When Maggie had a surprise grass cut at the church yard, she put the emergency call out and four super GoodGymers answered to help clear it 💪

Scott arrived off the back of a 10km training run, Harriet cycled across town, and both Jacob and myself being local, could take an easy stroll. Convening in the church yard, we welcomed Jacob to his first session 👋 Although a familiar face, it was great to have him join a task!

We were met by Chris, who is a pro at grass clearing, having been involved for a number of years and sometimes clearing 8 lots a year! From first glance there didn't seem to be much grass, but it didn't take long to realise there was plenty to be collected!

We raked and chatted, catching up on fine dining experiences, The Odyssey and, of course, race training. We had a lovely little pause to meet a very cute pup who joined us in a bit of grass clearing, but was mainly interested in a bit of fuss, which we were all more than willing to give 🐶

It's warm work, so the refreshment break was very welcome. Both elderflower and lime cordial on offer this week. We heard more from Maggie and Chris about the Churchyard Conservation Awards, which support parishes to protect biodiversity. St Andrew's is going for Silver, which requires active management including wildflower areas, wildlife information boards, animal boxes and clearing of grass cuttings.

Within an hour we had cleared 3 large bags of cuttings 😅 With the judges coming in the next few weeks, we were glad to be able to help. Good luck 🙌

Pun credit: Scott 🍰

Two Goodgymers volunteered at Fulbourn Hospital Parkrun. Catherine did a great job cheering on runners while marshalling. She then joined me and another volunteer to help with post run closedown, collecting up all the cones used to mark the course and rabbit holes. What a heroine! We rewarded ourselves with a nice hot drink and cheese scone and a chat with some of the other parkrunners. It was a lovely way to spend the morning.

3 Goodgymers volunteered at Fulbourn Hospital Parkrun.

I was volunteer coordinator and was very lucky to have so many amazing volunteers signing up, which made my job nice and easy.

Catherine did an amazing job as tailwalker and we had a nice chatty walk bringing up the rear.

Scott had the challenging task of sorting out 123 tokens and making sure they were in the right order for next week's event. No mean feat, especially after completing a speedy parkrun.

We finished off the morning sitting out in the sun with a drink and a delicious cheese scone.