It had been building for some time, but rumour had it tonight was going to be the night that we finally beat our post covid record turnout of 33 people. Messages were being exchanged between Ed and Vicky every time someone signed up or dropped out and there was still some uncertainty as we got to 6.15 with 32 people meeting us at CVS and a few others saying they would meet us at the task. The tension (probably only amongst Vicky and Ed) was palpable! But first we got cracking with the task at hand and welcomed Joanne for her first GoodGym session just 2 weeks(!) after moving to York. Give her a big cheer 🎉

We also give a big round of applause too Pete who had completed the UKs ultimate swimrun challange, the Frog Graham Round. As well as running just over 40 miles and ascending and descending 15,750 feet over the North Western Lake District fells, Pete swam across Bassenthwaite Lake, Crummock Water, Buttermere and Derwentwater before finishing at Keswick’s Moot Hall. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Well done Pete 💪

A slightly injured Vicky led the walking group, whilst Ed led out the runner with Nick bringing up the rear. We then split off at the top of Blue Bridge Lane with Laura leading a smaller group to the Fishergate Trianlge and Ed taking the larger group to the Cemetery.

A group of walkers plus some of the main running group travelled a bit further to the Fishergate Triangle. It’s coming on really well with wild flowers and plants but in danger of getting overgrown with grass and thistles. Our small team got straight to work digging and tugging and by the time we left the majority of the offending plants were out the ground and ready to be taken away to compost. We then headed back to join the main group for fun and fitness!

Meanwhile at the Cemetery we were joined by Elle, confirming our record post-covid attendance of 35 GG Yorkies! 🥳

Taskowner Clive who told us that we'd be carrying on clearing the brambles that we had been working on during our last session. Mitch was attempting his best Sideshow Bob impression by leaving his rake lying around on the floor, whilst Emma wrestled with the brambles and lost, leaving her requiring a very dainty plaster on her nose. Some of the group discussed the pros and cons of burial vs cremation with Martyn introducing the concept of liquidation which is apparently a much more environmentally friendly way to go out from the world! Joanna received a lesson in digging up bramble roots directly on top of a grave, whilst being conscious of not digging down too far, and the rest of the group cleared the biggest clump of brambles with just enough time left over to run the last few bags across to the compost.

It was then over to Tower Gardens (not Castle Gardens) for tonight's fitness session. First up we picked four captains - Babs, Matt, Emma and David, then assigned the rest of the group to each captain. People then took it turns to come and grab a card from Ed or Vicky with each suit representing a different exercise and the numbers relating to the amount of reps or seconds, The joker in the pack was burpees with David's team being unlucky enough to pick out both jokers! After all 52 cards and 2 jokers were dealt out, the two winning teams were tied on 14 cards each, so it was then time for sudden death between the two captains, Babs and Emma. Emma drew 7 lunges whilst Babs needed to complete 8 press-ups and despite some very speedy press-ups it was Emma who came out on top.

It was then back to CVS to celebrate our record turnout with some of Nick and Bab's plums! What a way to end the night

Great to introduce folk to the York GG Tiny Forest. Despite the option of either weeding the edge of the forest to stop the grass intruding and taking the vital nutrients from the baby trees or taking artistic photos for sharing on socials, astonishingly all opted to weed. The Tiny Forest that York GG has created on Kimberlow Hill is there for all to enjoy. It was started in winter 2023 when we enriched the earth with compost. In spring 2024 over 600 saplings were dunked in mycorrhizal fungi and planted. The rest of that year was spent weeding and mulching. Despite the drought in 2025, the trees are all looking verdant and growing magnificently. If you feel like going back sometime, look out for sessions or post something on the social chat. It's a great place to connect with nature, watch the butterflies and have a picnic!

It was wonderful to see so many York GGers out & about on a summer evening. Despite the promise of plenty of bike racks - they were full, luckily everyone found somewhere to lock their bike. David led Nick & Steve out on an 11k route around Heslington. As they romped around the fields they managed to fit in some wildlife safari spotting including hare & various raptors. 🦅 Laura led the 5k runners. Not allowing any sneaky short cuts! She avoided the roads & we had lovely tracks through the green countryside. Abigail led the walkers with perfect timing, arriving at the Tiny Forest task just before the 5k runners. She even managed to gain a couple of runners who preferred to walk back to the pub. Something for everyone at GG York! 😉 Particular thanks to David, Laura & Abigail for sorting out routes & leading groups. It was good to explore some new routes. Whilst waiting for the food we had a quick quiz - all in aid of offloading a glut of cucumbers! who would like to see the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra? In no time at all the food appeared & was polished off. Tristan made an appearance, after having completed his 5k in under 18 minutes - extremely impressive. Thankyou all for coming, hope you enjoyed the evening as much as I did.

No Ox but quite a few cows to be seen, although we had all met at the the Spotted Ox before the run. Although we had planned 3 different routes there were only 3 takers for the middle distance of 7.5k so we split into 2 groups. Vicky set off with her crew and all enjoyed a good run with only a slight deviation to cater for Niel who had dropped down from the mid distance to ensure no-one felt short changed. The others set off on their run in the opposite direction at a nice pace that allowed for plenty of chatting and allowing us to quiz Tristan about how he proposed and which of the multiple laps at endure recently completed by James were the worst. We all met back at the pub for nice grub, a drink or two and typical GG chat. Roll on the next one and thankyou all for coming out on a school day ... :-). Another successful evening out...

And so to team tidy up at the Mela. New recruits joined Vicky and Jenna to pack it all away. There were no signs of flagging in the afternoon heat, with Vicky now the gazebo queen! The team dismantled gazebos, stacked away tables and chairs - and a random goose, carried gear to the car park and collected in the flags. Pete- our international man of mystery was breast of the situation! The Mela saw ten thousand visitors today. Bravo!