On Tuesday evening, six GoodGymers made it to Carriers of Hope for another volunteering session. We were greeted by the delightful Gloria and Andrew. First, it was all hands on deck shifting boxes of baby milk upstairs. Although it didn’t look like there was much there, the boxes seemed to never end! It was a great workout for everyone. Sharon, Georgia, Steve and I carried the boxes up the stairs, while Laura and Lucy stacked the shelves and organised the boxes. Once we’d finished, we headed downstairs and set up three tables to sort oiut different types of flour into bags, label them, and heat seal them ready to go out for donations. It got pretty messy, but we had fun chatting while we worked. Gloria and Andrew led the way brilliantly. We finished with a good tidy-up, cleaned, and mopped the floor. Great work, everyone!

"On Wednesday, I arrived at Mrs J’s to begin clearing and cutting back the overgrown weeds, bushes, and plants. The garden had become quite unruly, so I knew it wouldn’t be finished in one visit. I started by clearing the centre of the garden to make the rest of the work more accessible. One of Mrs J’s neighbours kindly popped over to check that she was okay and to confirm that I was legitimate, as she had unfortunately been overcharged for poor work in the past. It was reassuring to see neighbours looking out for one another. The work was hot and sweaty, and I made some good progress and plan to complete the job on my next visit."

On a beautiful, hot and sunny Saturday morning, I cycled over to Mr P’s and arrived at 11am. I was greeted by Mr P, who I had visited before. After a quick chat, he asked me to dig out the weeds growing between the slabs and clear the weeds from the front garden. I got straight to work and managed to complete most of the job. However, the heat was intense and after just over an hour I was absolutely cooking, so I called it a day.

Five Goodgymers went to Clothing Coventry for our monthly sorting session in the warehouse.

This month, we were in Baby Godiva to do some sorting and tidying of shelves, making up blanket packs and sorting out moses baskets with new mattresses. We had a lovely evening having a good catch up whilst doing some excellent sorting and tidying. Same again next month?

Six Coventry Goodgymers went to Earlsdon Primary School for some painting this evening. The blue railings outside the school needed some TLC and a fresh lick of paint.

Once the cobwebs had been removed, we did a bit of sanding and got to work on painting the railings a lovely shade of navy. The paint was quite drippy and the railings may need another coat - but it's a start! Pedestrians passing commented on how good it looked so far which was nice. Well done everyone, excellent job!

Tuesday evening, Ahmed, Laura, Lucy and I met at the library before heading to Kersley Orchard to link up with Sharon and the rest of the volunteers. This session was carrying on from the last GoodGym visit. We arrived and attacked the grass that had sunk its roots deep into the tarmac paths, clearing the way for better disabled access. Ahmed, a new member on his second deed in two days, got stuck into one of the pathways, digging and scraping the grass off. Lucy, Sharon and I worked on another pathway, while Laura was on compost duty, shifting all the dug-up turf. A few other volunteers were clearing brambles. Ahmed made the strangest discovery of the night a lone random egg just sitting there! I looking forward to another visit to see how they're getting on with it.