Brrr..raking new ground at Full Circle

Bit chilly tonight but with 158 deeds on the board and half way to our January target it was nice to see 32 smiling faces warming up and ready to go, especially since among them were several new ones. Welcome Jes, Tom, Lynsey, Melissa, Chris and Lucas. Special mention to GG Bristol recruiter-in-chief Caroline who was again responsible for some of those new faces!

Xanne had warned me that there would be a bit of outdoor work at Emmaus tonight and that consequently we wouldn't need quite so many as usual. This worked out pretty well as we still had some unfinished business at Full Circle so we split the group with one team heading to Emmaus and the other heading round the corner to meet Ann-Marie.

Emmaus helps previously homeless people get back into work by giving them longer term place to live and helping them develop new skills, including PAT testing for companies, performing house clearances and moving large items for elderly or vulnerable people. A couple of the companions also help to organize the warehouse that stores the goods for the Emmaus shops - including one located on the same site.

Charlie headed up the Emmaus group and very soon people were cutting down bushes, sorting clothes and bagging up thorny branches. There was a bit of sharing around of tools but as the before and after photos demonstrate, a large area got cleared by the time we were finished. Sadly, with all that activity there wasn't enough time for the planned reps and Strava segment attempt up Spring Hill - Matt can beat Gazebo next time!

Meanwhile at Full Circle we had moved a number of the planters to one side so we could try the grass matting out for size. There was a bit of debate about which way round it should go but I think we got it right in the end. It was then a matter of taking all the bags of fine gravelly mud and spreading it all evenly over the ground so the mat could go on top.

Once the mat had been put in position and the bench and planters replaced it seemed almost like Summer out there in the garden so we posed for a summery garden picture and headed back to base. Ann-Marie seemed really pleased with the newly improved courtyard - apparently the mat has been waiting for replacement for quite some time.

Once we had returned there was just enough time to congratulate Ian on his 50 good deeds before heading into Vivo to celebrate them with some Pumpkin Spice wafers (thanks Danica) and Ian's home made flapjack!