Solid workout and well done for persevering to remove as much of the wall frames as possible! 💪

The Plastic Shed refurb of 2026 has kicked off this week, with the previous shelving space used by Shuropody needing to be dismantled and removed to install murals, actual shelving, and other arty paraphernalia.

With a wide array of screwdrivers 🪛 drills, GoodGym elbow grease, and a handy crowbar, we managed to remove as much as possible, with some clinging on as a future problem. At times it felt like a rage room, with banging and drilling filling the air along with the resulting dust.

With the health and safety book firmly out of reach, the Treatment Room 2 upstairs is now filled with wall panels, wood planks (some with screws still attached...), and after some scraping and sanding from Sophie, Caitlin seemed happy with the progress made.

Top effort and teamwork from Hazel, Mandy, Fanette, Tanoshi, Sophie, and Ben!

Tanoshi and Ben joined in with the Great British Spring Clean with a few groups in Ardwick. Co-organised by Ardwick Climate Action, Brunswick Parish Church, M13 Youth group, and the local Scouts, around 30 people took part to help clear up in the local area.

We were split up into groups, with some tackling a green space closer to Plymouth Grove, while we joined a group to tackle a spot beyond Ardwick Green. We were provided with gloves, litter pickers of different sizes, and plenty of bags.

In our group, we managed to collect ~26 bags in total, including a couple that were combined, plus a toilet seat (of course) and a few laughing gas cannisters. In total, we collected 65 bags of litter, tidying up the local area and all reported to Keep Manchester Tidy for collection.

Afterwards, we were treated to a warm soup lunch and plenty of sweet treats and cake, a just reward for a couple of hours of hard work.

Super effort today from Tanoshi, Hazel, Fanette, and Ben helping out the allotment group at Albermarle allotments in Withington 🌱

There was a slight change of plan with us now helping clear rubble and rubbish from a plot. There was lots of metal, rotting wood, tyres, and a sofa 🛋 (of course). With wheelbarrows, flat trolleys, and a balancing act along the way, we managed to transport the items from the plot to start filling up the skips.

Using a novel jumping technique, we split up pallets and larger pieces. Bit by bit, the skips filled up and in about 80 minutes, the group along with other plot holders managed to clear the site.

Thankfully, there was a brief respite of tea and cake with the community allotment group, before Tanoshi and Ben cleared some rubbish from the community plot, including a lot of glass, carpet, and broken bricks.

Good workout today 💪

Welcome to Robert for your first GoodGym Manchester session 👏 Great to meet you.

This evening was a bit different. After being approached by Natalie Kate Moss Trust, a charity raising funds and awareness for the treatment and prevention of brain haemorrhages, we combined GoodGym with their Brain Gym resources to get us thinking about our brain health and lifestyle. As part of that, we covered ~4.5 km from St Peter's Square around via Hulme, University of Manchester, Ardwick, and circling back to Sandbar. The combination of a brisk jog and social interaction both forming a significant aspect of the Brain Gym suggestions 🧠

We had bumper numbers this evening, with Scott fresh from a speedy Media City Half Marathon, Hazel joining from Stockport, Peter back from Sri Lanka, Tanoshi and Fanette joining for their 1st Monday night group run, Robert, a journeyman of Bath and Merton GoodGym groups, and regulars Sam and Ben.

We self-quizzed ourselves on the Brain Gym recommendations, including taking small steps, keeping a record or journal, having a support network, "colouring our plate" for food, and keeping a good sleeping routine. All this while enjoying refreshments and tasty pizza at Sandbar (some were more colourful than others) and discussing a potential Mam Tor litter pick in the spring... watch this space 💪

Welcome to Ashik for your first GoodGym outing! Great to meet you and look forward to seeing you again.

The last Saturday of the month is a regular slot for Ardwick Climate Action, so we joined Gordon, Dan, Zoe, and others for today's activities.

Today, our main task was to continue construction of a dead hedge at one of the green spaces maintained by Ardwick Climate Action. After a 10 minute stroll to the site near Mancunian Way, we split off with Tanoshi and Fanette clearing any litter, with 4 bags collected including some clothing and laughing gas canisters 🚮

Ashik and Ben went wood collecting, with lots of longer tree branches and chopped wood 🪵 As the wood piled high, others were using the stake basher to put long wooden stakes in the ground to help hold the dead hedge in place.

Bit by bit, we began filling in the wall of wood and sticks, with a nearby big broken branch providing lots of strong pieces to go into the hedge. Fanette took a battery chainsaw to some blackthorn (or hawthorn) to provide some extra filler too.

By midday, we'd reached as far as we could, and Ardwick Climate Action seemed very happy with the progress and quality of the build. After clearing up, we parted ways and look forward to returning for another task in future.