Bramble in the wind

What was that wet stuff falling from the sky? Rain? Surely not - it's GoodGym time! Oh mighty weather gods, surely you've not forsaken us?

A brave crew gathered inside the Folk House to prepare for our run to Bramble Hill Farm. We were a little depleted - had some chosen not to endure the elements?

Yes! The weather gods are still on our side! Almost to the second we set off, the rain abated and we had a dry(ish) but windy run to Bramble Hill.Note the word hill. Bristol is good at hills, and we ran up one of the meanest - Redcatch Road. Then got lost and ran up it a bit more. After crossing Victoria Park via a hill! We were certainly warm and toasty by the time we got to the community farm, where we had a quick look around (lots of turkeys and chickens, but the pigs and sheep have gone to the big farmyard in the sky) before getting on with digging over beds, preparing a strip of land for raspberries to be planted, and also piling wood on to what will be a bonfire.

But wait! What's that? More GoodGym people arriving? Due to a mix up in start location, 4 plucky people made their own way up to the farm to join in the fun. It was great to have the extra pairs of hands, and we were glad that GoodGym Bristol is showing itself to be the hardy, all weather force for Good that we all know and love. 12 people in all made it up the hill, and 12 made it back down again too!

Ironically, our run back was a mini tour of some of the good that we've done recently - we ran past some Scrapstore Playpods in a local school (that was last Tuesday's run) and also past Windmill Hill City Farm, where we've visited a few times and enjoyed tugging up weeds! We had a good stretch at the end, but didn't have time for much else as we'd spent a lot of time at the farm.

In other news - Chris, our glorious co-cordinator, is up for an award, as is GoodGym Bristol as a whole, in the Nature and Biodiversity category at the Green Volunteer awards. The ceremony is on Wednesday. EEK!

Also back in the summer (ah, the summer!) we were filmed for 'The Source' - a TV show on the new Made In Bristol channel. If you were like me and missed it 4 separate times, here's the You Tube link: http://youtu.be/ipHY6t2tHsA

Lastly, stay warm, stay well, and stay fit!