Another mild evening greeted nine GoodGym Brighton runners as they returned to action. This time, we visited the Change Grow Live (CGL) Brighton and Hove Recovery Service at Richmond House, which offers a safe, non-judgemental space for drug and alcohol recovery. Our host, Rita, has been instrumental in creating a green oasis here, and GoodGym was ready to lend a helping hand.

This Tuesday’s mission was to tackle the overgrown bushes in the front parking area. Armed with loppers and GoodGym-hand pruners 😊, we got to work cutting down top branches and pruning them back. To speed things up, we formed an efficient GoodGym "human chain," passing the green garden waste down the line. We were even illuminated by professional studio LED lights—usually used by CGL for video and photography—making it look like a live-streamed production of doing good and getting fit!

After sweeping up the final leaves, Rita invited us to the opening of the "Three Frames" (Object. Person. Place.) photography exhibition. Organized by CGL as part of Photo Fringe 2026, it runs every Saturday in October at Richmond House. The exhibition showcases powerful work produced entirely by service users exploring their personal recovery stories.

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During a mild late-September evening, a core group of five GoodGymers laced up their trainers and ran out to join Round Hill Society committee member Dominic—a true force of nature in the local neighbourhood.

The Autumn Community Clear-up is now officially done (Ehm, almost)! The team tackled the Cats’ Creep first, clearing away the worst of the overhanging branches to keep the pathway clear. From there, we channelled our best energy into scraping weeds along Round Hill Crescent, successfully clearing an impressive 80 metres of pavement.

Usually, a massive surge of weeds often strikes after the late summer rains (!) throughout August and September. Scraping during this specific autumn window is crucial, as it targets winter annuals and perennials right before they go dormant. Fortunately, GoodGym never goes dormant! We had a fantastic session, and I reckon we will be back for similar action very soon.

Shout-out to GoodGymer Sarah on hitting the big 50 on the Heroes Leaderboard! 🏃‍♀️✨

Driven by community spirit, GoodGym fuses fitness and volunteering by connecting GoodGymers with local partners and volunteers through a "one workforce approach." I borrow that brilliant term 😉 from yesterday’s Active Sussex Conference, which showcased the innovative Stronger for Life programme. This award-winning initiative improves strength and balance, prevents falls, and combats muscle loss from inactivity among older adults and stroke recovery patients.

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Back at Miss V’s place for another mission, and today’s main event was a proper test of strength: swapping out her old, stained floral rug so she could send it off to be washed, and replacing it with a fresh patterned one!

Miss V warned me upfront that this was strictly meant to be a two-person job. Between the bed, the heavy sofa loaded up with clothes and toys, and very tight quarters in the room, there wasn't even enough floor space to move all the items out of the way in one go. She generously offered to lend a hand, but knowing how tough of a job it was, I insisted on giving it a shot solo first to spare her the heavy lifting.

Before diving into the main event, Miss V got me warmed up with a couple of handy small tasks: tightening up loose screws on a shoe rack and fixing up a mop handle.

Then came the real workout:

Clearing & Maneuvering: Space was so limited that I had to shift items off the old stained rug bit by bit while working around the heavy bed and sofa.

The One-Handed Sofa Hoist: Since the bulky sofa couldn't be cleared out of the room entirely, I had to physically lift one side of the sofa up with one hand while using the other hand to slide the old rug out from underneath!

The Precision Rollout: I repeated the same heavy-lifting maneuver to maneuver the new blue-and-gold patterned rug right into the exact position of the old one, rolling it out smoothly beneath the furniture legs.

Mission Accomplished: Got the fresh rug fully laid flat and seamlessly fitted under the sofa, then rolled up the old stained one and strapped it neat and tidy so it's completely ready for its cleaning trip.

By the time I finished, I was definitely breaking a sweat! Seeing the effort, Miss V kindly refreshed me with a delicious peach/orange sparkling drink and some tasty treats to celebrate the win. Another challenging mission successfully conquered!

From our occasional meeting point at the Peace Statue, it was a short and sweet 300m trek for seven Brightonian GoodGymers to Waterloo Street Community Garden, including newbie Chris - welcome!

Once there, we got stuck into some enthusiastic bulb planting, putting down the groundwork now for a colourful spring display.

We had a friendly black cat keeping a close eye on proceedings. But further investigation revealed that said cat is the reason the garden doesn’t have any bird feeders: our feline friend enjoys playing with them (the local birds, that is, not the feeding devices).

With all the bulbs planted across big pots, little pots, round pots and long pots, it was time to head to nearby Bottoms Rest for a well-earned drink, post-run recovery and a chit chat.

What a purr-fect evening.

A dedicated team of GoodGym volunteers headed to One Church this Sunday to help out in the kitchen for their weekly community gathering. Our mission? To prep a massive, comforting feast of vegetable and beef stew to feed the local community.

The shift started as a trio, with the three of us arriving sleeves rolled up. Because the head chef was arriving a little later, we had to make a few quick executive decisions just to get things moving and prep stations set up! Once the chef arrived, the cooking officially kicked off, and our trio officially upgraded to a four-man band. From there, the quartet got straight to work at the chopping stations.

There was an absolute mountain of fresh produce waiting for us, but we sliced, diced, and chopped our way through bags of carrots, potatoes, onions, and seasonal veggies. With the vegetables prepped and the beef ready, everything went into the giant simmering pots, quickly filling the kitchen with the rich, mouth-watering aroma of a hearty Sunday stew. It was a fantastic, high-energy session filled with great conversation and brilliant teamwork.

A good day for a GoodGym session.

A small, yet mighty group of 7 GoodGymers ran and cycled to Vale Park in Portslade to do one of the more favourite tasks, helping out Friends of Vale Park with their glorious rose beds, which are dotted all over the community Park.

We spent time weeding the rose beds, and doing some dead heading in order to try and promote autumn blooms before the winter draws in.

The turn of the seasons was very evident, with dusk closing in and a slight chill in the air by the end of the task. We had built up a good pile of weeds and made the roses look their gorgeous best again.

After the task the team walked and jogged the short distance to the Foghorn pub for a well deserved social, and to celebrate Ruth's 50th good deed!

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