Tonight's GoodGym assignment saw a dozen-strong team meet at the Hove Peace statue and, to the backdrop of a welcome and resplendent sunset, were led by Stefania (some via a short run around the Lawns and Hove Plinth) to the doors of Brighton Sailing Club, described on its website as "a spirited community of sailors who share a love for the sea, the wind, and the camaraderie that comes with it". The Club also functions as a base for the Brighton Explorers Club which has a broader remit of outdoor activities, and a follow-up task to use their kayaks to do some testing of local river quality is on the GoodGym schedule.

The mission at the Brighton Explorers Club was to conduct an off-season audit of the Club's Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) stock. A trilogy of tasks included: checking for leaks by applying soapy water round the SUP valve, where a frothy bubbling would signify the presence of an unwelcome leak; squatting energetically using double-action pumps to get the paddleboards to the right air pressure; and running an inventory of the single-blade oars and ensuring that they extended to full length/ retracted correctly. All of this was completed outside the Club with the usual GoodGym gusto, and at the end the SUPs were returned into storage, with one of the team commenting that their imposing height made them look like benevolent gods.

While the jury is still very much at sea on the sentience of paddleboards, the totemic animals on Brighton Sailing Club's flag, (two green) dolphins, have historically been associated with benevolent godliness, symbolising wisdom and protection and considered demi-gods in classical Greece. Though not quite as ancient, the Brighton Sailing Club dates all the way back to 1871 as a hub for sea adventures and sailing races.

Following the task's close the gang looked ahead to races of a different kind, and to participating/ supporting in Sunday's Brighton half marathon, with a plea perhaps to the weather gods, before heading off into the evening and, for those who hadn't eaten yet, a well-deserved supper.

12 GoodGymmers came together this week, including first timer Miran - welcome Miran! On foot or with pedal-power, we made our way up the short but oh-so-steep climb to the Brighton Unemployed Centre Families Project (BUCFP) where we were greeted with a mountain of bedding that had been donated, and that needed sorting into sizes so that they can easily be allocated to those in need.

After some time deliberating over the difference between single, double or king sizes (check out the photos for the answer...) we made fantastic progress - sorting, folding and storing hundreds of sheets, duvet covers, mattress protectors and pillows in just half an hour.

The Brighton Unemployed Centre Families Project provides practical support, education, advice and much more to those in poverty, in poor living conditions, benefit claimants, the unwaged, pensioners, families and those on low incomes and suffering social exclusion and poor wellbeing.

Yesterday session was held at the Brighthelm Centre, a well-known community venue in central Brighton that hosts a wide range of social, cultural, and support services and other community-focused volunteering activities.

The main objective was to help out the centre with practical maintenance tasks to improve the accessibility and appearance of the community spaces, currently disrupted by building works that are in progress since weeks. After a warmup tuned by Zumba moves (courtesy of Zumba with Mon), we engaged in a combined sweeping action of stairwells indoors and of leaves outdoors, accompanied by a festive weeds scraping workout of the garden pavements. The grace of Ewan, the building manager, revealed just how meaningful our contribution was to him and to all who benefit from this vital community centre in Brighton.

Yesterday mild night turned to be a bonus, bringing most joy to our GoodGym-ing and chit-chatting about the coming up Xmas GoodGym social events. We welcomed Pavel at his second GoodGym session on a personal mission to do as many good deeds as possible by 2025.

More to come? Plenty!