Once again, Southsea seafront became stage for this months Run & Rave, one of the main aims of which is to promote a safe nighttime running environment for all. Friday also saw the biggest GoodGym turnout to date!

Six of us hit the prom, with Abby leading the way on sustainability, arriving by bike to get those legs warmed up early! Katie debuted her (legendary) neon smiley rave t-shirt - an elite charity shop find! A huge shout out to our leader Jen for perfectly embracing the rave spirit, sporting a pair of fantastic furry (and purrry) cat ears! Sinéad stole the spotlight, entertaining the crowds with her very own spectacular poi ball light show! Sammy's good will face-painting also attracted crowds, converting the faces of over 10 people with her signature rave design! Sammy also presented GG newcomers with their custom Run & Rave bangles - beautiful gifts which are handmade by honorary GG member Betsy. Thank you so much from us all Betsy, and thanks to everyone for an incredible night.

The flowers are in bloom and the baby animals are out.

We had a lovely time at Baffins Pond today. Seeing the swans on their nest, proud duck parents with 7 ducklings, a moorhen with her baby, a cat keeping an eye on things and plenty of dogs looking for some fuss. My favourite were the 2 ducks sitting out by the dipping pond clearly having a moment of peace away from the kids!!

All this animal action made up for a very uplifting sight of very little litter strewn about the place. But I did continue yesterday's treasure finds with yet another hair band!

My hair wasn't tied up as it isn't long enough. But it appears everyone else was going hair down with the amount of hair bands I had to pick up!

A multitude of sweet wrappers and drinks cans saw me complete a loop of the Rec for another Portsmouth 100 litter pick.

We had quite the turn-out for our excursion to Emsworth this evening, which was super-handy as there was a lot of work to be done!

Rebecca, the Head Teacher, and the Caretaker had started some prep work, so we got stuck straight in to the task. Katie and Sam got stuck straight in with scraping and sanding, whilst Judy and Andy were on priming duty for the woodwork. Double Dave caused Double Trouble with an exploded tin of green paint. Sinéad arrived after her run around Thorney Island to lend a hand. Birthday Gal Val found her calling as a wallpaper instructor, helping Rebecca to get the lining paper on some of the walls.

Val also provided music and snacks, so we got to channel our inner dancing queens with an Abba soundtrack.

A contractor had quoted the school close to £5000 to do the work needed, so GoodGym's efforts have certainly helped to keep school funds supporting the children, which is wonderful. Well done, you are all awesome!

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Southsea, four Goodgym runners got together to go on a 5km shuffle around Southsea Common whilst spreading some good musical fitness vibes to the people of Southsea. It was a brilliant and bright afternoon (despite the usual wind!).

This was the first Sunday Shuffle to strictly follow the Goodgym rules (- naughty Andy!), and this also meant it was Andy's Run Leader assessment! He nominated Dave to take on back marker duties (thanks Dave!), but unfortunately he had naughty Jen keeping him on his toes by deciding today would be the day to run over all of the benches in Southsea! N.B. You take part at your own risk, Jen! This was also the first time that Andy met Nia, after previously only being involved in some virtual challenges together - as always with Goodgym, it was a pleasure.

Post-run we saw Sammy, who joined us during the cool down and helped us out by taking some photos (thanks Sammy!), and then we headed to the pier for an (almost) disastrous coffee-shop experience!

Has Andy passed?! Only time will tell.

We welcomed back Amie for her second task this week - glad we didn't scare you off last time! Amie was one of Team Red this evening, alongside Katie and Sinéad. Myself, Dave and Andy then turned up in quick succession with our Goth GGs (black tees), making it 3 - 3. Sammy arrived at the last minute in her black top, so Team Goth were the winners!

Joined by Mini-GGer, Alice, we ran to Kingston Rec where we met Nick and got started on our litter pick. Our first unusual find was a small wheel, spotted by Andy. As we made our way around the park, we also picked up a set of handle bars and a scooter board. Our photos look quite little like an assembly guide for a mismatched scooter! We also found an onion in the woods, followed by some egg shells, chillis and a bulb of garlic under a bush. I wonder if some of the local foxes were making some bougie omelets!

We completely filled two enormous Colas bags, impressive work in just under an hour! Nice work, everyone.