Tuesday 17th March
Report written by STEFANIA ROSSO (she/her)
For this week's task, the unique group that is GoodGym Brighton congregated at One Church Florence Road, a place of worship and one-stop shop community venue, for a cleaning mission in their community kitchen. From this kitchen on every third Sunday a meal is prepared for those who are homeless, vulnerably housed or at risk of isolation, which members of GoodGym Brighton are often on hand to support.
The team were welcomed by Stefan who outlined the scale of the task when he revealed that the kitchen hadn't had a single deep clean since the New Year. A wide range of activities were divvied up and the GoodGym squad tackled them all in typical no-nonsense route one fashion: washing/ drying up, rationalising shelves/ pans/ utensils, cleaning ovens/ surfaces/ floors and confronting the fridge-freezer. Hefty items had to be removed from the kitchen and then returned post-clean, including blenders, large bottles of oil and 25kg bags of flour, which provided additional weight training for some. Among the one-off finds in the kitchen was a tupperware tub of lentils used in pastry baking to avert a soggy bottom, familiar to many attempting long runs/ walks in the recent inclement weather.
Capturing the latest one-off moment in the GoodGym Brighton story, the gang posed for the post-task group photo in an adjacent hall often used for a variety of educational purposes, which hosted a collection of xylophones, a paper mache Where the Wild Things Are-esque monster, and an emotions colour wheel tacked to the wall. With Stefan delighted that the kitchen was left in such a sparkling condition the group headed home deserving of a spectrum of happy-coloured emotions including successful, valued and inspired.
In a burst of inspiration, GoodGymer Sam penned this lovely poem. Enjoy the rhymes:
Feeling Complete
Rubber gloves slip snug on my hands, A toilet brush waits for careful plans. Where others groan, I bend with glee, Scrubbing the bowl till it shines for me. The swirl of water, the steady sweep, A rhythm of work both calm and deep. Graffiti cleared, floors bright and true, A quiet craft I can take pride in, too. The scent of cleaner, sharp yet sweet, A fragrance that makes the task complete. Each motion steady, circles tight, Turns hidden corners clean and bright. Some wrinkle noses, some retreat, But here I find the work complete. A task that others choose to flee Brings pride and stillness home to me. So let the gloves embrace my hands, And brushes trace the path I planned. For in this work, both strange and sweet, I find myself, and feel complete.
This report was co-written with contributions from GoodGymers Ben and Sam.
Another GoodGym community mission complete! What next at GoodGym Brighton?
They help young people into work, provide social groups for older people and shelter the homeless, amongst many more projects like the Chompe, Florence Road Market, Rock Farm.
See moreBrighton
The area will become a wellbeing and wildlife area for member of the allotment community to enjoy.
