*Paul's special day *

What a great turn out it was for Paul epic 200th good deed. What an amazing journey its been since Paul came along with Tamsin in October 2017. We have absolutely LOVED every minute of our time with you at tasks and also at socials when you bring your husband John along too ( not forgetting Pepper and Milo too! )

Tonight was no exception with Paul, John and the 2 dogs helping to celebrate the amazing milestone. However, before the celebrations came the task!

What a group turn out

It was great to see Lucy and Duncan who came over especially for this evening from Portsmouth. Thank you both - much appreciated. Lets also not forget a guest appearance from our social secretary Tamsin who already has plans afoot for our annual Christmas get together - this year we are going to try for a December date and at exclusive location !

Our task tonight was to continue the remodelling of the garden at the leisure centre. Barbara had made a suggestion that the raised beds would be removed to be replaced with grass and Duncan also suggested wild flower beds. This has since been approved and will mean it will be much easier to maintain together with making it a prettier area for sitting out in.

The first job was to dismantle the beds and level the soil over the ground. Roxy was especially pleased as she was able to reclaim the wood from the beds for using in her allotment. We cant wait to see the photos of what she creates with her stash!

Thank you all for all the hard work tonight from all the team - Another special mention must go to Gillybean for her leadership and consistency in looking after this garden over the weeks, months (and years! )

Ryan and Sarah get the prize for the cutest photo of the evening :) Plus kudos to Ryan for not giving up his rake when we did the speedy swap in changeovers.

Anne and John get the prize for the best caption photo ( we still are unsure quite what was going on here but we are sure it was, somehow, a sign of Ann's appreciation of John! )

Sue and Lucy had a great action shot demonstrating 'lunges whilst you work' !

After the task came the awards ceremony with Paul loving his bespoke GG engraved tankard and putting it into immediate use! We all shared drinks and a picnic with everyone's contributions. Yum!! What a happy and buzzing night it was for GG Worthing! We were definitely feeling the love :)

Hope to see lots of you next week - in the meantime have a great last weekend of August.

Julia xx

Saturday social vibes

What a wonderful turn out on a sunny afternoon to support the Care for Veterans summer fayre. There were 13 of us including Jemima who came along in her GG t-shirt with mum Tamsin to help us too - If only there was a junior GG Jemmie would be there every week!

it was lovely to see Natacha again and we are looking forward to welcoming a GG baby boy in 3 months time :)

There was a guest appearance from Nick who brought some muscle along to compliment Johns!

Belinda, Sue Daisy and Anne together with Roxy and Paula all pulled out all the energy meaning that we managed to be cleared up within 1 hour. Myra was delighted and let us choose a drink whilst Jemmie oped for sweet treats ( lots of them! )

And so to the pub

We all headed to the pub to celebrate Belinda 300th good deed that she achieved last week. John had made an amazing GoodGym Gulliver in celebration and had also managed to keep it a secret from her too. Congratulation and thank you to Belinda Kudos to John too !!

It was a really nice way to spend a late afternoon. Roxy has requested a picnic next time!

*Sunshine at last ! *

It was a wonderful evening for a visit to Turning Tides Victoria Road hostel. Some walked, some ran and one arrived as a complete surprise to us all ! It was so good to see Beth back in Worthing for her first GoodGym in 2 years ! Lets hope we see some more of this little pocket rocket in the borough again soon.

Also surprising us with her presence was our very own social secretary Tamsin - so good to see you and thank you for your continuing hard work in and outside of tasks :)

It was also good to see Sue Anne and Craig back again tonight after a few weeks break -the warm sunshine definitely brought out the crowds this evening.

We were tasked with putting together garden furniture together with a tidy up of the garden and breaking down alot of cardboard ready for recycling. Sarahand Anne jumped on the chance for some self assembly of the bench and were also joined by John in a supervisory role! Paul Tamsin and Craig assembled the table ( despite lack of tools! )

RoxyGillybean, Daisy and Sue worked tirelessly all evening sorting the wilderness around the borders and rediscovering the raised bed that had been completely obscured by tall weed like bushes.

Meanwhile Belinda and Beth were busily breaking down boxes and sorting between recycling and general rubbish - they somehow found space in bins !

Great job done everybody :) See you next week.

Julia xx

Happy 60th Birthday Mr Robinson

On a very happy evening we all convened at the cemetery to combine good deeds followed by an epic celebration in honour of John 60th Birthday.

With volunteers aplenty we had to bolt on an additional task to accomodate everyone. Luckily Rik and Val came to the rescue and half the group headed to Heene Church Rooms garden to start work on a new project for us.

Back in the cemetery we welcomed Ryan to our group. Although many of us know Ryan as being Sarah partner, it was especially nice to see him at his first task. Luckily Lucy was on hand together with Ricky to partner up and do some very fine raking and bagging!

Elsewhere in the cemetery Sue was busy pruning brambles from the grave looking extremely fit in her shorts and long compression socks!

Meanwhile, Anne and Sarah were busy raking - this was certainly the case when I left to check in with the other half of the group but I'm not entirely sure that the work rate was kept up in my absence - ha ha! Some of the photographic evidence may support this!

Duncan, fresh from a 3 day stag event and a board meeting was busy digging whilst trying to stay awake!

Back at the new task - the ground force makeover team were certainly going at full strength.

Belinda had partnered up with Gillybean to clear the area around the steps ( credit to Belinda for some great before and after photos! )

John. Tamsin, Daisy, Barbara together with Rik and Val made great strides with clearing bindweed, wild garlic, brambles, weeds and rubbish !

We will return to this site in the coming winter months to really get a grip with it and smarten the whole area up.

We all reconvened at the cemetery for a Happy Birthday sing song followed by a group photo and a well deserved drink at the pub where we presented John with a variety of presents from his GG buddies!

Great job and smiles all round !

Hope to see lots more of you at the tasks in the coming weeks !

Julia xx

*On Scorching summer evening

A team of dedicated GoodGym volunteers and our youngest member, Jemima, gathered at Splashpoint Leisure Centre to commemorate its up and coming 10th anniversary this weekend. Despite the challenging conditions, the teams unwavering enthusiasm and commitment shone through as they dug and planted 10 shrubs, leaving a lasting mark of celebration.

Participants

John Anne ( lovely to see you back ! ) Gillybean Duncan Tamsin and daughter Gemima Julia

Task

Digging and Planting Shrubs

The primary objective of the event was to dig holes and plant, appropriately, 10 shrubs in honour of the milestone anniversary of Splashpoint Leisure Centre. This task required patience and perseverance, especially considering the hot weather and exceptionally dry conditions.

Efforts and Dedication

Despite the scorching heat, the team demonstrated dedication and effort for their work. Their commitment to completing the task was evident as they tirelessly dug and prepared the ground for the new shrubs.

Junior GoodGymer Jemima

Jemima, the youngest member of the team and a Junior GoodGymer, stood out with her determination and enthusiasm. She actively contributed to the project, showcasing her energy and tenacity. Jemima's involvement highlights the inclusive nature of GoodGym and its ability to engage individuals of all ages.

Celebrating 10 Years of Splashpoint Leisure Centre

The efforts of the GoodGym volunteers and Jemima were aimed at celebrating the significant milestone of 10 years for Splashpoint Leisure Centre. By planting shrubs, they not only added beauty to the surroundings but also symbolized growth, resilience, and a vibrant future for the centre.

Our Golden Nugget

The successful completion of the shrub planting project wouldn't have been possible without the invaluable assistance of the enthusiastic duty manager, Phil Ingold. Phil's presence added an extra touch of magic to the evening, further enhancing the celebratory atmosphere.

Tomorrow is another day

Tomorrow the potting compost will arrive and Gillybean has kindly offered to come along and complete the task by distributing it , watering and topping it all with bark chips. Thank you Gill.

Conclusion

The GoodGym volunteers, along with their young member Jemima, exemplified the spirit of community service and dedication. Their collective effort in digging and planting shrubs, despite the challenging weather, left a meaningful mark in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Splashpoint Leisure Centre. This event serves as a testament to the positive impact that individuals can make when they come together for a common cause.

Thank you so much to my team for turning out for an extra task tonight. Special mention to John and Gillybean who notched up their 2nd task of the week and their second time of bringing their own tools!

Apologies the the lack of photos ! I accidentally deleted a fair number- Luckily there were a few that got saved !

Have a great week !

Julia xx

Worthing Run Fest dawned sunny and relatively still on in our beautiful town.

For the second year running, GoodGym had been asked to give out the finishers medals which we were very happy to agree to. Stephen was also harpooned to volunteer by one of the organisers, Jade whose charms were clearly more powerful than my pleas for volunteers - but wait - he ended up in the baggage tent so maybe karma did prevail somewhere !

A number of our Worthing GoodGymers were participating in the event.

Natascha, Daisy Greg ( aka Craig) Sarah, Sue A and Mr R John ran in the 10K whilst Sue W and Jay took on the mighty half marathon. Well done to you all . You are all our superstars !

Our intrepid runners all did brilliantly with several personal best times- Notably Jay, who ran London just 7 days ago got a PB . Massive kudos to you, our very own super hero - Cake man!

The other mini super hero of the day was Jemima ( mini me Tamsin ) who was super excited to be helping with the medals, and ended up fronting our team and giving out the medals and the trophy to the winners.

Finally, big shout out to Daisy and John who ran and then volunteered too.

So sorry for the lateness of this report. The Central GG tech team did a upgrade last week of the website which resulted in multiple bugs meaning it was impossible to upload a report until just now.

Looking forward to seeing you all in the next few weeks. With 2 more bank holidays in May we will also be actively volunteering on Wednesdays too.

Thank you for your support and patience

Julia xx