What a glorious evening for one of our favourite summer traditions – a beach litter pick followed by a well-earned picnic social on the green.

With the sun shining and barely a breath of wind (a rare treat so close to the sea!), we gathered on the prom before splitting into three teams. One group headed east towards Anchor Gardens, another swept west around the beach by the pier, while I took on watering duties for our much-loved seafront flower bed, making sure our blooms stay as blooming as possible in this drought !

Forty-five minutes later we reunited, blue bags in hand. Happily, they weren't bursting at the seams this time. Compared with previous visits, there was a reassuringly small amount of rubbish collected, leaving us wondering whether beachgoers are becoming better at taking their litter home, or whether another litter-picking hero had beaten us to it. Either way, we'll happily take that as a win!

With the hard work done, it was time to claim a sunny spot on the grass, unpack the picnics and enjoy an evening of good food, great company and plenty of laughter.

We were also delighted to welcome some very special visitors as Sarah and Ryan stopped by with their beautiful newborn son, Diago. It was lovely to meet the newest (and definitely youngest!) member of the extended GoodGym family.

The celebrations didn't stop there. A huge congratulations to Ricky, who had not one but several incredible milestones to celebrate. Alongside completing his 200th GoodGym task, he's also achieved the astonishing feat of running 250 parkruns at 200 different venues. That's some serious tourism powered entirely by trainers!

As the sun slowly drifted lower and conversations carried on , it was a lovely reminder that GoodGym isn't just about doing good—it's about the friendships, the community and the moments we share along the way.

Another cracking evening where we left the beach a little cleaner, watered the flowers, celebrated a remarkable achievement and made some wonderful summer memories. You could say it was litter-ally the perfect way to spend a warm summer evening!

We even got a fleeting guest appearance by Mr John Robinson and Mr Nick Gleeson 😳

** GoodGym Sets Sail! 🏴‍☠️🎨**

What a glorious way to spend a summer's evening! With the sun shining and barely a cloud in the sky, it was an absolute delight to be outdoors helping transform a school's pirate ship into a striking masterpiece of black, red and white.

This evening's crew consisted of Barbara, Belinda, Gill, El, Paul, John and myself, and we soon had brushes in hand and paint flying in every direction.

It was especially lovely to welcome Paul back after his camper van adventures in Priscilla. We enjoyed hearing snippets of his travels before putting him straight to work!

As always, my wonderfully loyal regular team brought plenty of enthusiasm, hard work and, naturally, the usual GoodGym banter, which kept everyone smiling throughout the task.

The painting progressed at an impressive pace, although there was one clear winner in tonight's unofficial competition... the award for wearing the most paint goes to Belinda!

By the end of the session, the pirate ship had been given a fantastic fresh new look and was ready for many more imaginative adventures from the children.

A huge thank you to Barbara, Belinda, Gill, El, Paul and John for another enjoyable evening of teamwork, laughter and community spirit. Tasks like these remind us just how rewarding it is to spend a sunny evening doing something that makes such a visible difference.

Until the next adventure... anchors away! ⚓🏴‍☠️

What a lovely way to spend a warm June summer's evening! ☀️🌱

This evening's GoodGym task took us to a local homeless hostel, where residents have created a fantastic allotment. Its work in progress but there are already courgettes and other vegetables growing.

Our team of El (official photographer 📸), Ricky (lead walker and tonight's outstanding pun-dit 😂), Gill, Belinda, John, Charlie and myself, Julia, got stuck straight into digging over beds and raking the debris onto the makeshift compost heap.

We were also joined by a very special guest – Mr Fox 🦊 – who kept a curious eye on us from a safe distance throughout the evening.

As always, there was plenty of laughter, great conversation and teamwork. What a wonderful bunch of people to spend an evening with!

A huge congratulations and thank you to El, who has now become a Task Force member! 🎉 Not only that, but she also went the extra mile by watering the seafront flower bed after tonight's task. Thank you, El! 🌻👏

A real feel-good task, helping to keep a community garden thriving for the people who enjoy and benefit from it. Roll on next week! 💚