Staff Room With a View (…of Fresh Paint!) 🎨

It was back to our regular haunt at English Martyrs School this evening as we continued the painting mission around the building – and tonight’s VIP location was the all-important staffroom. With a task this crucial, it was only right that The A Team were deployed on rollers. Huge props to Roxy, Gill and Mel, who powered through the walls at impressive speed, turning the room around in no time at all.

Check out the photo of Gill and Richard the Premises Manager doing painting acrobatics!

Meanwhile, Paul took on the glamour job, carefully glossing the skirting boards and door frame like a true professional.

Barbara and I were on cutting-in duty, edging neatly around the tricky bits and keeping an eagle eye out for any rogue paint splodges that needed cleaning up. John, sensibly positioning himself out of splash range, was in charge of moving notice boards and photos – a vital role that definitely reduced the risk of accidental abstract art

The whole evening had a real party atmosphere – lots of laughs, great teamwork, and that satisfying feeling of making a visible difference together. Another fun, productive task ticked off, and one very refreshed staffroom well on its way to completion. Can’t wait to be back for the next splash of GoodGym magic! 🖌️✨

A Milestone Morning at the Goring Gap 🧤🎉

On a crisp January Sunday morning, our Walk & Talk took us to the beautiful Goring Gap – though sadly, beauty wasn’t the first thing to catch our eye. Today’s session doubled as a very special celebration, marking GillGillybean incredible 300th Good Deed with GoodGym**! 🎉

Turning out to celebrate (and get stuck in) were Belinda, John, Mel, Paul M, Paul W and Pepper the dog , Barbara, Ricky and myself , making it a proper community affair.

As we strolled and chatted, we quickly realised there was plenty of work to do. Rubbish was everywhere – strewn along the grass verges and scattered across the roads at this much-loved local spot. Gloves on and bags at the ready, we got to work, filling our bags to the brim and giving the Goring Gap the care it deserves. It was one of those satisfying clean-ups where teamwork really shines, even if the amount of litter was a bit disheartening.

With the last bag tied and we headed back to my housd for a well-earned warm-up. Hot drinks and sweet treats awaited us, with Nick expertly in charge of the coffee ☕🍰 – the perfect way to round off a cold but cheerful morning. Whilst drinking coffee we presented Gill with an engraved glass to mark her milestone achievement. Cheers to all the good times and Congratulations!

Thanks to everyone for making this a meaningful, muddy-booted, heart-warming GoodGym Sunday. 💛💪

Tonight’s task took us to English Martyrs First School as part of our supporting the school with general maintenance – with a particular focus on painting.

Our main jobs for the evening were refreshing Head Teacher Helen’s office and making a start on the staff room

The team split efficiently:

Paul, Belinda and Roxytook charge of painting the Head Teacher’s office, getting great coverage and making excellent progress. Mel, Paul, El, Barbara and myself rolled up our sleeves in the staff room, where we prepped the space and applied the first coat, setting things up nicely for completion. Johnwas on hand throughout, capturing photographs of the task and the team in action 📸 😇

There was a fantastic team spirit all evening, and it was great to see two important school spaces already looking brighter and fresher.

We’ll be in 2 weeks to apply another coat of paint and, fingers crossed, finish both rooms. A brilliant effort from everyone involved and a lovely way to support the school community during the winter months 💪🎨