What better way to spend an evening than swapping trowels for bowls and heading to the bowling green for an evening of competitive fun!

There were some impressive deliveries, a few questionable ones and plenty of good sportsmanship — all washed down with a few beers! 🎳🍺

Once everyone had worked up an appetite, it was time for a buffet, which was very kindly laid on by Lynne at the club, followed by an all-important selection of cakes. Because no GoodGym social is complete without cake!

Then came the Yorkshire quiz, testing our knowledge of everything from Yorkshire traditions to local legends. We now all know how big our Yorkshire Puddings should be!

A brilliant evening of bowls, beer, buffet, cake and Yorkshire trivia — GoodGym definitely knows how to roll out a summer social! 💚

Saturday evening sunshine meant there was no better place to be than getting stuck into some GoodGym gardening!

Tonight’s mission was weeding and removing black plastic — a satisfying combination of pulling, clearing and uncovering what had been hiding underneath. The weeds didn’t stand a chance as we worked our way through the area, while the stubborn plastic put up a bit more of a fight!

With plenty of sunshine, teamwork and fresh air, we soon had the area looking much tidier. Who needs Saturday night fever when you’ve got Saturday night weeding fever? 🌱💪

We started tonight's session by celebrating all the goodgymers who ran York 10k. We had pbs galore as well as Matt getting a P1 at parkrun. We also welcomed Christine to her first task.

This week’s GoodGym adventure then took most of us to Scarcroft Allotments, a mere 800 metres away, to help keep the site in tip-top shape, whilst Mitch took a splinter group to Hull Road park to do some raking.

Our first task was giving the hedges a well-earned trim, tackling overgrown branches to leave the paths looking neater and more welcoming. A group also did a bit of heavy lifting - dragging a pile of old carpets down to the car park. This upset a nest of wasps and unfortunately Nathan got stung a few times.

This us what the Hull Road gang got up to-

We arrived at Hull Road Park and needed to clear dried and cracked plants. It was important we cleared the tinder as it was a massive spark risk in this heat.

We quickly filled 10 Tonne bags and cleared the area...luckily in time for the rain tonight!

With the allotment looking smarter and the park clearer, we finished the evening with a fitness session. The highlight (or depending on who you ask, the toughest part!) was teddy bear rolls, which had everyone rolling, balancing and laughing in equal measure. A fun way to round off a productive evening of volunteering and exercise.

A huge well done to everyone who came along and helped make a real difference at at both sites. From hedge pruning to carpet shifting and teddy bear rolling, it was another brilliant example of GoodGym combining doing good with getting fit.

There was lots to celebrate tonight following the weekends goings on. First up we had the wedding of Vicky and Neil (congratulations guys!) followed by a fair few members completing Thorp Perrrow parkrun dressed in wedding attire, including what could possibly be the first ever parkrun P1 featuring a chap in a dress carrying a handbag (classic Mitch). We then carried on the celebrations by numbering off whilst listing our favourite things about weddings, including lots of mentions of the various foods!

After that it was time to venture to Greenfields in a Woollard sandwich with Ed leading the run out and Amy backmarking. Meanwhile Vicky led a cycling group. Upon arrival at Greenfields the guys were organised promptly into 5 different groups and then led off by a volunteer from Greenfields to get stuck into their task. The following is the best recollection Ed can possibly give of what each different group was doing, without actually bothering to take the time to ask...

The first group were near the entrance and appeared to be hacking away at grass with relatively blunt instruments. Amy in particular seemed to be struggling to actually get any of the grass cut and every time Ed returned she'd swapped her instrument for one that she thought might be sharper. I think Michael may have actually managed to get some grass cut with a sickle but I can't be sure. He just looks like someone who can cut grass reasonably well.

The next 3 groups all seemed to be around the same sort of area. I think they were cutting grass near the raised beds or possibly even weeding in the beds, but I can't be sure. Mitch was asleep on the floor for a bit and Abigail was absolutely covered in stuff out of the beds which meant Babs had to get rather familiar with Abigail to help clear her backside! Steve constantly had a wheelbarrow. Laura was definitely removing grass from the side of a raised bed but didn't really seem to know why. Mitch had a wee in a bush. Abigail kept making faces. Jake and Matt appeared to genuinely be getting some work done, but I'm not sure if it was useful or not.

The final group were rather conveniently placed near the fruit trees and I honestly have no idea what they were doing. Rich had a rake but was leaning on it quite a bit. Lucy was very well hidden deep into the bushes. I think she was just hiding so that she could eat the fruit. I think I saw Neil and J cut some grass but I could be wrong.

After all that hard work it was time for a classic Greenfields symmetrical photo before a quick wedding themed fitness session, but only after Amy had reminded Ed that it was supposed to be wedding themed! There were some squats to start the wedding day, some lunges up the aisle, some very questionable dancing including the macarena and a little lie down at the end of the wedding featuring some burpees.

All in all a fab session at Greenfields and we'll be back again soon!