We said a very warm welcome to Mohammed for his first GoodGym task, looking to get fit and help out, as well as improve his English. Big thanks to Richard for helping Mohammed to register on the website and to request his t-shirt. Also thanks to Russell for reminding me to do a headcount before setting off; I'm a bit rusty on the old run leading protocol. We were pleasantly surprised to see Jane without Rich, apparently he had better things to do?!

Joel and Ben led us out along the bunny walks in the sun (it was still light?!) and up to Tyrells Primary School. Our task was to excavate heaps of soil and gravel and dig out the patchwork of weed suppressing membrane underneath. Fay was already digging when we arrived, and Sallyann was on photo duty.

Everyone grabbed a shovel and started digging. Some of the membrane was easier to get at than other areas; Martin, Joel, Russell, Fay and maybe Andy, worked particularly hard on one area and dragged out a large sheet of membrane as the last triumph of the evening.

There was some question as to how hard Andy was working, judge for yourselves from the photos.

Excellent work everyone. We'll be back in May for some more hard work.

We've got a community mission at Barrow Farm on Sunday morning and the quiz at the Ale House on Sunday evening, and next week we're painting at Beaulieu Community Centre.

See you all soon,

Laurie

The wind and rain hit Chelmsford but we managed a jolly three bag haul of litter along Marconi Road and around the train station.

Our spirits were high and even better when Andy revealed it was his birthday and produced a tray of cup cakes! What a selfless way to spend a birthday and your 98th Goodgym good deed! Wowzers!

Just a reminder of a really special important Sunday mission coming up just outside Chelmsford : Memorial Garden upgrade at Barrow Farm Riding for the Disabled - Creating an accessible and sensory space for disabled people https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/memorial-garden-upgrade-at-barrow-farm-riding-for-the-disabled

Two quotes to start with, one random from the internet and one direct from Caroline at The Tyrrells:

"Today’s world is fast-paced, and heavily reliant on technology. For one, students can easily forget the beauty and essence of Mother Nature. That’s why school gardens are so important." (https://ecogardener.com/blogs/news/the-importance-of-school-gardens)

*"Thank you to you and all of the other Goodgymers for their help tonight. We were so grateful to have so much fabulous help and they have done an absolutely amazing job on the mad weeds! Please could you pass on a huge THANK YOU to everyone who attended." *Caroline from The Tyrrells.

The thanks you all received and the impact for the children at Tyrrells is testament to your efforts so this report is a big thank you. For some tasks it can be hard to measure success - will the public notice the litter has gone or will they see there a less weeds but yesterday was different and the recent cricket tasks are different!

A big well done to Richard on getting to double figures for good deeds and also check out these impressive stats .

Have a great Thursday evening, Friday and weekend...