The roads were glistening white, our fingers were growing blue but our tshirts were red and that means one thing - it's GoodGym Hounslow night!

There was no doubt that the temperature has plummeted which made the prospect of an outside task not particularly inviting. But we had a job to do, and nothing was going to stop us!

We ran down to Strand on the Green school to finish off a job that we have been working on for several sessions. After sanding down the benches in the middle of the school field it was now time to stain them with wood protector.

We located the tins of preserver, grabbed our brushes and got to work.

Gus showcased his speed staining moves, Emily was flipping benches like a pro, Chris was popping the tops of the tins and the whole scene was a blur of activity. After 40 minutes of hard work, the complete set of seven benches was done and ready for winter. It just goes to show that with the right motivation we are highly efficient!

Sub zero temperatures meant that, for once, fitness was not on the cards. Plus we had already had a good workout with all that quick painting and trying to keep warm! So we raced back to base, did some stretches (important when it's cold to prevent injuries) and headed to the toasty pub.

Net week we're back at Chiswick House and there is also a great upcoming mission to rewild the river] (https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/rewild-the-river). Happy GoodGyming everyone!

While several Brighton Goodgymers headed to Lewes via bike train, those of us who prefer to avoid the sensory overload of Bonfire Night came to Lavender House, armed with head torches for some intensive weeding!

With the night punctuated by the frequent bang and sparkle of fireworks, we ran up our favourite hill and were greeted by the task owner, who provided an array of garden tools for us to get to work with.

Sherman was an unstoppable force against the weeds, and several of the team even cleared the weeds outside the fence too. Meanwhile, Frances and Michael got to reprise their favourite pastime of pulling the ivy off the wall (so satisfying).

We soon turned the urban jungle into a clear area, into which residents will be installing raised beds to grow vegetables 🥕🥬🍅

Thanks everyone for a great effort tonight! 🙌

What is B.fest I hear you ask? Is it what a time-starved cityboy calls the first meal of the day? A tonic wine made by Scottish monks? No! It is, of course, Brighton Youth Festival, an annual youth arts festival with the aim of making arts and culture more accessible to young people.

B.fest 2024 runs from Saturday 26th October to 2nd November in their temporary Gloucester Road site. They are currently in the process of renovating their home on Edward Street and hope to be back there permanently for next year’s festival.

A big group of us made the short jog over to Gloucester Road (plus Ben who decided to make a tour of it and first jog to the old B.fest site!) to help with putting the finishing touches to the venue ahead of the festival. Upon arrival we were directed to the top floor into a big space that is going to be used as a gallery to display all the art on show. The space had already been prepped with wooden ledges all the way around to put the pictures on. Our task was to paint the walls and ledges brilliant white.

In order to preserve our spotless running gear (only the finest for Goodgymmers) we were provided with overalls, shoe covers and gloves. After laying dust sheets and strategically placing masking tape, Sarah expertly removed some pesky screws and then half of the team took paint brushes to paint the wooden ledges while the other half big rollers to do the 2 walls. While that was happening Stefania and Liam went downstairs to help Darryl dismantle a scaffold tower he had used to create a spray-paint mural on one of the outside walls.

We made short work of the walls along with a few extra boards that needed painting for the display and were soon able to pose for an ambitious photoshoot upon completion. The (now) sparkling white gallery has had the Goodgym touch and is ready for the weekends festivities!

Fancy getting more involved with B'Fest? You can, volunteers are always welcome!

Follow us to see what’s on next on our area's calendar.

13 GoodGym-ers braved the incoming dark night to run along the Lewes Road at rush hour to Stanley Court, which is a YMCA supported accommodation.

We were last there in spring to help clear the small back yard area and to create a useful open-air space for gardening and other recreational activities for the residents. Over the summer the dreaded bind weed has made its presence known again so we were clearing the back yard, cutting back, pulling weeds and getting rid of the bind weed.

We also did some litter picking in an alley way next to the court, where lots has been abandoned in years. It was a real adventure to navigate in the poor light, but we managed to do the job.

A familiar face joined the team for the first time in Brighton - Welcome Jo!

We all made a big difference in a small area, and this is very satisfying!

Hoping that the little garden thrives over the winter.

Afterwards we jogged along to the Level Park to do some speed training, watched on by the ever-present skateboarders.

Follow us to see what’s on next

Despite the weather was not on our side, Brighton GoodGym-ers were fully lined up to run and happily gather at the Waterloo Street Garden for restoring the original charm of this cute street garden, between Old Market Theatre and Waterloo Street.

A few weeks ago, the Friends of Waterloo Street Garden called for Brighton GoodGym ’s help! The recent garden dis-adventure, due to an act of bad-behaviour, had deeply upset the regular users of the garden, when they found several big plants ripped in half, terracotta pots smashed, and benches turned over. Any little helped to tidy this all up! Including the arrival of enthusiastic Brighton GoodGym-ers ready to help out on a wet day – to their surprise (or not) 😊!

Yesterday turned to be a ‘fast and furious’ group session grabbing a window of less rain and limited daylight to plant bulbs in the pots to flower joy back into the garden next spring. Friendly chit chatting among GoodGym-ers and Friends of Waterloo Street Garden seemed to have already resumed the unique magic of this lovely open air street ‘salotto’. We might wish to pop in again this coming Saturday for their workshop of watercolour painting – weather dependent of course 😊