A big welcome BACK to Toni who has changed her job and got a puppy (amongst other things) since we last saw her.

Tonight's mission was to build some shelves for SPARK. We'd been warned that it might be like a giant meccano but with Dave's engineering brain and Jo's flat pack experience we managed to put together a total of 7 (I think!) sets of shelves.

Those who didn't want to build were able to sand and varnish some tables.

If we'd been playing innuendo bingo, we'd have got a full house for sure.... screws, holes, flaps all got various amounts of airtime. This is the real reason that GoodGym is for adults only 🤣

We packed up feeling like we'd made a good effort (& all without ruining the brand new carpet) and then Judy became Artistic Director and got us to make our logo. Larry the dog was either entertained or totally confused... much like us!

We've already had this lovely message from Becki:

Thank you so much for fun, laughter and your kindness xxx awesome group

Tonight we had a hill to climb.... just our old friend Portsdown Hill, to get to St M's for our good deed.

Tonight Katie got to wear the magic cape of 200 good deeds. Well done Katie! And great displaying skills by Aoife for the pics!!

We met the new vicar, Hugo, and then set to work. 6 of us were on shed duty, emptying and refilling the shed in a tidy and ordered manner.

The remaining 4 were on picking duties, removing the litter that had blown / been thrown around the church grounds, including a Christmas Greggs bag and the usual bits of plastic and a few cans.

Once we'd got round the back of the church (still nicely cleared of ivy from our previous visits) the shed workers joined us to see how many GoodGymers you can fit in an alleyway and whether it's possible to photograph them all in one take!

Our work was done pretty quickly so we headed back down the hill with a spring in our step.

A Goldilocks task.... not too long, not to short, just right. Just like all our GoodGymers eh?!

We took up the challenge to check jigsaws for the MAKE charity shop.

There may not have been blood, but there was plenty of sweat and tears!

We met the challenge like true GoodGymers (and enlisted the help of friends, family and pets). We burned the midnight oil, and displayed our completed jigsaws with pride.

We returned the jigsaws to Make ready to be sold to their customers.

The knitting needles and crotchet hooks were out - Portsmouth GoodGymers took tuition and re-learned forgotten skills, or rattled off squares with ease (in front of the tv, on the train, while working...)

The result was a beautifully colourful range of squares, ready to be sewn into a warm blanket, to be sent with a convoy of supplies to Ukraine next month.

Month 1 of the 2023 Tipner Challenge and there will be plenty to keep us busy this year.

I decided to stand in one spot and collect everything within the reach of the litter picker. How great it will be when there are lots of us here to do it together!

We are sneaking this into the January challenge.... delivering posters for the Elizabeth Foundation golf day around Southsea.

If you'd like more info on the golf day itself (15th June at Romsey Golf Club), then click here