Luke-ing down the barrow of a pun (but don't forget to leaf time for cake!)

Well done to the 14 superstars who came out this evening for a slice of the GoodGym action. After the recent rain it was great to get out for fresh air, fitness, gardening and most importantly CAKE in celebration of Matthew's 50th good deed and Nicola's 100th (and her 101st!) It was also lovely to welcome Tori for the first time.

We had a change of task because our chair man wasn't available to lead the chair mending session. Instead we ran and walked the 1km to St Luke's for some more gardening. Kudos to the runners, who put in some extra laps of Kidwells Park, and to the GoodGymers who live near the school, so did the journey twice. This time the to do list included emptying planters, re-homing plants and clearing leaves.

Oh the places you'll grow!

Nicola nuts, Tori tiramisu, Angela apple, Toni duck, Juli jelly, Rachel raclette and Georgeta grapefruit tackled the planters, and did a lovely job of tucking the evicted plants into their new beds. There was also an intense chat about a drain.

On track for some terrible puns

Sophie sushi, Jess jellybean, Adam avocado, Matthew mars bar, Scarlett sugar and Ben (who missed the foodie ice breaker and is probably wondering what just happened) took the wheel barrow and hippo sack to the running track on a leaf clearance mission. Of course you wouldn't be-leaf the puns this prompted. Just as they were getting into their punning stride, we decided it wheely was time to leaf, after all there was cake to eat!

150 reasons for cake

Huge congratualtions to Nicola and Matthew, who have totted up an awesome 150 GoodGym good deeds between them. I presented them each with a medal and then we all enjoyed lots of cake. Juli made a gorgeous vegan chocolate cake for Matthew's 50, complete with the number 50 made of grapes, and Georgeta made a stunning carrot cake for Nicola's 100, which was topped with angel wings and a big 1-0-0 made by Sophie - thank you bakers!

As is now customary for a 100, we also had a poem:

Three cheers for Nicola Hine!

Fitness and good deeds she likes to combine.

And now she’s done 99

Good deeds (plus 2), so it’s party time!

Sorry I’m a bit late with this rhyme

Our GoodGyming plans didn’t quite align

And I think my writing is in decline

But we’re all friends here, so never mind!

Nicola’s in her GoodGyming prime

She’s made bunting out of twine

She made an awesome Windrush sign

And made the path a nice straight line.

She helped to clear that pond of slime

She sweeps up leaves and cleans up grime

She decorated our Christmas pine

And back marks so no one is left behind.

Communication is her place to shine

Her reels are much better than mine

Her run reports are so sublime

And her insta advent calendar blew my mind.

Outside GoodGym she doesn’t just recline

She does parkrun – even the incline!

Her blanket for niece Thea was a gorgeous design

And her travel photos are simply divine.

You’re a top GoodGymer Nicola Hine!

So let’s raise an imaginary glass of wine

Hip hip hooray we all shall chime

And on this cake we all shall dine.