3 intrepid GoodGymers braved the wind and rain to venture out for a litter pick. We were all in agreement that we were not quite ready for the arrival of colder weather.

Before we had even left HQ, Sallyann wasted no time and got stuck straight into the task at hand and it wasn't long before Joel gallantly took over the rubbish bag carrying duties which was much appreciated. A discussion on recent films was had and whether solo cinema-going is the way forward...the answer was a resounding yes!

We left the wet, chilly streets of Chelmsford much cleaner than we found them.

Due to a task cancellation and the hot weather, we opted for a relaxed litter pick in a nearby, leafy, litter hotspot.

We filled two big bags with litter, Andy smashed a wine bottle, whilst he and Joel picked some rather sharp blackberries.

Philosophical ponderings this week were on the sun protection status of butterflies.

It was Jane's 50th task, so we all congratulated her on her imminent black GG t-shirt 👏

Next task is TBC (possibly another litter pick if it's hot), and then on the 12th we are at Beaulieu Community Centre.

Five GoodGymers headed down to the riverside and car park near B&M to rid Chelmsford of two sacks worth of litter.

It would have been more if the bags had been big enough to handle the scooter Sallyann dragged out of the bushes.

Throughout, content creator Joel showed off his photo and video skills. The rest of us just hope we’ll be content with how he captured us.

See you all next week, when we’ll be prepping leaflets for our next delivery mission.

It was Ben's third GoodGym session, and for the first time it didn't rain. He also got to meet our other Ben, who's almost at 50 good deeds!!

Fay, Leanne, and Ben D walked, whilst the rest of us took a slightly longer route, all joining up at Tesco. After starting off along a surprisingly clear area, we then found an interesting combination of empty beer bottles, a fork, and a baby doll.

We discussed our planning session for the future of GoodGym Chelmsford, of course involving food. Big thanks to Andy and Jen for volunteering their help on the night.

Best of luck to Russell, David and Richard E (apologies if I've missed anyone!) for Chelmsford half this weekend.

And most importantly, thank you to Fay for everything over the past three years. You've kept us all in check, and we're really going to miss you being as big a part as you have been.

See you all soon,

Laurie

We met just inside the doors of the gym and it would appear i forgot how to use them. After blindly slapping at the exit door I eventually made it in to get the pickers and bags.

Three of us set off for a run, and two for a walk. It was very chilly and windy but we were warmed by talk of Ben bringing brownies to a run in the future - his baking showstopper. He's also looking forward to Nigella on bakeoff, as am I, purely for baking reasons of course. Hearing about Martin's 5 marathons in 5 days this easter(!!), we hit a deep deep unpassable patch of water which held us up.

We met up with the two litter picker carriers and headed further down the bunny walks in search of litter. Andy was complaining he is still snowed under opening all his Valentine's gifts and cards, while Sallyann was more upset she hadn't realised today was Global Drink Wine Day!

We picked two bags of litter and two of us (me and Ben) lost fingers to frostbite. We posed for a quick photo as it seems I wanted to show off my thumb...

Anyway, good work for the four of you to brave the weather and hopefully one day people stop littering.

Congrats to all who came out, and a special cheer to Ben on coming to his very first Goodgym group run on what could only be described as a night "wetter than an otters pocket." Well done Ben, hopefully the first of many.

With Fay and Sallyann walking with bags, Richard, Andy, Ben and I had a short run around the back of the uni and along the bunnywalks (which isn't flooded now) and met up en route to continue with the picking. With the driving rain it was difficult to see, especially if you wear glasses, so another big congrats to all as it was difficult to spy those small pieces of rubbish hiding in the grass and hedges.

Once we were soaked through and hands started to shiver we called it a day and made our way back to base and posed for some photos (sorry for them being blurry), said our goodbyes and went home to warm up and have a well deserved dinner.

Thanks for coming all, and thanks for making Chelmsford that little bit nicer.

and remember

Run Happy

Rich