It was a bit of an uphill struggle for Brighton GoodGymers this week, quite literally, as we headed to the top of Elm Grove to tackle the overgrown pavements along May Road.

We were joined by local councillor Tim Rowkins, Cabinet Member for Net Zero and Environmental Services, and Laszlo Gera, who was appointed Brighton & Hove City Council’s first City Centre Manager earlier this year.

With the council team mucking in alongside us, we got stuck into clearing back the weeds along this steep stretch of pavement, working our way towards the bus stop at the top of the hill.

This wasn’t just a cosmetic makeover. With the weeds cleared back, the handrail is now accessible again for those who rely on it to navigate the slope. A small job with a practical impact, making the route a little easier for those who need a helping hand (or handrail).

A local resident popped out to say hello and thank us for our work. It’s always lovely to know that a little GoodGym action is making a difference to the people who live nearby.

Our task is part of the wider effort to make Brighton & Hove cleaner, safer and more welcoming. Laszlo is leading a new overnight deep-cleaning service tackling jobs such as jet-washing pavements, removing graffiti and restoring street furniture.

Tim also shared some of the progress Brighton & Hove has made on waste and recycling. New food waste collections and expanded recycling have helped push the city’s quarterly recycling rate to a record 31.6%, with more than 1,700 tonnes of food waste already collected.

With the hard work done, it was time for a little refreshment. We headed to the Village for a well-earned pint and some Thai food. After an uphill task, there’s nothing like a little downhill relaxation!

Volunteers: Roy & Sherman Mission Objective: Clear accumulated garden waste and paint the tree stump to prevent regrowth.

Wow, what a surprise we had today! We headed over to Ms K’s for our fourth visit, expecting a straightforward job of clearing up some accumulated garden waste. Since it had only been a few summer months since our last visit, we thought we knew what to expect. Nature, however, had other plans.

Round 2 Against the Regrowth

When we arrived, we were shocked to find that the tree stump had staged a massive comeback, growing back about 70% of its branches and leaves! It looked less like a stump and more like a brand-new bush. We immediately rolled up our sleeves and got to work hacking away at the new growth. We managed to clear a massive pile of leaves and branches. Some of the branches wrapping around the edge of the trunk were so incredibly sturdy that they refused to budge, but we cut back as much as physically possible.

Bagged, Tagged, and Painted

The sheer volume of green waste was too much for the garden's brown bin to handle, so we neatly packed the remaining garden waste into five large black rubbish bags and left them safely by the bins. To make sure we don't have to fight the same jungle on visit number five, Roy came up with a brilliant plan: painting the cut ends of the branches to seal them and discourage them from overgrowing again. Once the stems were done, we gave the entire top and sides of the trunk a thorough coat of white paint as requested by Mrs K.

A Messy, Successful Finish!

We definitely didn't manage to keep our hands clean—by the end of the mission, we had nearly as much white paint on our fingers as the tree trunk did! But the job is officially done, the area is clear, and Ms K's garden is looking better once again.

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.

Want to get involved? Join GoodGym for another session!

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.

Join GoodGym for another session!

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.