This week we walked and ran from the town centre to the Ferndale allotment on Dallow Downs.

Many of the plots have been out of use for some time and needed a clean up to remove all the old debris, bits of old wood, plastic and metal littered the site but we gathered it all up, sorted it into piles for later collection by the council. We may have munched a few ripe blackberries and raspberries while we were there!

With a big team combing the site we got it all clean and tidy in just a single session, leaving the place looking much more attractive and less like a rubbish tip (or will do when our pile is collected and disposed of! Now its clear and clean the council will be able to advertise the vacant plots to people wanting to grow their own vegetables! 🍆 🥒🥦🌽🥬🧅🥕🫛🫑🧄🥔

It's Tuesday night so it must be FoodCycle for some of the regulars in GoodGym who enjoy teaming up with the other FoodCycle volunteers to help ensure the smooth running of the community meal.

This evening was no different.

Gill started the session early with a trip to Sainsburys to pick up a mountain of food surplus. After unlocking the church and doing the usual checks, she then unloaded the crates of food and got them all weighed and sorted before the others arrived. The kitchen team, joined by Martin and Gill were soon busy peeling, chopping and prepping another delicious three course meal. Ruth and Abdo arrived to set up the hall: setting out tables, filling the urn, putting out the cloths and cutlery and making sure everything was ready to greet the guests. And of course Abdo was on hand to ensure the menu was written up and suitably decorated. Mehdi had also arrived to help and joined us later for the meal. They were then kept busy serving the guests and washing up afterwards.

It's hard work, but good fun and fabulous team work. FoodCycle are very appreciative of all the help GoodGym provides. They couldn't do it without us. Well done all.