It was wonderful to welcome Sam to Goodgym this morning, his first session with us. The friends of the cemetery were pleased to have us join them and we soon got to work in helping them clear the brambles, rhododendron and holly away from the graves. The section we are working on will take about three years of clearing to remove these plants and allow the grass and wild flowers to take over. The section adjacent had been done and looked beautiful. It is hard work but good to be helping and revealing the gravestones. Hope you had a nice time Sam and hope you can attend another session soon!

Sam said: "Found the experience really good, full of friendly, chatty, and easygoing people All proper equipment available on-site Made a difference to at least 2+ graves, clearing away a lot of the dense foliage, so that they can be more appropriately laid to rest Thanks to Wilson and everyone involved. God bless"

Thanks Sam!

We had a great time, collecting cut grass for the Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery. Between collecting branches for the chipper and cut grass for compost, we were quite busy and had a well-deserved tea break afterwards. Ashleigh took an incredible photo of Tim, resting in the perfect spot.

We joined the lovely folk of Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery on their monthly session. Welcome to Ashleigh on her first session with Good Gym Southampton. Woody woodpecker made his presence known and we were all delighted to hear the tapping call ringing out. A great fun task chopping up all the branches and old wood cut down to keep the area safe and tidy enough for the community who regularly visit the graves. Loppers at the ready although much merriment was had snapping twigs. Judy, myself, Lucy along with Ashleigh got stuck in with great gusto. Lots of fun filling lots of bags and a great opportunity to chat with all the other volunteers. I now have tool envy of the DeWalt Mini Saw they have. Always a pleasure to do this task as we are rewarded with refreshments in the old chapel afterwards.

Today's task involved a lot of raking. The graves were being cleared ready for the memorial weekend in November.

We raked and and filled bags, Chris emptied the bags on the compost, bought them back and we raked and filled them up again... On repeat in the sunshine for a good 2 hour workout.

We were rewarded with a lovely brew and a biscuit at the end 😊

We had a lovely time this morning helping Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery on their monthly conservation task.

Four of us were tasked with completely restoring one of the old tombs, stripping back ivy and overgrowth and brambles.

It was hard work. Chris went to war on the ivy and won - and Hannah had a run in with a spider (now determined as a garden spider thanks to Graces ID skills!)

We managed to restore the tomb to such a degree that we revealed the old stone work. It was very satisfying and we had a fab time.

Judy Knapp and Stephanie Longy went to join the monthly session with Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery. We were set to work with pitchforks and rakes to clear up all the piles of cutting left by the cutting team. A great all body workout filling lots of large sacks all in the company of the local Robin and other very friendly volunteers. Luckily the beautiful mature trees sheltered us during a sharp shower. Then sun came out again to prove that it is July and supposed to be summer. We were made very welcome by the FOSOC team with tea/ coffee and biscuits afterwards in the old chapel. We hope to be back again in August to help out on their next session. A great two hours in a beautiful location.