Mark led a committed bunch of Oxford GoodGymers down Cowley road early on Christmas morning 2019 to pick up the extra littler left by the jolly folk of Christmas Eve.. great job guys :)

Warneford Health Fest 2019: Living Well through Activity

Wellbeing is about brain as well as body, motion and mind. The Warneford Hospital Health Fest was all about finding out the options in Oxford for workouts, walks and wellness routines to suit everyone.

Goodgym embodies Living Well through Activity, so we hung out in the sunshine at the Health Fest chatting to attendees and making connections with organisations from all around Oxford.

Having spotted a terrible litter problem in Magdalen Wood earlier in the week, at 1:30pm we tooled up with litter-pickers and bin bags and set off at a trot through the Churchill Hospital grounds, Lye Valley and into the cool shade of the woods.

PANTS!!! Why are we always finding pants on litter picks?! Seriously, men of Oxford, please put them back on and take them home with you!

Today's assorted litter also included the ubiquitous Red Bull cans, cider and larger cans, beer bottles, lots of crisp packets, sweet wrappers, and a sock. We litter-picked for half an hour, filling 3 rubbish sacks, and since there's loads more litter which we had to leave behind we will plan to return another day to continue the job.

Most importantly, before setting off back to Warneford Hospital we found the dragon!

We had a lovely meander off-road along the length of Lye Valley and through Warneford Meadow on our return journey. It was hot work today: We definitely earned some post-run icecream!

“You can’t possibly do anything if you think you can’t. But you can do impossible things sometimes, if you think you can.” Enid Blyton

It had been a grey week, and the Tremendous Twelve had been trapped indoors watching the rain trickle down the window panes for days. All the plans for the summer hols were trickling away. And suddenly they remembered all in a rush what day it was! "It's Wednesday - and it's Goodgym night!" they said to themselves, and their legs fizzed with joy.

The Children's Allotment had looked thrilling enough on the night they had seen it before - but now, in the June breeze, it seemed an enchanting place to explore. As they drew near to it, and saw the trees in the orchard heavy with fruit and heard the call of blackbirds, the Tremendous Twelve gazed in delight. Nothing but trees and nettles, birds and woven hazel fencing. Now that it was almost completely bramble free oh, what a lovely allotment, all for their very own! (Or, for 45 minutes of volunteering.)

Donning gardening gloves, and sharing out tools, the gang were soon hard at work. With studious concentration they de-tangled bindweed from hedgerow and hazel, sorted plastic from metal for the skip, and removed plastic cones from edible hedgerow plants. Meanwhile Alya and Sarah were on a treasure hunt, and with great excitement called the others over to help identify their finds. The gang solemnly agreed it was definitely Pirate Gold (Jackie Annual 1982).

"I don’t know why, but getting fit in the outdoors while helping the local community always seems so much nicer than exercising indoors," said Mark.

All of the Tremendous Twelve agreed with Mark, and setting off away from the Children's Allotment they planned to find some more adventures to fill the long summer day. Rounding the corner they discovered some circus folk had taken up residence nearby. "Golly!" exclaimed Alison, "I do wish I could fly through the air like that on the flying trapeze. It looks such tremendous fun!" But lacking training, the appropriate health and safety assessment, and a prior booking, our intrepid adventurers made do with a highly competitive game of frisbee, and acquired a new companion/mascot in the form of a small but determined dog.

As the sun started to dip on a truly satisfying evening, the Tremendous Twelve made their weary way home, delivering a handful of newsletters for Crisis en-route. Home to supper for this Tremendous Twelve.

~With apologies to Enid Blyton for a poor attempt at her style!
~Well done to Alison and Bethan for both completing their 10th Good Deed with Goodgym
~Welcome to Harriet and Katherine, who joined us for the first time.