and pruning out any unwanted intruders. We had soon created a huge mound of debris filling eight bin bags!

With all this hard work on a humid summer's evening our kind host brought us water and biscuits to keep us fueled up. We then continued on clearing the bed, whilst some of us refreshed the path, with Jane in particular wielding her own weeding knife to great effect.

With such a big task we stayed later to try make a larger dent in the bed, skipping the fitness session. After a few photos we all ran and walked back into Brighton. If this is to be the last time we help the Vicarage Bowls Club then it was a great session to go out on and maybe we'll be back in future to help with whatever replaces the club. Thanks for everything VBC!

Despite the early start - post Saturday Brighton Pride festivities - a crack team of GoodGym-ers assembled to help keep Brighton beach litter-free and stop those pesky pieces of plastic from making their way in to the sea (as lovely a day as it is for a swim!)

We joined a great big bunch of other volunteers organised by our friends at the Brighton & Hove City Council Tidy Up Team as part of the BIG Pride Beach Clean, kitted up and litter-picking our way along the beach and promenade. Litter grabbing tools - also sometimes referred to as 'reaching tools' - fully justifying the tenuous S Club reference in the title :) - just one of the Brighton Pride 'Fabuloso' acts that the litter pick fabulously rewards us all with free tickets to.

Welcome to Edward who joined us for the first time and thanks to all of the returning GG team.

Undoubtedly a great group session in mid-summer, this was! With an eco-bonus, and a surprise.

Last Saturday, Stanmer Organics opened doors to the public in the beautiful outdoor space in Stanmer Park, and yesterday to the passionate volunteers of @GoodGym Brighton.

The Centre of Eco-therapy is one of 20+ small orgs of Stanmer Organics with a mission at the heart: to provide nature-based therapies to whoever needs to overcome physical, mental or long-term health conditions. In this amazing healing environment, the guests do gardening, grow vegetables, drink tea, cook and eat around an open fire. All is composted, and a return to Mother Nature is encouraged. The basic essential facilities are compost toilets, so the users live a trueful permaculture experience, within its values and ethos. There is also a new sauna garden, did you know it?!

GoodGym was asked to help to dig a pit for building a new compost toilet, with a promise of an eco-therapy experience to thank the volunteers. A challenging call for the area activator, Stefania.

Brighton GoodGym-ers keep surprising all our beneficiaries (and me) for our unconditional good heart, always prepared to do everything – and get our hands dirty! Keep moving together in the outdoors fuels our heart and fulfils us with incredible satisfaction. Burning calories (or stress 😉) while moving, just helps – that’s for sure!

This call for GoodGym’s help was a great group mission, which was worthwhile opening to all, despite the long distance that is loved by some GoodGym-ers but not a cup of tea for everybody. We managed to get all moving, who by bike (or Beryl Bike) from our meet up in Brighton, in Victoria Gardens, who by run or walk at easy pace throughout the park to gather all together in good timing, and not getting lost in the woods 😊 – we didn’t. Thanks to Ben, who was already waiting us at the task and to Richard backing up my orienteering skills.

Surprise, surprise! Our inspiring charity founder, Ivo, and Darrel from Green Runners made us a surprising visit in Brighton. Both are runners and leaders by example, but also just simple people and passionate volunteers like everybody of us in Brighton GoodGym. We are all driven by sport passions and trueful values to do good and act green for our planet . In proper GoodGym style, I would say.

There was an good turn up of GoodGym-ers at this group session of middle summer, so well organised by Liz and Bella from the Eco-therapy Centre despite the demanding setting for such big group. Digging the hard soil was a bit challenging and crowded, at times, but the outcome of our work was fab – 2 deep dip holes were created and a new ramp constructed to help disable users to access the compost toilet. 😊 Meanwhile, Ivo and Dan, with a young adult got the fire ready🔥

Our host Liz offered us an eco-therapy experience and a bowl of soup, prepared with her garden vegs and with lots of her love – such a bonus, Grazie, dear Liz! The peaceful community-feeling made me forget all about the past stressful day(s), and the luggage still to pack up before my 6am flight the day after.

We enjoyed so much our evening that we lost track of the time, but we still returned home by cycling and running with a good light in the dusk. At the end of the day I was exausted, but happy and fully satisfied. All truly content, (or so I think).

First time GoodGym-er Liam quoted: “It was a great session for my first Goodgym in over a year. I really enjoyed digging (/pick-axing/tilling) the holes and the soup and hummus hanging out in the garden after was delicious”

What’s next? Follow us to see what’s on next Meanwhile, I begin to develop some ideas for a special GoodGym group session with the Green Runners and Sanctuary Runners-Brighton. Ready to pledge for sport for development and green action? I am, follow me!