Litter Pick at Goring Gap: A Community Effort to Protect a Local Beauty Spot

On a warm August evening, a small but determined group of volunteers gathered at our local Goring Gap to tackle the ever-growing problem of litter.John, Belinda, Gillybean ,Ricky , Stéphane, andRoxy — along with Mali, her spirited 5-month-old Malinois — spent an hour collecting bags full of rubbish strewn across the grass verges of this popular green space.

Despite having carried out a litter pick here only a few weeks ago, the team was disheartened to find the area once again in need of attention. It's truly heartbreaking to witness how quickly this natural haven can be spoiled by careless behaviour.

Equipped with litter pickers, bin bags, and a strong sense of purpose, the group combed through the area, restoring some of its beauty and reminding all who visit how important it is to respect and protect our shared environment. A passer by pitched in to give a had too which was helpful and unexpected!

The teams efforts serve as a reminder that it takes just a few dedicated individuals to make a positive difference — but also highlight the urgent need for greater awareness and responsibility when enjoying public green spaces. Some well placed bins may help too !

Special mention to El who couldnt make the task but who was doing her own litter pick this evening.

See you all next week for my 400th task !

Barbara’s 70th Birthday & Summer Social

What a fantastic evening at Goring Gap — a true celebration of community, good deeds, and a very special milestone!

This week’s GoodGym task brought us to one of Worthing’s local beauty spots for a litter pick, but this was no ordinary mission. We also had the joy of celebrating a 70th birthday and hosting our summer social — and it was all rolled into one unforgettable event.

A Birthday Good Deed

It’s a real credit toBarbara generous spirit that she chose to spend her birthday giving back, joining us for the litter pick on her special day. The Birthday Girl was met with a lovely surprise — a visit fromLucy ! It was so good to see you, Lucy, and your timing couldn’t have been better.

Barbara was joined by a strong GoodGym turnout:Mel andPaul , Stéphane](/v3/profile/stephane-forrer) (who’s almost fully recovered from his recent bike accident — though a reminder to avoid shaking his still-broken hand!), and the always-enthusiastic Anne,Paul , Roxy Daisy, andCraig . This dream team made short work of the litter, filling multiple bags and even heading back for more. A great effort from everyone!

Food, Fun, and Festivities

With Goring Gap sparkling once again, we made our way to the greensward where the second part of the evening kicked off.

,John , El and Gillybean had set up a brilliant BBQ area and were busy cooking up a feast with food kindly brought by John. Everyone chipped in with a spread of nibbles, cakes, and drinks, turning the evening into a true celebration. Gill was brilliant with all the cooking and tidying up too.

We were joined by Barbara's son Matthew - it was lovely to see him on his Mums special evening. Nick also made a guest appearance. It was also lovely to see Tamsin and Jemmie who brought along the game Corn Hole This was great fun and was also was enjoyed by a handful of us John was victorious despite Jemima trying her absolute best to beat him !

We wrapped up with a perfect moment — presenting Barbara with a beautifully framed collection of memories to honour her birthday and her incredible commitment to volunteering. It was smiles all around as we captured the moment with some great group photos.

Thank you Barbara for being such an inspiration, and thank you to everyone who came and made this such a special GoodGym evening. Here’s to many more good deeds, good food, and great company!

Roxy, Hudson and I spent a very pleasant hour walking , talking and litter picking around Goring Gap. The sun was shining and whilst doing a goid deed we also got Roxy to 49 tasks meaning we can celebrate her 50th on Monday!

Will Belinda be able to restore the sewing machine, and make a GoodGym coat, before the official ones arrive?

How's that for a conversation starter courtesy of Mr R?!😅 It is, however one which I don't know the answer to 🙈

With the recent last Spring Bank Holiday of the year on Monday we opted for another mid week task and all arrived at Goring Gap for a litter pick. Usually we fill multiple bags of all sorts of rubbish and oddities .Today we found less rubbish but even stranger fly tipping.

Belindaand Birthday girl Roxy found two abandoned sewing machines ! There was one Singer antique one and one more modern boxed one. They were both fairly swiftly stashed in the boot of Belinda's car for John to renovate then both cherish.

Armed with a litter picker and bag, we set off on a sociable stroll around the roads. As always it was great to catch up with each other's news and hear what everyone got up to over the recent BH Monday. Stéphane had enjoyed a long weekend in Norwich and El had a really pretty new haircut.

Even thought there was less rubbish ( which was great ) we still managed to find plenty to fill our bags.

As I sit here in the departure lounge at Gatwick Airport writing this I'm officially handing over next Monday's task at St Botolphs Church and the subsequent report toJohn. With this in mind you will be guaranteed to have a long and witty report to share your Tuesday morning coffee with 😍☕️

As for me I have surprised my unsurprisable husband with a long weekend in Porto to celebrate his 65th Birthday.

Byeee for now. See you all very soon.

Happy GoodGyming

Julia xxx

April sunshine

With the light evenings and the recent beautiful weather we have all been enjoying , we were expecting a lot of rubbish on the beautiful greensward and surrounding roads near the beach. We did find plenty of rubbish but not nearly as much as we thought we would!

Many thanks to Paul, Roxy El Paula John and Ricky for turning out this evening.

We all set off with a litter picker and bag in hand. With new signs telling the public that it is an offence to leave litter in this beauty spot it does beg the question why there aren't any bins in the vicinity and also with so many security cameras everywhere why the council don't install some in this area.

Bizarrely this is one of my favourite tasks. Maybe it's because it's right on my doorstep,maybe it's because there is always so much litter and so it's a both needed and satisfying task or maybe because it's always such a relaxed task where we can walk and talk with each other.

Despite the area having been cleared recently we still filled 7 bags so we rant did feel it was a job well done. Many thanks to Paula who put all the bags into her favourite wagon and drove them down to a seafront bin where they will be collected by the refuse team tomorrow.

Next week is a Bank Holiday so we will all enjoy a rest and instead,meet next Wednesday at St Botolphs Church garden.

Wishing you all a very peaceful and Happy Easter long weekend.

Julia xx

A welcome back evening

It was so nice to see Sue and Craig back this evening and we do hope that we will continue to see more of you in the coming weeks and months - we have missed you both :)

Tonight we set to work to clear more rubbish in our local beauty spot. We have already visited this area twice in the last 6 weeks but sadly, it always needs more attention.

Craig started near where we had parked and found a substantial amount of litter straight away.

Barbara and Sue set of to the far end of the task and worked backwards walking towards us. they quickly filled a bag and started on a second!

Stéphane and El headed straight to the most littered part of the area where Roxy, Paula and I pitched in too. Highly addictive !

Before long we had filled 7 more bags to the brim. This means that in the last 6 weeks we have filled 22 bags ! Sadly we had to leave the bigger items of wood and parts from a computer but what a HUGE difference we have made ! Visually the area now looks clear. We will revisit this beauty spot every month so that we can get this area under control especially during the spring and summer months.

Thank you all for tonight and see you next week

Julia xx