After welcoming back Michael (me!) to the Good Gym community, we set off for this week’s destination – the grounds of the Manor Paddock Seniors Housing Scheme. Our run took us up the steep hill of Edward Street and then along Eastern Road, passing Brighton College and the Royal Sussex Hospital on our left and views of the terraces running down to the sea on our right.

When we arrived, Manor Paddock’s resident, Luc, showed us around their beautiful grounds – a green and flower-filled space, with rose bushes, honeysuckle, and unfortunately a whole lot of weeds! Luke explained that, while the council came to mow the grass, everything else that needed caring for was left to the residents.

The headline was: weeds out – mulch in! So we quickly set to, with rakes, forks, trowels and a lovely mixture of compost and earth. Tara and Katharine got their mulch on at the North end of the garden while the rest of us gave the grounds a good old makeover.

Many hands make mulch work so, before the hour was up, we’d cleared and fed all of the beds, even finding time to plant some gooseberry and clementine bushes. Tara then led us through a quick fitness session, where we all surprised ourselves with the number of sit-ups we could do in three minutes, before we headed to the Sidewinder in Kemptown for a well-deserved pint (or two!).