John was the early bird this morning, arriving a good 15 minutes before Vicky (who was looking very glam in her work dress) and myself arrived. This meant that most of the tables had already been put out so all that was left to do was to move the last table into position and put out the chairs. We had a chat with the task owner and agreed to list the following weeks' tasks a bit earlier (8.30am) which may enable others to join pre-work. A nice, quick and easy task!

🌞 28 lovely people gathered at the end of a warm day for tonight's group run. We were thrilled to see Andy for the first time in a while 👋 We cheered everyone who ran the Fountains 10k yesterday, especially Claire who came first in her age category in her very first race - incredible 🏆 Already warm, we warmed up further before running/walking the short distance to Southlands Church⛪

🌿 We were there to continue the work that we started a few weeks ago, including weeding paths and beds and untangling bind-weed. Steve Rice worked so hard that he broke the (possibly antique) fork that he was using. Meanwhile, Kit and Michael were working equally hard removing a sadly-collapsed tree and replacing it with another 🌳

🐈 Lots more people were working very hard around the side and back of the church, unhelpfully impeded by the little tabby cat (pictured) who decided to do (both types) of its business in the flower beds. (Sorry for the over-share, and the terrible pun.) Anyway, in positive news, we (hopefully) managed to stop the cat eating the dragonfly it was trying to hunt, without the use of the extra-long watering hose 🐲 (Turns out there's no dragonfly emoji so a dragon will have to do)

📸 In no time at all, it was time to stop and spend an appropriately long amount of time "organising" (faffing about) the group photo. And we still didn't manage to get everyone looking the same way but never mind!

💪 We headed to Scarcroft playing fields for our relay-based fitness session. Again, time was spent clarifying the direction we should all be facing. But once we got that, away we went! We all got the chance to plank, squat and lunge, and then we did it twice more, just to make sure that every team was following the rules correctly.

⌚ After that, it was time to head back to base for our cool-down stretches and to hear about what's going on this week. And then it was time for the pub, a perfect way to end the evening 🍻

The three of us turned up on a beautiful summers morning to help set up gazebos for Make Space for Girls. The charity aims to encourage more teenage girls into parks and create inclusive spaces.

We made quick work on the gazebos, and whilst there was variation on artistic vision (Ed and myself have none...), we managed to set up the stall for the event.

GoodGym York Serves Up Smiles at Cancer Survivors’ Afternoon Tea

GoodGym York volunteers spent Saturday afternoon supporting Cancer Research UK’s Relay For Life event at York RI, helping to celebrate cancer survivors and their families. The event included a special afternoon tea where survivors were treated to a selection of refreshments, including tea, scones and a glass of prosecco, as the community came together to recognise their courage and resilience.

The afternoon tea formed part of the wider Relay For Life event, which honours those affected by cancer while raising funds for life-saving research.

GoodGymers helped with setting up the tea service, welcoming guests and serving drinks, Once the last cups had been emptied the team rolled up their sleeves for the less glamorous but equally important task of washing up and clearing away.

The task was a reminder that community support comes in many forms. Whether serving afternoon tea, sharing a smile, or tackling a mountain of washing up, every contribution helped make the day special for cancer survivors and their loved ones.

A huge thank you to the Relay For Life organisers for inviting GoodGym York to help and to all the volunteers who gave their time to support this meaningful event. (goodgym.org)

With our usual flair :)

Nada joined Elle today for a hectic half an hour of watering, weeding, and planting of some edible flowers and spinach in the Southbank Community Garden raised beds.