Wickers Gymnastics Club

Tonight we headed to our local gymnastics club, Wickers, which has a lovely connection to our very own Social Secretary, Tamsin, and her daughter Jemmie, who trains there.

We had been asked to help paint the upstairs room, which has been kitted out as a wonderful dance studio. It was our first visit to Wickers, so it was fantastic to have such a good turnout.

We were delighted to welcome Barry, joining us for his very first GoodGym session. He received a very warm GoodGym welcome — and we were particularly grateful for his height later on in the task! 😄

It was also lovely to welcome Roxy back after a few months of being a very busy person, and it had been a while since we'd seen Stephane too, so it was great to have them both back with us. We were also very grateful to see Belinda and John (Mr & Mrs R), Gill and Ricky joining us tonight.

We entrusted Roxy with the important job of pouring the paint into the various receptacles, before we all chose our preferred roles. Gill, Roxy and Barry took to the rollers, while Belinda, Stephane and I tackled the cutting-in with paintbrushes.

There was plenty of painting, chatting and teamwork, and after just an hour we stood back and felt very proud of what we'd achieved. The room is already looking much fresher, although there is definitely more work to do.

We'll need to return to finish the job, but unfortunately that will have to wait until half term when we'll be able to gain access during the holidays.

A brilliant first visit to Wickers, made even better by such a lovely GoodGym turnout. Teamwork really does make the dream work!

What a glorious evening for one of our favourite summer traditions – a beach litter pick followed by a well-earned picnic social on the green.

With the sun shining and barely a breath of wind (a rare treat so close to the sea!), we gathered on the prom before splitting into three teams. One group headed east towards Anchor Gardens, another swept west around the beach by the pier, while I took on watering duties for our much-loved seafront flower bed, making sure our blooms stay as blooming as possible in this drought !

Forty-five minutes later we reunited, blue bags in hand. Happily, they weren't bursting at the seams this time. Compared with previous visits, there was a reassuringly small amount of rubbish collected, leaving us wondering whether beachgoers are becoming better at taking their litter home, or whether another litter-picking hero had beaten us to it. Either way, we'll happily take that as a win!

With the hard work done, it was time to claim a sunny spot on the grass, unpack the picnics and enjoy an evening of good food, great company and plenty of laughter.

We were also delighted to welcome some very special visitors as Sarah and Ryan stopped by with their beautiful newborn son, Diago. It was lovely to meet the newest (and definitely youngest!) member of the extended GoodGym family.

The celebrations didn't stop there. A huge congratulations to Ricky, who had not one but several incredible milestones to celebrate. Alongside completing his 200th GoodGym task, he's also achieved the astonishing feat of running 250 parkruns at 200 different venues. That's some serious tourism powered entirely by trainers!

As the sun slowly drifted lower and conversations carried on , it was a lovely reminder that GoodGym isn't just about doing good—it's about the friendships, the community and the moments we share along the way.

Another cracking evening where we left the beach a little cleaner, watered the flowers, celebrated a remarkable achievement and made some wonderful summer memories. You could say it was litter-ally the perfect way to spend a warm summer evening!

We even got a fleeting guest appearance by Mr John Robinson and Mr Nick Gleeson 😳

** GoodGym Sets Sail! 🏴‍☠️🎨**

What a glorious way to spend a summer's evening! With the sun shining and barely a cloud in the sky, it was an absolute delight to be outdoors helping transform a school's pirate ship into a striking masterpiece of black, red and white.

This evening's crew consisted of Barbara, Belinda, Gill, El, Paul, John and myself, and we soon had brushes in hand and paint flying in every direction.

It was especially lovely to welcome Paul back after his camper van adventures in Priscilla. We enjoyed hearing snippets of his travels before putting him straight to work!

As always, my wonderfully loyal regular team brought plenty of enthusiasm, hard work and, naturally, the usual GoodGym banter, which kept everyone smiling throughout the task.

The painting progressed at an impressive pace, although there was one clear winner in tonight's unofficial competition... the award for wearing the most paint goes to Belinda!

By the end of the session, the pirate ship had been given a fantastic fresh new look and was ready for many more imaginative adventures from the children.

A huge thank you to Barbara, Belinda, Gill, El, Paul and John for another enjoyable evening of teamwork, laughter and community spirit. Tasks like these remind us just how rewarding it is to spend a sunny evening doing something that makes such a visible difference.

Until the next adventure... anchors away! ⚓🏴‍☠️