When a task takes an unexpected turn for the better

The fabulous Four met up along the walk to the task and had a good old catch up as we walked along a still and relatively balmy prom. It was nice to see Sue back plus Paul and Johntoo. Sue talked about her training for the Brighton half marathon in 4 weeks time. We also unwrapped Steve's Saturday evening GG get together which was thoroughly by all ( especially Steve's amazing chilli's )

When we arrived at Manor Road hostel ( previously known as Stepping stones) we were surprised and pleased to see that the garden looked well looked after. We had a friendly greeting by a slightly surprised Josh, one of the duty managers, who had just learned of our visit.He told us that one of the residents, Glen had been taking a keen interest in the garden since last summer and wondered if we would be prepared to meet him so that we could co ordinate our energies into what he would like done. We happily agreed to this.

Holly, Glen's good friend came down to explain how invested Glen is into the garden and how good it has been for him. She proudly showed us round the garden and seemed genuinely concerned that he may get upset if went ahead with our task tonight. We absolutely agreed and Holly was so relieved and grateful and happily went off to tell Glen.

This was a night where we felt we had, bizarrely, achieved more by not doing a task than we would have done by doing one. You cant put a price on someone's mental health especially when they have done so much work on their road to recovery.

Keep logging those good deeds and km's and I will look forward to seeing you on the other side of January - Hallelujah!

Julia

Rainy days are here again

On a particularly damp August evening we all convened on the corner of Manor Road in readiness to do a good deed at Stepping Stones. This house is one that has been converted into medium to long term living accommodation for adults who have fallen on hard times and are in need of a helping hand to get back on their feet again.

In years gone by we have done a lot to help this hostel so it was good to be back ( despite the rain and a bit of heckling!)

In all honesty it felt like - Where do we begin? there was so much to do and minimal time to do it in. The garden looked fairly sad in comparison to how we ( I) remembered it. Due to internal improvements the major contents of the kitchen were either on the lawn or in the drive, rubbish was strewn everywhere and the lawn and beds were overgrown.

GG Worthing - thats the spirit!

In true GG style the team just got stuck into the task, and, little by little the work got broken down and progress evolved. John together withJay began clearing leaves and debris in the front corner of the garden near the composting area.

Belinda and Sue started on litter picking together with Ricky who multi tasked with litter and sweeping up.

In the back drive, Anne, Paul and Sarah had the unenviable task of clearing this scrubby area. Shortly Duncan also joined and together we all pitched in to make the area look a little less grim.

Swapsies

John turned his attention to raking the front garden and was joined by Sarah with her broomstick with Sue and Belinda keeping a close eye on proceedings whilst also pitching in!

Paul turned to pruning , Ricky stuck with his sweeping as did Anne with her weeding and sweeping.

Jay and Duncan then transferred their attention to drinking tea and eating chocolate mini rolls which were kindly provided to us by the duty officer who had stayed late to accommodate our visit.

We finished with a photo and a promise to return in drier weather to cut the grass and strim the borders.

Next week we will take a 1 week break due to the bank holiday but will return on 5th September.

Have a great bank holiday all of you and happy holidays Paul !

Julia xx

On a perfect Sunny Worthing early evening eight runners gathered at our traditional starting point outside Splashpoint Leisure Centre. We welcomed Sarah to her first Worthing GoodGym, and very much look forward to one of Worthing's newest residents joining us on many future occasions.

After our initial "hellos", and of course the all important health and safety briefing, we set off for the task. Ricky led the runners on a loop around the two nearby parks, while the walkers took a more direct route. Thanks to a slight detour taken by the walk leader both groups arrived pretty much together. We were then joined at the task by Tamsin and Paul.

We had two tasks today. One was to dig out a new flower bed in the shape of an eye, the other to cut back a very overgrown area.

Sarah, Daisy, Ricky, Paul and John set about digging out the pre-marked bed. The hard ground provided a solid workout for everyone as the eye shape slowly revealed itself.

On the other side of the fence Belinda, Sue, Tamsin, and Sue tamed the wild area. First with shears, rake and willpower, but with a power source secured the mower made short work of the long grass.

Ros, obviously aiming for maximum impact, contributed to both tasks with gusto.

With the cuttings raked in and the sods by the eye bed moved to the compost area we drew the task to a close. Despite everybody's determination and keenness to undertake Julia's pre-planned sprint session, a look at the time showed we had already overrun, and with heavy hearts we decided "maybe next time....."

Worthing GoodGymmers are a hardy lot. Despite yet more rain wind hitting the south coast, (hopefully not an Oncoming Storm) , ten people ran to Turning Tides a short distance away - some even going the long way round.

From ready, steady , go at Splashpoint, it became "Ready, Steady, Cook" on arrival as the team were greeted by an array of vegetables, spices and tinned produce. From then on the GoodGym Team became the equivalent of the A-Team as a plan (or recipe) was concocted out of the food utensils and equipment to hand. Who ever knew Worthing was such a hot bed of cooking talent? Steve proved himself to be The Master of the stove, whilst everyone busied themselves preparing ingredients. All we needed was some pasta and it would have been molto benne but regardless it was still fantastic.

Belinda bossed the washing up, ensuring everyone had the implements they needed and slowly, the T.A.R.D.I.S. was coming together (Thyme And Random Decisions Into Saucepan). Space was at a premium (this kitchen wasn't bigger on the inside) but everyone worked well together. Good things come to those who wait, and when we looked at the time, lord knows we'd done well. In doing such a lovely deed (and the aroma was a treat), there was much joviality but as a great Doctor once said, "there's no point being grown up if you can't be childish".

The clock was ticking so a little bit of allons-y was needed to finally have the dish prepared. The microwave was whirring, the hobs were glowing and whilst the kitchen was tidied and cleaned, the wonderful smells told us that, Geronimo! Dinner was served.

Sadly, that meant it was time for our exit, back out into the wind and rain for the short trot home. However one day, I shall come back, yes, I shall come back. And I hope that the creative talent seen tonight is as fantastic then.

(Bonus points for spotting all 13 "Doctor Who" references).

Super hero update

Finally it felt as if Spring had arrived today. After weeks of wet and windy weather it felt like the calm after the storm.

After a last minute change of task it was a huge relief that somehow everyone managed to arrive at the new meeting point. We were very pleased to welcome newbie Rob who is a colleague of our very own Tamsin and with whom she was keen to share her love of GoodGym with. We hope that you enjoyed yourself and you will be back for plenty more Mondays.Next time we will definitely go to the pub!

Tonight was also Sue 50th task with us. Doing good since August 2017, Sue has been a familiar face at our tasks and socials ever since. This is despite a horrific riding accident just after she joined us !

Talking of socials we will be celebrating Sue's special moment on Monday 30th March after GoodGym at our usual place of celebration at Chipwick. With GoodGym's 3rd Birthday on March 16th,my 150th milestone last week and Paul and Duncan's fast approaching 100th this could well be our biggest celebration yet. Book your seat now!

Although not with us this evening I would also like to share with you all Duncan and Lucy's achievements this weekend. Duncan completed his 100th parkrun in 100 different areas. Many congratulations Duncan. This is a truly epic moment!

Also massive kudos toLucy who at the same parkrun in Leas was 1st lady finishing .This in the week that she is celebrating her BIG Birthday. What a way to start the celebrations and a new decade!

This evening we also had a great turn out from my regular core team Daisy,Paul, Natacha, Steve, Belinda, Old John, Clare, Ricky,Gill, Graham, Anne and Katie and our very own snowflake Jay.

Garden Spring clean

This evening, with our planned task at The Rowans having to be rescheduled at the last minute, Gill came up with the great idea of a garden tidy up at the Recovery Project in Selden Road. This centre is one of Turning Tides homeless project. The Recovery Project is a 25 bed residential drug and alcohol service supporting single homeless adults with drug and/or alcohol addictions.

We headed off in the direction of the project via our warm up route around the pier. With everyone running this evening we separated into 3 groups so that everyone could run at their own pace but ensuring no one was running on their own. What an amazing view it was from the pier. Simply stunning:) Check out the photos.

Arriving at the task everyone helped themselves to lights, gloves,bags and tools. After weeks and weeks of inside winter tasks it felt good to be out in the fresh air again. 30 short minutes later weeds and similar debris were bagged before we headed off for the usual run and fitness session.

More than a March but less than a springt ( spring sprint)

Splitting into our groups again we headed off for a 15 minute run before convening at a handy low wall along the prom. It was even handier that the wall was higher one end than the other so that everyone could choose which height that they wanted to work at.

We did rounds of 1 minute step ups interspersed with jumping jacks, press ups, burpees and lunges. This was repeated over a period of 12 minutes under the watchful eye of not only me but the boys in blue who were patrolling the beach with flashlights at the time!

For the second week running Katie thought she was coming for a fun and social night out and yet again she was put though her paces with our Worthing flavoured fitness session:) We do love going to the pub but we also love our fitness sessions too. Right team ?!

The suggestion of a crocodile drill from Paul was unanimously squashed so we took a steady run back to base followed by stretches.

Next week Mark will be covering the session whilst Nick and head off in search of some warmth in Morrocco.

See you all on 16th when we will officially be 3 years old !

Have fun and keep washing your hands!!

Julia xx P.S Congratulations on your new job Jay. First you found love in Brighton and now a job too. What will be next........

A GG dozen

What a great turn out it was on a cold but still night at GG Worthing with more than a handful of hardy participants who turned out for a run and good deed.

Thanks so much to the following GG heroes for your time , energy and banter tonight! Sue, Barbara, Ricky, Natacha, Steve,Daisy, Paul, Tamsin ( in her new black t'shirt ) Nick, John and Belinda. Special get well wishes to our very own Anne who had to pull out as she was feeling unwell :(

Tonight our task was at Lyndhurst Road hostel, a fairly recently converted 37 bed temporary accommodation hub on Lyndhurst Rd which goes a long way to reducing the increasing number of rough sleepers on the streets of Worthing. Our tasks this evening were to provide a healthy meal for around 20 residents together with painting a communal stair well converting it from the original brick to a creamy white colour.

Good times roll - It will be all white on the night

After a warm up run along the seafront and around the pier, I reflected just how lucky we are to have this on our doorstep with a stunning night shot of the foreshore from the pier.

We arrived at Lyndhurst Road where we were met by Mary and Chloe who outlined the tasks and provided us with the equipment for both the cooking and painting.

John, Belinda , Barbara , Steve, Natacha and Nick elected to paint whilst Paul, Ricky, Tamsin, Sue and Daisy headed to the kitchen to cook up a couple of healthy warming pasta bakes.

Both teams were as enthusiastic and resourceful as ever. With limited equipment especially in the kitchen it didn't hinder our teams and its amazing what can be achieved with so little. The painting team were especially lively. John described the evening in the following way.....

Great fun this evening- some of the best banter yet

Bake news

With the great GG paint off very much in full swing,in the kitchen there were challenging conditions with the progress on the pasta bakes.One of the biggest challenges was trying to locate a tin opener, the other was that the oven wasn't working. Both problems were resolved when Mary delivered a new supply of tins of tuna with ring pulls and the team deciding to use the grill instead of the oven.

The tasks were divided up evenly between the team and after the two huge saucepans of pasta finally boiled and cooked, one pot had tuna,sweetcorn and cheese added to it whilst the other was transformed into ,a tomato based bolognese tray bake topped with cheese and grilled until bubbled and brown. It smelt amazing and I'm sure it tasted just as good! Just as we left the residents starting coming down with their plates to tuck into the feast.

No paint no gain

Back to the paint off ! In the hallway/stairwell the progress really was inspirational. Longer in the kitchen meant longer painting and the team covered about 4 times the anticipated result. The paint drops on the floor were only overtaken by the amount of team banter tonight!

We have set ourselves up nicely for a return visit ( TBC) to complete painting the next level of stairs !

Time waits for no one

With longer time spent at the task than usual ( due to the slow boil of the pasta! ) we took a run back to base. Some headed straight off home whilst others stayed for some functional fitness drills comprising of squats, squat jumps, lunges, chest press ups, tricep dips and, guess what ?! 2 sets of 20 burpees! Stretching completed the session and before we knew it the evening was over for another week.

In other news

Many MANY congratulations to Duncan and Lucy who both got PB's at Gosport half marathon at the weekend with Lucy knocking off a whopping 18 mins from her previous best time and Duncan with an epic 1.36