I had a great time volunteering at the GoodGym beach clean-up on the Sunday of Brighton Pride!

On a sunny Sunday morning, numerous volunteers gathered at the Kings Road Arches to collect the rubbish left behind after the previous day's Pride celebrations, along with what appeared to be the remains of several beach barbecues.

We filled plenty of bags with plastic items, bottle lids, broken glass and even a tent peg. However, the prize for the most unexpected find has to go to a pair of sunglasses!

Afterwards, many of us headed to Pride in the Park to enjoy performances from Paris Hilton, Mel C and the wonderful Diana Ross, safe in the knowledge that we'd done our bit to help keep Brighton's beautiful beach cleaner and ready for everyone to enjoy.

As is Brighton GoodGym tradition, a few of us headed down to Hove Park on the eve of Brighton Pride to participate in the annual Rainbow Run 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Organised by Brighton and Hove Frontrunners, the Rainbow Run raises funds for MindOut, a local LGBTQ+ mental health charity.

Sadly, none of us were victorious in the post-race raffle, but we did enjoy some very nice non-alcoholic beers to get rehydrated. Afterwards, Carla and Philippa stayed a little longer to take down bunting, pack up hi viz vests, and help dismantle a gigantic (and very bamboozling) gazebo.

After that it was home to get some sleep before a weekend of dancing, singing, litter picking, and more dancing (finishing with an iconic performance from Diana Ross on the Sunday) 🙌

On Tuesday, GoodGym took a gentle run over to the he Community Kitchen in central Brighton—one of our favourite projects from the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership!

During the summer, the kitchen hosts a packed schedule of seasonal activities, from school holiday baking and family workshops to adult cookery classes. With so many kids dropping by, greasy handprints had made their mark everywhere!

Wiping those away was our main mission, but we also cleaned the windows until they sparkled and tidied out drawers and cabinets—a meticulous job for a dedicated few.

It was another Good session, leaving us all keen to return soon. And we definitely will!

Helping to create a range of healthy, colourful salad dishes for the members of the Choir With No Name and their volunteers. (About 40 people in total.) Mostly washing, peeling and chopping vegetables and chatting with the other "Kitchen Ninjas"! Full menu - 3 bean salad with new potatoes, grated raw beetroot and tomatoes and cucumber

Yesterday, we ran 5km to the Preston Park Velodrome to support the Brighton Bike Hub — a brilliant volunteer-run community workshop. 🚲 They make cycling affordable by offering free tool access, DIY repair spaces, refurbished bike sales, and adult cycle training in and around Preston Park.

Our GoodGym group session mission? To tidy and paint their 20ft shipping container, transforming it into a clean white canvas for an upcoming mural artist!

The Bike Hub mission? Reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality and making our streets more people and planet-friendly, while getting around more cheerfully. They are also committed to enabling those on a low income to enjoy the benefits of cycling.

Did you know that nearly half of people in Britain spend more than 18 hours a week on the sofa – yet 70% say they want to be more active? Timely, today, British Cycling launched Sofa to Saddle to get the nation active – a free eight-week programme to help more people discover the joy of cycling. The benefits of getting started are significant. Research shows that people who cycle at least once a week are 37% more likely to feel good about themselves, while 79% say cycling helps clear their head and 58% feel calmer and more relaxed.

By making cycling more accessible and supporting people to take those first pedal strokes, Brighton Bike Hub contributes to Cycling UK mission to enable and inspire everybody to experience cycling's joys and benefits, and to British Cycling ambition to help one million more people get on their bikes by 2028, creating healthier, happier communities across Britain.

This GoodGym session and organisation are close to my heart. It felt rewarding to help others get a Good addition to their active travel journeys.

Book a training with BikeHub here: https://brightonbikehub.org/training-sessions/

Download Sofa to Saddle here: britishcyc.cc/sofatosaddle

Join GoodGym for another Good session!

Another bright Sunday morning at Queen's Park Junior parkrun, and despite England keeping plenty of people up the night before, there was still a fantastic turnout of eager young runners ready to tackle the course.

This week I took on marshalling duties, stationed out on the course to cheer everyone along. From encouraging the front-runners chasing PBs to giving an extra boost to those digging deep further back, it was great to see so many smiling faces enjoying their Sunday morning.

The sunny weather certainly helped create a brilliant atmosphere, and with plenty of enthusiastic volunteers making the event happen, every runner received a well-deserved cheer as they passed.

A lovely way to start the day—supporting the local community, helping junior parkrun run smoothly, and proving that a little encouragement can go a long way. Looking forward to doing it all again next week!