Thank you so much Duncan for organising a wonderful task for us this evening. Is there anything better on a warm and sunny Friday evening then attending the soft launch of the brand new Hilsea Lido? I certainly don't think so!

After braving a fairly chilly dip, we warmed up in the lovely sauna, before going for a second swim! Even better, we got to sample the tea, coffee and hot chocolate from the catering can on-site to finish up.

We were able to give the team some feedback on the spot, but any other comments can be sent to Spencer: Spencer.hodge@southdownsleisure.co.uk

I imagine we'll have a few summery socials here over the coming months 🌞

Thank you to those who helped deliver and hide ducks yesterday!

From an early morning coffee shop visit (complete with duckaccino), to a dodgy duck handover in a back alley of Landport, GoodGymers committed to get the mission completed.

Andy even treated his duck to a coffee and a pastel de nata before dropping him off to the King's Theatre!

Task of the day was to clear the terrace of as many weeds as possible and give the plants in the fountain some water.

As we were so efficient at weed clearing we also spent our last 20 minutes at the back, chopping back brambles and ivy (& more weeds!) to keep them away from the building.

We got a lot done, especially considering the heat. Definitely topped up the vitamin D levels too.

Thanks everyone for your help. (especially the extra family members who were roped in!!) 🙃

We were tasked with cleaning the slope area facing the main Lido building, ready for a community artwork project. Brushing and chemicals didn't work, and weren't environmentally kind, but the jet washer did the trick. Lynn, Val & Duncan shared that task, each getting the back draft of dirty water. Duncan left the GG signature on the slope - not sure it'll survive the art project though!

We all did some weeding and tidying of the flower beds and pots. Val let out a shout when she startled a huge rat behind some of the plant pots.

We had visitors while we worked: firstly Lucy's son and dog came to say hello through the fence, and then Wilson passed with her Dad and the Portsmouth Joggers.

There'll probably be more jet washing for next week's GG team, ready for the opening day of the pool.

Goodgymers Ellie, Louisa and Jo were joined by Swimmin Wimmin Chris and Orla for today's gardening task.

Paul set us to work at the edge of the grounds removing weeds from the cracks in concrete. The team were creative coercing the stubborn roots from their ground using a combination of creative toolsmanship, brute force and mind power.

Ellie was resting her legs ahead of her first canicross race tomorrow (good luck, Ellie and Millie will triumph I'm sure) and Louisa was looking forward to her first family roast dinner of 2021!

After a restorative tea break, we powered through the rest of the task and left the lido looking ready for opening on Monday - can't wait to get back in the water!

We were back to Hilsea Lido this week to help them getting the place ready for when they open. Jen, Jo, Lynn and Rachel braved the wind and rain and arrived at the lido ready for action. Thankfully by the time we had arrived the rain had subsided but it was still windy. Paul gave us an indoor task painting the ladies changing rooms so we managed to not get too cold outside.

Jen donned the white suit and climbed the ladders to paint the ceilings and walls. Wearing the white suit was a good move as the rollers were still quite wet from being washed so a lot of paint was being sprayed back at us.

Lynn and Rachel stayed at ground level and painted the doors and parts of the changing rooms and also any lower parts of walls that needed doing. They also had to dodge any paint that was falling down from the ceiling above.

Jo climbed the platform to paint the ceilings and thankfully wearing her hat meant her head didn’t get to much paint on.

We stopped midway for a lovely cuppa and a biscuit then carried back on until we reached 1200.

We’re back there next week for more tasks to get the Lido ready for reopening.