We arrived in convoy for our weekend session at Fox Den Community Allotment. Having taken the scenic route along the river, Caroline and I fell in line behind Becky, who had been following Daiana and Andrew from the city centre. They hadn't met before, so had no idea they were heading to the same place (although the red t-shirt was a little giveaway)! We had a chuckle when we realised what had happened 🚲 🚲 🚲

Ilse was like a beacon in her GG t-shirt waiting for us, and we welcomed Princy back for her second GG task 💪

After some introductions, Lorna was briefing us on our jobs for the session. We were working in the forest garden area and Andrew, very impressively, explained to the rest of the group that the methods used in the forest garden enable mycelium to thrive, allowing plants to communicate and supporting hydration. Eventually, after 20ish years (or 10000s of GG sessions) the garden becomes self-sustaining. 🌿

Although the garden looked peaceful, it was a hive of activity as everyone got stuck in shifting bags and bags of clay and compost to clear a bed for planting. It was a efficient operation, and a proper strength workout with some VERY heavy wheelbarrows to transport. We played many rounds of the game 'compost or clay'? I'm not sure it will catch on.

As well as this, Daiana and Andrew did a great job cutting back the hedgerows, Ilse put the bricks to good use creating some much needed borders for some of the flowering beds, and Princy and Becky made light work of cleaning and folding the huge tarp that had been used as a base to store the clay. A busy evening, and what a transformation 🙌

We were delighted to be celebrating Ilse's 10th Good Deed, which as well as being a great achievement, meant we all got some cake! 🎂 Congratulations on all the good you've made happen in Cambridge so far, we're glad you're on the team 💛

We wrapped up for the evening, feeling satisfied with another active session. Daiana harvested a couple of tomatoes and took them home in her GG branded water bottle (ingenious) and I was also gifted a cucumber, so a really top notch session for us! And yes, the cucumber did get transported home in my bike's bottle holder. 🥒#normalforcambridge

Making the most of another sunny Sunday, GoodGym Cambridge headed out in force to Fox Den Community Allotment 🦊

Coming straight from a Social Mission, Catherine and I cycled over the together, and waiting for us were Daiana and Andrew. Soon after came Sandra and our two newest GGers, Anakha and Princy - welcome, both! 🙌

With Fox Den first timers getting the grand tour and introduction, we put on our gloves and picked up our tools to get stuck in! Daiana, Sandra and I had fun navigating the allotment paths with wheelbarrows full of woodchip to cover exposed areas, before assembling the Royal Cambridge Bug Hotel 🪲🐞🐛

A few rows across from us, Catherine helped the tomatoes get the support they needed, guiding the plants upwards and saving them from getting trampled 🍅

Pride of place in the middle of the allotment, Andrew, Princy and Anakha made impressive work of clearing the pond. A fantastic effort for their first visit and all should be really proud of what they accomplished! 💪

Excitingly, we even made a new friend in the form of a very friendly and cuddly cat. We all downed tools for a brief fuss! Now to decide on GG cat accessories for our latest recruit... 🐈‍⬛️

Before we left, the group gathered to congratulate Daiana on reaching 10 good deeds 🥳 We love having you as part of our team, and we look forward to seeing what you do with your next 10 deeds! As is traditional now, we celebrated with some delicious cake, and reflected on another lovely afternoon. A few even stayed on to harvest potatoes, so I think it's safe to say a good time was had by all! 😊

This week's task saw us back at Jimmy's serving dinner to residents.

A delicious meal of lasagna had been prepared and was ready and waiting for us to serve. We had a few residents at the hatch when we arrived, so we needed to get going quickly. Setting up a serving line, Daiana was a pro on lasagna, Andrew took on garlic bread, Caroline mastered salad, and I was in charge of dessert. A streamlined operation! Everyone was delighted to see the famous carrot cake on the menu with a few even requesting seconds.

With residents fed, we turned our attention to clearing up. The highlight was definitely getting to cover the leftovers using the cling film machine. Caroline was particularly excited to take the lead on this job and had all plates wrapped in not time at all!

It had been a little while since we'd all seen each other, so we had a great time catching up and hearing about South American adventures 🇵🇪🇧🇷

It was a celebratory session with Caroline giving her black t-shirt its first outing. To celebrate her amazing 5️⃣0️⃣ good deeds, we took a trip to Jack's for gelato, the only way to mark the occasion 🍦

Having also received our personalised first aid kits, it really was quite the day!

Just as Spring had sprung, five GoodGym movers and shakers sprung into action, uniting to lift and shift tables, chairs and sofas to help with Cambridge Festival's Family Weekend pack-down.

Within 50 minutes we had moved an array of furniture over two floors, clearing three rooms of trestle tables used for activities, and a room full of sofas and coffee tables used for a pop-up cafe. Caroline and Daiana were sofa queens, Andrew and Sadiya put in no-table efforts with the trestles, and I had a very up-lifting time supporting movement between floors.

It turns out many hands really do make light work and once the tables were turned we sat for a moment to admire our work and chairish our time together.

Until next year!