A cold fast run led our evening to the warm welcome of our yesterday’s host: the Brighton Unemployed Centre Families Project. BUCFP was set up in 1981 and is a registered charity providing practical support, education, advice and much more to the unemployed and those in poor living conditions, benefit claimants, the unwaged, pensioners, families and those on low incomes in Brighton & Hove. The centre is run by volunteers for the benefit of all users, alongside a small team of part time paid workers.

All are welcome!

The centre is organising several festive events, including a ‘Community Christmas Lunch‘ with activities and presents on the 13th December and a ‘Families Christmas Party‘ on the 15th December. Lots of presents needed to be wrapped for the event’s raffle and this was our task yesterday! What a fun session, really. Reminded my childhood when my favourite entertainment was apparently to wrap-up everything in the house making to find things a real challenge for my parents 😊

We enjoyed fully wrapping presents and we ended up our session with a present ourselves, leaving the centre with a big smile on our faces and a loaf of rustic bread – surplus food. A nice welcome to new member Patrizia

Seven Good Gymmers and Angela’s partner George ran, walked, cycled and took the bus to the recently re-opened Martlets Hospice on a cold but sunny Saturday morning. We met head gardener John and he told us that before the hospice was off-sited for 18 months so it could be re-designed and improved, he managed to save all the garden furniture, pots and planters. However the regular gardening volunteers were unable to lift them and move them into the right place. This was where we came in so with eight of us there, and a couple of wheeled trollies, we figured out how to safely move the items and worked as a team to do it. We were very grateful to Angela’s partner George who helped Rosie and Rebecca to manoeuvre the heavy planters on to wheels, while Frannie, Rosie, Ben, Tabi, Angela and I moved the pots. Then all of us, together with John moved the garden furniture to the back of the hospice. We also learnt from Rosie a new word, apricity (meaning the warmth of the sun in winter) which we have been using ever since!

Apple Harvest Day is one of the biggest events in the social calendar of Stanmer Park, organised and run by volunteers from the Brighton Permaculture Trust (https://brightonpermaculture.org.uk). This year, as many before it, fresh apple juice, properly scrumped cider and a fruit crumble ‘extravaganza’ were dished out to the autumnal hoards. All to a soundtrack of live bands, while storytellers held the younger punters in rapt attention in the magical orchard space.

The evening sun shone, as GoodGym assisted in the clean-up and pack down following the main event. Ben, Carla, Caroline (honorary GoodGym member), Doug and Tabi shifted juice, lifted and packed crates, scrubbed and power washed all the apple pressing kit and generally helped the team get things back in order ready for more autumnal apple goodness to come.

On the same day, Michelle, Nicky and (I think) Frannie run a 10K for Rise and Carla, Sarah, Pippa and Mike did a trail run on Devils Dike.

A special thought goes to Joel who could not make this community mission.