Six goodGymers met in Desborough Park on a warm summer evening. The ground had been baked solid so the task had changed from digging a garden bed to cutting ivy and litter picking. The task owner was suddenly taken ill so couldn't make it. There we were, clueless and directionless but in true GoodGym fashion, we made something out of nothing!

Angela and Viv got started on litter picking, accompanied by the very clever Flora (the way she persisted to find that tennis ball inside the dense bush was applause worthy!). Jess, Kanika and Diya got started on trimming the ivy around the community centre building. Joanne from Wild Maidenhead and Councillor Jack advised we cut the stems 1.5mt from the ground and the tops would just wither and fall off. Jack and Joanne then proceeded to water the beds at the top of the park.

Kanika set high standards with an impressive, clear line where she had cut the ivy. Jess promptly followed in her footsteps creating an admirable line. Diya definitely came last in this neatness category!

Ivy trimming was hard work - dry, dusty, not easily accessible but we made a fair go at it. Viv and Angela joined us after a round of litter picking and relieved our tired arms.

It might not look like much but we got there in the end!

Diya and Kanika went back to the Furze Platt junior school summer fair after having a great time volunteering there last year.

This time we chose to join the Beauty Room for the Hairspray stall. It appears to always be rush hour at the hairspray stall with patrons lining up for colourful hairdos!

We only had one face shield, so could set up just the one station but with most patrons asking for multiple colours, we shared the spraying duties to keep the line moving! Purple, pink, blue, red and white hair soon spread across the fair! 🌈

Work done, we left with big smiles, splattered hands & numb fingers 😆

See you next year FPSA summer fair!

Ten of us joined fellow GGer and task owner Nivi at Ray Mill Island on a perfect summer evening. Our task was to paint some murals on the paths to make them pop!

Some got going with cleaning the path for the artwork, while others chose what they wanted to draw from various drawings that Nivi had chosen. Chalks and paints in hand, the more skilled ones drew out the murals, some tested their drawings for accuracy (see the hopscotch-ers), and then everyone joined in with paints and brushes.

Universally hailed as the most fun task in a long time, it was hard to pull people away from it. Some stayed back a bit longer to finish their handiwork.