For some people a Bank Holiday Monday is a time to kick back and relax but Team GG never sleeps!

Some ran, some biked, some ran a bit and walked a bit, some meeting at the usual spot and others arriving from far and wide to rendezvous at the task. Either way 26 folk met at Not Fishponds Wood near Fishponds Wood.

We had some heroes to celebrate

• Hannah who was excited to wear the cape of Good Deeds now that she has completed over 50 tasks
• Neil who is our GoodGymer of the month for being an awesome gent, doing 7 Good Deeds in the month as well as being personal chauffer to Vicky The Hip Hearson!

We also welcomed Jake to his very first GoodGym task! Jake is Alex's mate. Whatever Alex is selling it's working as last week he brought along Dylan who was back again despite endangering his bright white new running shoes last week and now we have Jake too!

Who will Alex bring next time?

It was straight to work in Not Fishponds Wood Near Fishponds Wood pulling the ivy which was choking the trees and plants.

We tugged and pulled and scraped and snipped and hacked and sawed and yanked and plucked and picked and ripped and jerked and wrenched and heaved and hauled and slashed at the ivy and pretty soon had cleared a good section of the wood and had filled a huge collection of tonne bags with ivy!

Then we were off running and biking back for some fitness activity running up and down Windmill Hill!

On a Bank Holiday Monday!

I know!

Now that's just daft so the sensible ones discovered they really needed to go straight home instead!

Tonight York's Shiny Happy Good Gymers were joined by two new members - Dylan and Mark, welcome! We congratulated Stefan on Accelerating through the TEWV 10km and Amy for completing the London Marathon - we hear she ran So Fast, she went Numb.

We headed to a new location for us: Carleton Street Play Area, in The Great Beyond behind the station. This was a place shrouded in mystery - it was unknown to Google Maps, and to Nicola, a GGer who lives nearby. It was a regular Ignoreland. Some GGers were worried that you Can't Get There From Here, and others expressed concerns that it was Half A World Away and that it might even be necessary to Drive, but we got there in the end.

We got to work plucking the site from obscurity by removing the brambles, nettles and burgeoning buddleia that concealed it. Kit dug down Low to uproot brambles, and was Feeling Gravity's Pull as he fearlessly climbed Up to saw off branches. Luckily he didn't Fall On Me. Ed was working so hard he managed to break a spade in half - he was having a Bad Day. We didn't Find a River, but we did Reveal a beautiful community garden with a winding path and a great big Rock(ville) in the centre.

Out of Time, we headed on for some heavy duty Circuits Envy led by the lovely Vicky. The skipping ropes were a particular highlight. Several GGers gave an impressive display of rope handling, while a few were Kings of Comedy, giving us all a laugh with an impressive display of ineptitude. Whether you're being stung by nettles, snagged by brambles or whacked in the face with a skipping rope, Everybody Hurts. Despite this we all agreed that we'd had a Funtime, and we repaired to The Ackhorne for stretching and, with minimal Pretty Persuasion, a pint.

Mark Dylan Ed Stefan Kit Vicky Nicola

January may be over but that doesn't stop goodgym York from coming out in force to keep doing good!

We started by celebrating the folk who ran Dewsbury 10k and especially Amy's sub 50min PB! We also adorned John with the cape of good deeds for reaching a phenomenal 600 tasks, and congratulated Becca for getting to 50.

We were then off to Holgate Allotments where Helen already had the bonfire going. Tasks included emptying the shed, cutting back brambles, digging over the soil and keeping the fire going. it was a chilly night and we were grateful for the warmth, even if a few people got a bit singed!

i didn't need my leg hair anyway - michael

We enjoyed the fire so much it was too difficult to tear people away for fitness so we did some exercises whilst enjoying the heat. There was a bit of a stand off between Ed and Alex on the arm circles, and despite Alex's pleading we had to call a draw!

We have been asked if we'd like yo return to take the shed down. Now that sounds like the perfect follow up and right up our street!

Edwin Hood of Holgate left the Forest of Sherwood to help the sylvan Shangri-La of Stinky Foot Ryer (AKA York Tiny Forest). Our local legend Becca Maude Marion was awarded the black cape of 50 good deeds - a double award ceremony that deserved chocolate. Friar Tuck and Aidan arrived and the foraging of mulch from Holgate Allotment began. Soon Tristan-a-Dale's trusty truck was filled with bags of wood chip, 2 wheelbarrows and 4 strong GoodGymers as Alastair joined us. Sadly there was no room for Aidan's bike, so he swiftly cycled across town, very nearly beating the wood chip. Once at the Forest we met Hollie who was warmly welcomed and introduced to the fun that is GoodGym. She quickly locked up her bike, donned gloves and headtorch, grabbed a wheelbarrow and got stuck in. Swiftly the heavy bags of chippings were taken from the truck, carried across the wobbly road, loaded into barrows to be pushed through the swamp and up the steep muddy hill to the dark forest. We had a quick look around and were pleased to see tree buds, catkins and signs of life in the oxygenating plants in Lucy's pond. Looking forward to going back very soon to spread the mulch, plant some of the donated dormant trees and enjoy a picnic in good company.

Our second group run of 2026 saw a whopping 33 people turn up and do some good in their local community. Tonight we welcomed Carys and Rohail who were joining us for the first time. Give them both a big cheer 🎉.

There was plenty more to celebrate as we cheered all those that took part in the Round Sheffield Run, and the crazy folk that ticked off another square on the january bingo card by running/walking or cycling their age at the weekend. We were also able to award the December GGer of the month to Matt who has been pretty much an ever-present at group runs since joining us last year as well as putting in some ridiculous mileage and some very impressive running achievements recently. Well done Matt 💪

Finally we presented Michael with the cape of good deeds for completing his 200th task with GoodGym. What an absolute legend 🏆

It was then off to Millennium Fields with a quick pause for a round of tricep dips and press-ups before arriving at the task. We were greeted by Maeve who got a round of applause for her excellent demonstration of how to invert the soil, before letting us loose with spades. With tools somewhat limited due to the excellent numbers, the GGers doubled up on spades with Martin and Stef on tarp duties (which seemed like a very relaxed job 😎)

Meanwhile a smaller group of 6 headed over to the compost bays to turn them over. I'm fairly sure we've turned over the same compost many times before, but it kept them busy at least!

With the soil inversion in full flow, some GGers were keen to know the What3Words location of the area they were working on so that they could see the progress of the wildflowers later in the year. Nick's slap/epic/deeply being the most memorable location!

There were the usual burying Mitch shenanigans, and we also had some very impressive dance moves from Steve and Leanne to help trample down the wildflower seeds. Then it was time for a group photo before our fitness session

Tonight featured a variation of wink murder with exercises instead of dying! The person in the middle had the task of working out which person in the circle was in charge of the exercises that everyone else was copying. Turns out it was harder than it looked, with Paul Kelly taking several attempts to work out that Ruth was the culprit!

It was then back to the Ackhorne via a quick sprint along one of our strava segments. Fortunately there was the reward of some well deserved cake at the end!