Another year goes by and I now start prepping to leave my 30s behind!

After a very enjoyable Lakeside parkrun, with added bonus of seeing one of colleagues who retired last year doing her first parkrun.

We then enjoyed a swim and sauna at the newly reopened Lido. And shared coffee and doughnuts in the sun.

Finished off the celebrations watching some cricket in the sun with some beverages. Sadly this was cut short due to the weather taking a complete turn from blue skies to thundery downpours!!

Thanks to everyone who came along to our first outdoor session at the Synagogue of 2026!

Barbara set us straight to work - well done Andy for your efforts locking the gate. We managed to uncover a significant number of established plants under the influx of not-forget-me-nots, and cleared the way so the boundaries to the flower beds were exposed.

David showed a previously unseen level of stealthiness by managing to tag every GoodGymer with string of sticky weed without their knowledge - impressive work!

We got to hear about Katie's reverse London Marathon adventures, and shared the exploits of Rodger the dog. The less said about the chat towards the end of the session, the better, but let's just say a visit to the butcher will never be the same again.

Thank you so much Duncan for organising a wonderful task for us this evening. Is there anything better on a warm and sunny Friday evening then attending the soft launch of the brand new Hilsea Lido? I certainly don't think so!

After braving a fairly chilly dip, we warmed up in the lovely sauna, before going for a second swim! Even better, we got to sample the tea, coffee and hot chocolate from the catering can on-site to finish up.

We were able to give the team some feedback on the spot, but any other comments can be sent to Spencer: Spencer.hodge@southdownsleisure.co.uk

I imagine we'll have a few summery socials here over the coming months 🌞