Four GoodGymers set off for what has become one of our favourite regular tasks. All day we’d been wondering. Will we be in, will we be out, we’ll have to wait and see….(anyone other than me just been assaulted by an earworm and a yearning for chips?)

Today it was not to be

Three arrived, to see an empty carpark. We’ve never arrived here to an empty car park. We headed to the school door, excitement slightly abated, and relief flooded through us. There was someone there. The relief was brief. It was two teachers about to leave and lock up the premises. We’d had a date, we’d been stood up!

Three became four as Ricky steamed around the corner and beyond, turning his head enough to shout, “I haven’t finished my run yet”.

We get knocked down, we get back up again

So what do you do when you’ve been stood up? Go home? Not us! Not with Ricky wisely reminding us that we have two seafront flower beds that would benefit from some attention.

The recent weather, though not what we want at this time of year, has helped the new plants to root. But the beds always need attention to keep them in good condition. The spent poppies were removed, and a general tidy done. And then, the hunt was on….

The scarlet watering can

We seek it here, we seek it there, we know the watering can is somewhere here. Throughout the summer those beds are thirsty. Experience has told us that expecting passing GoodGymers to handily have a water tight receptacle to keep the beds sated, is something of a pipe dream. This year Julia has secreted a watering can near the beds. And secreted it was! Just as we were about to give up the search Gill delved further into the undergrowth and with ankles barely showing gave the welcome cry of “I’ve found it”.

We were able to thoroughly water both beds. It’s a small, but important task. Worthing’s seafront is such a key thing for the community. Supporting the efforts to maintain the seafront is supporting the heart of our community.

Always reason to cheer

As a group, Worthing GoodGym likes to celebrate. When we come together we enjoy celebrating a multitude of notable events. Sharing the love, and the cake. We are already laying the foundations for our next celebration. The birth of a future GoodGymer (congratulations Sarah and Ryan), and today Ricky reached 200 Good Deeds.

One El of a bonus

While tidying away ready to leave El came across to say hi. She didn’t GoodGym today because it was “date night”. She hadn’t been stood up!

Many thanks to John for leading the task and writing the report 😇

With Julia on her holidays , it was down to Mr R to leas the task and write the report so her it is !

Four GoodGymers were back at one of our favourite good weather tasks today. For a large part of the day, it looked like the weather might be against us, but the clouds moved on, and the warmth of the evening sun accompanied us during the task.

Weed ‘i’d alright

Rik greeted us with an apology (see Julia’s report from last week) and the news that parishioners had noticed a real difference along the wall of the church we had worked on last week. Whenever we come here, we can always see the difference we make; it’s great to get feedback that the work we do is noticed and appreciated.

Weed been here before

Today’s task was to clear the weeds around the front and side of the old air raid shelter. It’s a task we’ve tackled on many occasions, but nature will have its way. Ricky tackled the side wall where the brambles had chosen not to cling to the wire we had attached to encourage them to reach skywards. Charlie, Anne, and John tackled the front. Did we make a difference? Yes, we did! It was great to wind up our efforts just as Anne brushed clean the path that GoodGym had laid many tasks ago!

From Julia

Thank you all and John for helping me tonight !

Barbara's report All went well We potted up some pots and baskets and did some weeding I told her I’ll be back in 2 weeks and we’ll take photos of the task so she will be expecting me to take them Stayed for 40 minutes until a carer came out to check on her and I think she wanted to get her inside for the remainder of the evening.

When a Task Goes Slightly Off the Rails...

After a somewhat concerning sign-up sheet showed just two names earlier in the day, we were delighted when a magnificent eight GoodGymers appeared at St Botolph's Church ready for an evening of weeding and good deeds.

Sadly, our enthusiasm wasn't quite matched by the task preparation! Due to a slight mix-up with dates from our lovely hosts, Rik and Val, we arrived to find ourselves very much left to our own devices. With no hosts in sight and only a handful of tools available, it was time for some GoodGym improvisation.

Fortunately, John's legendary backpack stash came to the rescue. Producing enough tools to keep us occupied, we set about tackling the weeds around the edges of the church grounds. It wasn't quite the grand gardening mission we'd anticipated, but plenty of weeds met their demise nonetheless.

A particular highlight of the evening was welcoming back Roxy and Mali. It was fantastic to see them again after a while away. However, one important question remains unanswered: what happened to the puppy version of Mali?! Somewhere along the line, that tiny pup has transformed into a fully-grown dog before our very eyes. You might say she’s really grown into the role

Despite the damp-squib nature of the task, spirits remained high, conversations flowed, and the church grounds are looking a little tidier than before. We may have turned up for a major gardening project and ended up with a minor one, but when life gives you weeds, we pull them out !

The good news is that Rik and Val will be expecting us next week, when hopefully we'll be tackling the task that was originally planned. Unfortunately, I won't be there as I'll be away on holiday, so the group will be in the very capable hands of John

I'm sure he'll keep everyone rooted to the task... and if not, he'll probably have the right tool for it hidden somewhere in that backpack!

Two GoodGymers headed to the prom to give our flowerbed (bed 6) some much‑needed love and attention. With watering cans in hand, we soaked the thirsty soil before planting fresh plants to bring colour and life back to the space. Working side by side, we cleared tired patches, refreshed the bed, and made sure everything was well settled in for the weeks ahead. A simple, sunny session that left the promenade looking brighter and ready to bloom again. El also added some plants to bed 5 and Julia and Barbara contributed plants.

Tonight was all about milestones, memories and moments worth celebrating — proof that at GoodGym we’re not just growing gardens, we’re growing friendships too.

Before the festivities began, seven of us headed over to English Martyrs School to lend a hand with some very much-needed outdoor weeding. A huge special welcome also goes to our first-timer,Charlie It was lovely to meet you and we really hope this was the first of many good deeds with us.

The task itself required a delicate touch rather than brute force. Armed with determination (and slightly creaky knees by the end!), we settled down around the outside play area, carefully teasing out tiny clumps of grassy weeds from the bark and liner. Intricate work, yes — but as always with GoodGym, the conversation flowed so easily that the task flew by.

During the session El and I took a few moments to admire some of our previous handiwork at the school. We revisited the pond area and the large flowerbed we'd previously rescued from a jungle of brambles and weeds. It’s always satisfying seeing the difference our collective efforts make and remembering that little jobs steadily grow into big transformations.

Then it was time to swap gardening for glasses at the Brew House as we moved on to the evening's celebrations — and there was plenty to celebrate!

First up was El reaching an impressive 50 good deeds. It genuinely feels as though El has always been part of the group; she fitted in from day one and has brought positivity, warmth and enthusiasm to every task. Fifty acts of kindness is a brilliant achievement and here's to the next fifty (which, knowing El, will probably arrive before we know it!).

Paul reached his incredible 250 good deeds today. A Quarter of a thousand acts of kindness is no small achievement and represents years of showing up, mucking in and giving back to our community. Whether it's tackling tasks with his usual good humour or simply being one of those dependable people you know you can count on, Paul has made a huge contribution along the way. Two hundred and fifty good deeds is something really special — and we’re delighted to celebrate this milestone with him

The milestones keep on coming because then we celebrated the unstoppable Barbara and her extraordinary 400 good deeds. Four hundred! That's hundreds of hours given, countless tasks completed and an enormous impact made on our community. Barbara really is one of the cornerstones of our group — a true GoodGym legend.

And finally, huge congratulations went to Sarah and Ryan on their recent wedding! It was such a joy to celebrate this exciting chapter with them both. While GoodGym often brings people together through shared tasks, this may be our finest example yet of teamwork becoming a lifelong partnership ❤️

With gifts presented, glasses raised and plenty of laughter shared, the evening reminded us that while the tasks themselves matter, it's the people that make GoodGym so special.