We had a brilliant start to our Sunday sessions at Fox Den Community Allotment, welcoming Blessings and Sandra to their first GoodGym task 🙌

We were met by Lorna, who gave Sandra and Blessings the tour and history of the site, while I started some watering. Despite the heatwaves, the crops are looking very healthy with the courgettes, beans and tomatoes all boasting beautiful green leaves.

Our main job of the evening was to continue creating a woodchip path through the site and around (what will be) the pond area. I had not realised there are so many steps to laying woodchip! Growth had already been suppressed by large rubber sheets, and once we had removed these, we had to cover the area in cardboard (removing all sticky tape and staples). The cardboard then needed watering (I'm not sure anyone had that on their bingo card for the evening) before finally covering in a good layer of woodchip. Blessings and Sandra led the way prepping the cardboard and then Blessings and I got busy shovelling and wheel barrowing the woodchip across the site to Sandra who raked it into position. A very efficient GoodGym production line 💪 We took a much needed water break and enjoyed sitting in the peaceful surroundings, soaking up the evening sun before doing it all over again for a second layer!

The area was transformed. We admired the progress and had time for a quick photo before heading our separate ways. With just the right level of physical activity and plenty of time to chat, it was a beautiful way to round off the weekend. We look forward to returning later in the month. 🌿

A beautiful sunny morning pacing at Coldham's Common parkrun for Caroline, Scott and me.

Getting in early, Scott arrived first to help set up, checking the course and filling in the many, many rabbit holes. Caroline and I cycled over and we all met in time to be handed our pacer vests, get some photos, and share some handy pacing tips. After getting a lovely shout out in the briefing, we were off!

It was a hot one and pretty exposed most of the way round so steady was key. Being a two lap course helped with double checking our pace, and although there were some questions raised about accuracy of the distance, we all came in within 15 seconds of our pacing time, which is pretty good going! 💪 Caroline wins the prize for most pace perfect ⭐

I stayed to help with pack down, clearing the finish funnel and packing the trolley, all very satisfying.

We volunteer at Coldham's on the first weekend of every month, so if you fancy trying a pacing role in a very supportive environment, come along in August.

For this week's group run, Beth, Kate, Catherine, Scott and I tied up our laces to run some donations for Cambridge City Foodbank 👟👟

Meeting at Parkside Pool, we set off on a gentle jog down Mill Road after a group warm-up 🤸‍♀️

Arriving at Coldham Sainsbury's, we spread out to gather items from the foodbank's suggested list 🥫🧃

Beneath the setting sun, our return run saw us catch up on the epic charity swim Beth - on her 10th good deed today - participated in last weekend. Well done, Beth! 🏊‍♀️🙌

3 Goodgymers volunteered at Fulbourn Hospital Parkrun.

I was volunteer coordinator and was very lucky to have so many amazing volunteers signing up, which made my job nice and easy.

Catherine did an amazing job as tailwalker and we had a nice chatty walk bringing up the rear.

Scott had the challenging task of sorting out 123 tokens and making sure they were in the right order for next week's event. No mean feat, especially after completing a speedy parkrun.

We finished off the morning sitting out in the sun with a drink and a delicious cheese scone.

This week saw our return to Fox Den Community Allotment for the first visit of 2026! Scott, Christopher, Catherine and Caroline slapped on some sunscreen and our gardening gloves and got stuck in. Chris and Catherine were busy shoveling, barrowing and laying woodchip to protect the ground. Meanwhile, Scott and I watered some very thirsty plants, admiring the tomatoes and potatoes and comparing to our own efforts 🍅

Working up quite a sweat, it was time to head to this month's social! While Scott set off on foot, Catherine, Chris and I grabbed our bikes and took the scenic route, enjoying a riverside cycle. Heading to Engineers House, we met Ilsa and refreshed ourselves with some drinks and pizza 🍕🍻

On top of it all, we also celebrated Catherine's birthday! How lucky to have another fantastic GoodGym activity AND social on the big day 🎂

On a beautiful, sunny Friday afternoon, two GoodGymers took a tour of Cambridge city centre assigned with putting up signs for Arthur Rank Hospice's Star Shine Walk. ✨

Taking in the sights along 4km of the route, we put up 42 signs!

We collected the signs from the charity shop and, after a slightly precarious ride to the start of our section, we got ourselves organised. Helpfully, we were given a print out of the What3Word locations and a route map, and once we'd mastered the orientation of the cable ties (why is it so tricky??), we were all set. DoE navigation skills coming in handy, we were off, and having got the first sign up, we were feeling pretty pleased. Little did we realise, we'd still be going two hours later...

Finding our groove, we each settled into a role which played to our strengths - I was in charge of locating the lampposts (having access to W3W) and Harriet put up the signs (having a significant height advantage). Along the way, we had chance to catch up, hearing about different travel adventures, and walked past some of Cambridge's most famous landmarks including King's Parade and The Backs.

A very warm couple of hours later, all the signs were up and our task was complete. From sunshine to Star Shine, the route was ready.

Congratulations to the 400+ people who took on the 5 and 10 mile routes, making a real difference for hospice care in the city. 🙌