Get your (tonne) bag, you've pulled!

Even though it is now February and the January Challenge is over, a massive crew of GG Yorkies came to run and walk and do some good!

Oh yes, we finished the January Challenge on an absolutely amazing 704 good deeds - outstanding. The Golden Trowel will be making it's way up from Bristol so we can wave it around victoriously. We could have done with it tonight but I'll get to that shortly.

First of all we need to give a big warm welcome to our new runners, Charlotte and Patrick. Go and give them both a cheer!

Nick led a sub-team off for a quick 500 leaflet drop whilst the rest of us - led by Tim - made our way to Clarence Gardens. We arrived to a dreamy nine tonnes of soil and van load of tools. Some of the team cracked on with moving the soil to top up five flowerbeds full of roses, whilst the rest headed over to The Hut to lop up piles of branches into smaller pieces for bagging, and to finish digging the trench to aid with drainage around the building.

Team trench were uncovering all sorts of good stuff, including something they thought might be a pipe. Max said, "further (careful) excavation revealed it to be an empty tube labelled 'Scientific Grease'. I struggle to think that Max really did do careful excavation but the real question is: what is scientific grease?

It's just like normal grease, but.. for science

The soil team were on fire, it was a digging frenzy and bags were dragged away by pulling teams as soon as they'd been emptied by about two thirds.

Is anyone good at pulling?!

Just on time, Nick's leafleting team turned up to add some people power. There were plenty of tools for everyone but I still found Katie Kelly raking a flowerbed solo using a spade, she was happy so I left her to it.

We took some advice from Tom that roses don't really like being completely covered in soil so as more bags got emptied, any free hands were used to clear the soil around the base of the roses... and there were no trowels. So spades or hands it was.

Nikki didn't need a trowel. She was picking up soil with her bare hands and just throwing it at the flowerbeds, "quicker and more fun", apparently.

With all the soil moved, a trench dug, and all the brush cut into tiny pieces and bagged up, it was fitness time! We completed a short around the square of grass workout which involved:

• bench presses
• tricep dips
• sit squats
• bench burpees
• split squats
• sprint/jog/walk
• optional walking lunges

Then we squished in for a very well lit group photo before running or walking back to base.

GG Yorkie of the Month

After a stretch out we finally revealed the winner of our GG Yorkie of the Month for January.... it's the EXTRAORDINARILY good Ed Woollard!!

Ed did an enormous 30 good deeds in January, as well taking his taskforce responsibilities seriously and leading several community missions - massive well done Ed (give that man a cheer!)