Today we started with a lovely tour around Rose Road to find out more about what they do to support disabled children and adults. It was great to hear all about the invaluable services they provide particularly as next month we have a brave team of GGers who will be taking on the Spinnaker Tower abseil to raise funds for Rose Road! After our tour it was time for some speed weeding in the Acorn respite garden. We had to decide the weeds from the plants but fortunately didn't have to make too many choices as it was mostly just weeds left and some slightly sad looking mint after a very dry summer. Not content with just weeding the team also tried to adjust the slightly saggy “sail” shades as they are hanging a bit low down following rain fall weighing them down. With many hands, minds and possible solutions it was decided it didn’t have quite enough stretch so alas it will have to sag another day!

Helped at Run Through races on Southampton Common this morning, registration duties followed by offering out Love Corn.... seems that not everybody does in fact love Corn... a bit of a marmite snack. I love it and went home with 10 bags!

Tonight we returned to Aldermoor Farm for a slimy adventure: a slug and snail hunt! Richard greeted us with expert tips on how to track down our slippery targets, and then we were off - headlamps on, eyes peeled, and spirits high. I think it was Ronna that kicked off our hunt, finding the first slug!

Along the way, we were treated to a magical evening soundtrack of hooting owls and even spotted a fox darting through the undergrowth. The hunt itself was full of squeals - some of delight, others of mild horror as slugs emerged from their hiding spots.

Julia and Yujiu proved to be top-tier slug spotters, uncovering some impressively chunky specimens. We also had a fun language exchange, swapping the English and Chinese names for a woodlouse. Beck, a spider 'enthusiast', kept us informed about the eight-legged friends we encountered.

Wilson joined a little later and struck gold, or rather, goo - finding the biggest slug pile of the night nestled on a piece of old fruit. Claire and Sarah bravely stepped in to do the slimy honours of collecting them!

By the end of the evening, we had amassed a glistening pile of slugs and snails - lucky ducks indeed!

A warm welcome to Yujiu, Ronna, and Beck on their first GoodGym session. We hope to see you again soon!

In a late change to our task we set about giving the Gibson Centre a good scrub down.

The cages were taken off the radiators, many spiders were relocated and the water was dirty in minutes. We schwooped with brooms, swished with dusters and Abby fixed the Scouts sign and hung it back up with pride. No clothing was found this time round, however the discovery of a discarded toenail more than made up for that 🤢

We made use of the echo in the hall to rendition some Sound of Music classics and took a turn at yodelling.

With thanks to Katie for giving us a list of tasks we happily crossed them off. Jazzing it up with some added French 🇫🇷 and pizza 🍕 drawings to make it look more fun! And we even found a new trophy to use for GG fun times, comment with some ideas as to what you think the award should be for. I think the first congrats is to Wilson on good deed #400!!!

Discussions around Katie trip to Oz and the recent Victorious festival filled our time and we were soon flashing the board, and then cleaning it! 😜

Abby, Ashleigh, Lucy and I did some hill reps to get warmed up for car washing tonight. Beth had 4 of the outreach vehicles ready for us to work our magic on this evening. We have got the car washing down to a fine art now so began with clearing any rubbish, then dusting, hoovering and then finally washing the outside. Everyone has their specialities!

We were also joined by Shan this evening from That’s TV who interviewed us about GoodGym and filmed us completing our task. We are very excited to see it when it’s released. Maybe we’ll need to host a premier screening of our first TV appearance?! We were so busy being stars and cleaning we forgot to get any pictures, but did grab some lovely scenic shots from the run home!

This evening, six GoodGym volunteers headed to Aldermoor Community Farm to lend a hand with some much-needed hedge trimming. Armed with shears and plenty of enthusiasm, we tackled the overgrown hedge along the farm’s boundary. In just one hour, we managed to complete the task - our best effort yet! It was a satisfying job that combined teamwork, fresh air, and a good arm workout!

Kudos to Ellie and Abby for running 4 miles to the task and to Robert for an hours walk!