Tonight we returned to Greenfields for another night helping out the fab team there. But before setting off we congratulated Jane for completing an epic half marathon at the weekend, Matt for a very speedy relay effort, and Ed for managing to drink a fair bit during a half marathon round Sheffield 🥂

Jamie led the run out with Vicky, Babs and Pete bringing up the rear and as soon as we arrived we were off to work focusing on 3 key jobs. Team 1 were in charge of picking the apples from the main orchard area, Team 2 were tasked with tarting up the entrance to the community garden and Team 3 were trimming weeds and bushes closer to the storage shed.

There was a bit of confusion over at Team 1 when some rotten apples kept appearing in Leanne's good apple tray but the crises was soon averted (even if no one did own up). Meanwhile Jane got a lesson in how to use a little hand scythe thing and Becca tried her hand at modeling.

Things appeared to be going a bit smoother over at Teams 2 and 3, although there was a fair bit of stoppage time to get some pretty photos of the sunset, the tasks were completed promptly, even though Ed struggled to get a photo of Abel as he kept hiding behind a tree!

Once the task was done it was time for the obligatory symmetrical group photo, as is tradition at Greenfields, with the team getting more and more adventurous with their poses. There were even bikes involved in this one!

Then it was time for a quick fitness game featuring some skipping, some rock paper scissors and a bit of carnage to decide an overall winner!

We started the evening with what was supposed to be a quick and fun beanbag name, but turns out it works better with well behaved children than goodgym!

We celebrated Matt's Great North run and other achievements before splitting into two groups- a faster group with Ed to Clarence Street Gardens and a steady pace plus walking group with Vicky to the Groves.

At the Groves- we were met by Tracy plus a lady from York TV. The group split and headed off to do various tasks- hanging lights in trees, shifting slabs, weeding a courtyard, moving soil and raking piles of earth. Whilst all this was going on John kindly did the interview for tv.

In Ed's group

The Clarence Garden crew arrived and quickly continued the work that we'd started a few weeks ago. Mostly filling sacks full of the wildflower cuttings, shifting them over to the skips and then tipping them out.

The skips quickly filled up so Michael and Ed, in the absence of our usual bin dwellers, got stuck in and trampled down the cuttings so we could continue to pile the loads on top.

With time running out and the skips being fit to burst, we finished off by filling up the remaining tonne sacks and making a quick dash back across the gardens before leaving them next to the skips with just enough time to get creative for our team photo

We then all reconvened at the art gallery for a bean bag race with the new teeny tiny beanbags and hoops, posed as statues, then headed back to base.

Another successful night!

Tonight we saw a bumper turnout for Holgate Community Allotment which meant there were plenty of hands on deck for a proper evening of GoodGym gardening.

Before we set off we celebrated PK and Leanne's epic hike up Kilimanjaro, as well a some great 10k running from Stef at the weekend.

When we arrived we were met by Helen who had a long list of jobs. We got stuck into turning the compost, cutting back brambles, watering trees and clearing the school plot, giving everything a much-needed tidy-up. There was also a group of scrumpers sorting the windfall apples. 🍎 Because there were so many of us there was lots of opportunity to stand about and have a chat too!

We rounded off the evening with a lively game of Fitness Splat, proving that even after all that digging, chopping and clearing, there was still plenty of energy left in the tank for a bit if fun!

A bumper turnout, a bumper workload and finally a bumper crop of apples. A very productive night at Holgate! 💪🌱

see you next week!

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! 💚