A great turn out tonight to litter pick along the river tonight and contribute to Keep Britain Tidy and the Big Spring Clean.

With a hardy crew of six we hit the river litter pickers in hand and were in for a shock ..the well known 'grot spot' near the skate park was what can only be described as clean and tidy! Perhaps word has finally got out that littering is NOT cool or more people have gotten involved with the spring clean .. either way, it's a great outcome!

Not to be deterred, we divided and conquered. Natasha, Leanne and Pippa hit the central reservation (promise no jaywalking and full Highway Code) whilst Paul, Richard and I checked the planters along the river removing all detritus. Mission accomplished!

Good Gym Ipswich got the New Year off to a great start tonight with a Group Run to support the Salvation Army.

And despite cold temperatures and traffic holding people back, we all arrived together to get stuck in Lucy, Imogen, Bruceand Leanne.

Catching up on the run about Christmas, New Year and resolutions, it turns out there are fitness goals and intentions a plenty in the gang - with half marathon plans being ticked off and miles put in the bank for total mileage targets. Impressive stuff!

We quickly got to work tidying the donation room full of clothes that are available for the male residents. No sock was unturned (sorry, feeling the puns tonight) and we quickly established the criteria for keep, clean or rag.

Less said the better about one pair of pants (isnt that right, Lucy) but it took no time at all to get the room near, tidy and ordered. Also revealed tonight was my Marie Kondo tendencies - can I come back and re-order by size and colour...?!

Great to be reunited after the festive break and see everyone rejuvenated and raring to go.

Good Gym Ipswich rounded off 2023 with a task supporting Survivors in Transition painting positive affirmations on pebbles to be gifted to their clients.

Great to see many of the GG gang at this year's final Group Run. The runners tonight were Natasha, Eleanor and Leanne.

A huge thank you to those who have been supportive all year - and to the more recent and equally fabulous additions to the group - who have all helped to reactivate the area, found new task owners, spread the word and offered a helping hand to an array of charities and community groups.

Tonight was a festive affair with Christmas tunes, mince pies and an incredible hat worn by Imogen, creating enough festive cheer to turn any reluctant Christmas participants ... A shout out too to Imogen for the pun and edging towards a tremendous collective 'Race the Distance' milestone.

In addition to pebbles we also wrote affirmations in small gift bags to share with SiT clients. A lot of care and attention was taken both with the writing and the painting as it prompted a contemplative as well as joyful mood.

Looking ahead to 2024, we await the invitation to next year's choir concert Christina and Clara (winky emoji), a row in Felixstowe with Eleanor and catching up speed wise with Natasha and Leanne.

A lovely way to end 2023 so a final Christmas cheer for coming along Eleanor, Natasha, Imogen, Clara, Christina and Leanne

Ten points if you get food related pun...

Smashing turn out tonight as we headed off to clean windows. Warm welcome to Hannah and welcome back to Eleanor! Great to see new and familiar faces. Note: I refrained from referring to "old faces!".

Many hands made light work of the window cleaning and we swished through both floors in no time.

Well done everyone!