Goodgymmers from around the country got involved delivering plastic tubs to Greene King pubs to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support!

Well Done everyone and I hope you all got to enjoy the contents first!!

(if you have delivered tubs but are not registered let me know and I will add you on!)

Thames Hospice is running a fund-raising campaign in the summer called 'Trunks Across the Thames' and they put out a call for people to make elephant-themed items which can be sold in pop-up shops. Not a typical GoodGym task, but 8 GoodGymers took on the challenge to release their creative side. And boy, did they surpass all expectations! Give them a wide brief, and it's amazing what people came up with! Jess was first out of of the blocks with some beautifully cross-stitched cards, and Hannah crafted some fantastic resin keyrings. Angela had a crafting evening making some fun felt elephants and even found some elephant bunting. Viv re-purposed some old football-themed pillowcases to make our largest contributions. Sheila tackled a variety of techniques, producing knitted and sewn soft toys, badges, and some zippered pouches made from elephant fabric scavenged from a Googym task for the Green Skills Library. Georgeta produced some beautifully mounted photographic prints of elephants she had made friends with in Indonesia. Carys brought out her artistic side with drawings of elephants and Amy made some cute origami elephants from which she made some beautifully crafted and original cards. I was so impressed with the time, enthusiasm and creativity which everyone put into the task. Jess from Thames Hospice says a huge big THANK YOU!

After this morning's GoodGym session at Battlemead Common, Sheila and myself got back up on our high horses (aka bikes) this afternoon and cycled to Cookham to help Mrs V with her back garden. Mrs V loves her garden and pains her to see it neglected, now that she can no longer do the gardening herself. We got started on the gardening task; Sheila tackled the back of the graden, collecting the fallen leaves and cutting back some cheeky brambles, while I focused on tidying up the patio, pots and hanging baskets. Then we pulled some ivy off the fence, which was invading Mrs V's garden from the neighbour. All this activity was taking place while a flock of starlings on a nearby tree were watching us carefully and chirping us on.

Mrs V and Harry, her little dog, were really pleased with the result. The garden is looking în much better shape and the large Camellia tree in the corner is promising to put on a colourful show for them in a couple of weeks.

An amazing 10 GoodGymers joined other volunteers to continue hedge-laying on the edge of Battlemead Common. Many had returned after really enjoying the task a fortnight ago. We all got to grips with learning some new skills - pleaching, laying, weaving, facing off, and whittling stakes. Welcome to Emma, who joined Goodgym after coinciding with us for the 3rd time! Well done to everyone for getting stuck in and helping to create a habitat that will be there for decades to come. Kudos to Jen, Mick and Jane for fitting in Park Run first, and double kudos to Mick and Jane for staying all day

Our second session at Nature's Haven focused on tackling the weeds before Spring gets going and they start growing again. A good few bucket-fuls were added to the compost heap before going in for a social cup of tea whilst admiring the wall newly-painted by GoodGym

Well done to everyone who helped tidy their streets and parks; we've had a good run of January Friday litter picks. Feels like we could keep going though, judging by the amount of litter we all seem to find, wherever we are...

No despair though. The Power of One is not to be underestimated! We keep doing our part, things will improve!