On a warm but windy summer's evening, an impressive 29 GG Yorkies turned out for an epic weeding session at Acomb Primary School. We started off by welcoming 2 newcomers Ruth and Kit who were both completing their first ever good deeds with us tonight. Give them a big cheer 🥳

We also crowned the GoodGym Yorkie of the month for June, with the award going to a slightly surprised Jane who completed a fantastic 8 good deeds last month and has also now done well over 25 since joining us in January. Well done Jane!

There was also a cape of good deeds to dish out, with Nikki completing her 400th good deed last week. Fantastic stuff Nikki!! What an absolute legend of GG York

Before we set off to the task we warmed up with a quick game of stuck in the mud. Max, Matt and Mitch being the chasers and everyone else running around like loons to try and avoid them. Abigail led a walking group and so managed to avoid the mayhem back at base, before being followed by the main group with Ed leading the way and Rich and Lucy backmarking.

At the task we were joined by Tristan, Martin and also Jan who was joining us for the first time this evening (Welcome Jan! 👋). The task was a classic clearing task with a bit of destruction thrown in for good measure. No need for too many instructions tonight, just pull up some weeds and cut back some trees.

A small side group were task with shifting a small pile of bricks whilst everyone else got to work on the weeds. Rich seemed particularly delighted when he found out he had the honour of removing and entire bush/tree that had grown as tall as the building. He promptly got the bulk of the bush nicely trimmed before setting to work on the trunk. Meanwhile Steve and Babs tackled a couple of hedges that were obscuring the windows (Babs giving hers a particularly close shave!)

Everyone else found there own space in the courtyard and pulled up a variety of overgrown weeds and even a few herbs, which made for a very nice minty smell lingering around the task. Mitch and Lyndsey focused their efforts on the things growing out of the drains whilst Kit and Lucy made excellent progress on a sycamore that had started to obscure the plant beds. Whilst all the while, Rich was still beavering away at the tree and had now been joined by Nikki in what had truly become a Gover-ish sized task!

With time running out we stopped for a group photo before handing over to Abigail who was leading tonight's fitness sesh. Rich and Nikki remained in the courtyard to continue their tree removal task!

Tonight's fitness had a name which I've completely forgotten but involved people choosing an exercise for everyone to complete before naming something that they have or have done (e.g. wearing a black shirt) and then attempting to swap spaces in the circle with someone else who had also done that thing. It was great fun although probably less so for Babs and Max who both ended up in the middle of the circle on mote than one occasion. Rich and Nikki also finally managed to remove the tree stump and joined the fitness sesh just in time to get the gist of what was going on

It was then time to venture back to base, with a few people continuing on to the pub

This was a very different task. Instead of gardening gloves and wheelbarrows, we were trained up to use a ticket scanner and give out wristbands. We were both put on the gate for Premium and Access tickets holders, plus also funneling all those on the guest list. For 3 hours we met all the happy customers (except for 1 rowing couple) and sent them through to the magic inside the arena. As the evening went on the punters grew 'merrier' and more confused! One highlight was when a gang of lads with an air of an aging boy band, came looking for the guest list. As there was a queue, I chatted away to them about the delights of York. Turns out they were The Script, taking a break from their tour to Scarborough Spa! (Ask your kids!) Finally at 8.30pm we were given our premium passes and let loose on the bar, just in time for Nile Rogers and Chic. They did the exact same set as at Glastonbury IE Funktastic!

Four goodgymers met on Friday afternoon to set up the book sale and celebrate Nikki's 400th good deed! This comes shortly after another significant event involving the number 4 and we found an appropriate book for others who might have reached the same worthy milestone. Happy birthday to everyone celebrating this month!

The curse of the Himalayan Balsam strikes the Ouse once more. Time for York's hardy GoodGymers to head into the dense vegetation, braving nettles, bugs & trees to help rid the riverbank of this invader. The constant chatter & friendly banter occasionally interrupted by squawks of, "Ooh I've been bitten / nettled" or by the discovery of eye-catching wildlife. Today's spots were tansy beetles, deer, Feargal & a fierce looking unidentified caterpillar. Amy outlined the 'bend & snap' approach & many piles of bashed balsam were produced particularly by Ed, Leanne and Paul as they carved out dens under the willows. Jenna appeared from the river having paddle boarded to the task - against the wind. Good effort everyone.

Tonight's group run saw our joint biggest turnout since we restarted after the pandemic, and whilst we absolutely love having sooo many amazing GGers turn up, it also happened to coincide with a night at our smallest task in terms of space! But before we worried about how we'd fit everyone on to a small traffic island for a spot of weeding, we welcomed Imran who was coming along to his first ever GG session tonight. Give him a big cheer 🥳

We also welcomed back Elle for her second session, having completed her first just a few days earlier. And Matt who is well-known to most through his appearances at GG weekends away, but was attending his first session in York. Great to have you both on board 👍

Tonight's task was at the Fishergate Triangle, an area of land that has been turned into a flourishing wild flower patch in-between a very busy junction in the heart of the city. Ed led the run out with Amy bringing up the rear, whilst Abigail led a walking group and Vicky leading a walk/run crew.

Upon arrival we were greeted by Maeve from St Nicks who gave us our instructions. Basically, pull up the thistles, dandelions and anything else that looks like a weed, and leave the nice stuff. If you're unsure then ask! The guys from the walking group and the walk/runners got stuck into the task whilst Rich led one group back to Tower Gardens for their fitness session with Nick.

Martin C and Issy both met us at the task, the latter having lost her voice so was obviously made to answer as many questions as possible, including that age-old debate: Cornflakes or Cheerios?? A lot of people made use of the soft bark chip floor to have a much needed sit down whilst pulling up the weeds around them, whilst Jenna got to work with some loppers and took chunks out of the buddleia that was growing by the pay phone (which, incidentally, is still working although it will cost you at least 60p to make a phone call, thanks to Max for checking)

Rich led the first group back from their fitness session and swapped over with the guys who had been making excellent progress at the task. Vicky led the second across to Nick for their turn to be put through their paces. The fitness sessions involved a game of squat, squat goose followed by some races with balls - an over and under race and some plank rolling

Then Jenna led a game of Grandmas Footsteps / Squid Game with folk hiding behind trees - unfortunately the group hid too well with those returning from the task thinking everyone had disappeared and already made their way back to base!!

It was all a bit hectic but somehow we managed to keep 33 GG Yorkies busy at a tiny traffic island. Well done to Nick for leading two fab fitness sessions and to Vicky and Rich for getting people to where they needed to be on time