Never running out of steam!

A group of GoodGym volunteers ran through Bath to Oldfield Park. We had fun cleaning toys for a Toddler's play group that meet at Oldfield Baptist Church. There was a lot to do but we managed to get it all done! We ran 5km and felt good after getting a good training run done.

Welcome, Will!

We met at the leisure centre and welcomed a new runner to the group, Will. Thanks for coming along and getting stuck in last night, Will. Hopefully we will see you again for another run soon!

After a warm-up we ran through Kingsmeade Square, through Green Park station and through to Oldfield Park. Our host, Paul, welcomed us to the church and explained our task. We were asked to clean all of the toys that are used by the Toddler group that meet there. Every Tuesday morning from 10-12 there are over 100 families that meet at the group. Unsurprisingly, the toys get lots of loving so they need a good clean every so often! Some of us have been along to do this task before, but there are always new additions to their catalogue of toys!

We broke off into teams to get this task completed. Some of the runners busied themselves in the kitchen setting up a chain to put plastic toys in the washing machine, dry them off and re-box them. Lots of the Lego blocks and plastic fruit went through this process (everyone always seems excited by the eggs and, of course, the aubergine...).

Stop playing around!

Another team got down on their knees with rags and disinfectant to give the larger plastic toys a good wipe over. They were all a bit grimy and sticky and the wiping made them look and smell a lot better. My favourite find of the evening was an old-school telephone with eyes and coloured balls in the wheels. What was yours?

Steaming ahead!

The other runners were steaming ahead with the steam cleaner. After setting it up they got to work cleaning the toys that contain fabric and upholstery. It's not often you hear "Just hold the baby up by it's head and look away" anywhere near a toddlers group!

Liftin' lino

At the end of the task, we tidied the 'cleaning arena' and helped Paul roll up the lino mat he had put down for us. We had a brief chance to choose our favourite toy for the photograph and then we were on our way, rolling back to the leisure centre like a steam train!

Thanks!

Thanks a lot to Paul for taking time out of his evening to accommodate us for this task. Thanks to Rachel for backmarking for us and thanks to Emily for the pun this week!

Upcoming

• We are returning to St Phillips and St James' Church to finish painting their advent display.
• We are heading to Widcombe Social Club for a charity pub quiz and raffle. Come and join us!