Headed down to Mrs S and all going well until alas! They’ve finally repaired the bin store lock so I couldn’t get in. No contact from Mrs S but eventually a neighbour helped out so all good!

There were also coat hangers which alas can’t recycle.

After finishing Chelmsford parkrun, 6 GoodGymers went for a post-run breakfast at 'Spoons, and with some hash browns and beans as fuel, I walked to see Mrs D.

Her patio was getting overgrown, meaning she didn't have much space to get out and dry washing, or just sit and enjoy the garden. Mrs D has reduced mobility so needs space free from trip hazards. Some of the weeds were thorns, so not easy just to push out of the way.

After about 50 minutes with the secateurs, the plants were tamed, and the patio was swept. Mrs D was very pleased with the result, and I went home for a cuppa.

Led by the wonderful Edith, the Ideas Hub has been supporting underrepresented communities in Chelmsford since 2011, and after moving from temporary location to temporary location, they finally have a permanent home where they can grow roots.

Rich lead Richard and Ram there on a 2km run, and arrived a minute after Jane and Sallyann, who walked there the short way.

Tilers were coming the next day to fit a new floor, so the first job was to prepare the ground, peeling off old bits of carpet underlay, and chipping off rough pieces of concrete. Richard immediately asked if there was a hammer, and started on the concrete, joined by Ram. In the other room, Sallyann and Jane had a go at the old bits of carpet.

Before we left, Edith gave us a tour of the building and told us some of her plans for the place, including cooking workshops and movie nights featuring food cooked by the refugee communities. There is a lot of work to do before they can open, the old kitchen needs gutting, and there'll be lots of cleaning and decorating. We'll be back here next week to see the new floor, and to help with some more jobs.

Thanks all for coming and we will back their again next week to continue the good work.

The bags of food were very gratefully received by Ms P and her little dog

I arrived to lead tonight's session to find that only one other GoodGymer had signed up...my husband.

After a thorough run and safety briefing, we walk/ran through the park to the CHESS homeless shelter, where their garden was in need of a tidy. They asked us to de-cobweb and clean the front door and porch, and weed and sweep the garden.

Head Gardener Walker weeded the path and trimmed the edges, while Undergardener Walker cleaned the front door and swept up all the mess I made with the leaves. Many snails were moved to safety during this process.

We filled three bags with garden waste and left the place looking tidy and pretty.

As it was just us, and as we live round the corner, we didn't run back, we just went home to microwave a post-task dinner 💪

After arriving slightly early to discuss a good meeting point and whether the parking restrictions on First Ave had changed in the last 6 years, Fay and I headed over to meet Laurie and help carry the huge stack of leaflets back.

We greeted Jane, Andy and Martin and said cheerio to Fay as she left to drive the leaflets over. The rest of us had a steady pace over to Melbourne, during which I led not just the run but a good old moaning session about how hectic life is! Thankfully, Laurie and Jane agreed and were happy to join in, while Martin and Andy luckily escaped with their own conversation!

We met Fay and proceeded to deliver all the leaflets while only getting slightly confused about which roads we had already walked down and all commenting that we had never seen so many cats in one area!

Martin and Fay bid us farewell, while the remaining 4 delivered the last few leaflets on the way home. Thanks everyone!

Jen