Melanie Young

Just one task on a Tuesday night made for a much simpler intro and plan, though the counting thing was still a struggle! Cycling and running groups set off after celebrating various event successes and supporting including Maria's VI guiding for the Bristol 10K. We're hoping to further increase GG Bristol's involvement with the Bristol VI Runners - watch this space! Maria then led the whole group to the lovely Berry Maze.

Jackie was so impressed with the turnout that the first action was to get more tools out!

GoodGymmers were soon recreating sharp edges on the maze beds, giving the lavender plants space to breath, unwinding bindweed, clearing prickly weeds and eating lovely red and golden raspberries and a few blackberries.

Maybe the most fun was the resultant "Weed Toss" - all the weeds get chucked into the wilderness zone, initially over Very Tall Phill's head.

It was great being back amongst so many GoodGymmers helping our community. We were rewarded with a gorgeous sunset, a realisation that headtorches (or Vaguely Northern Darren's glove lights) are a good idea already!

Congratulations to Clo for her 300th good deed and accompanying cake :-)

After a good old GoodGym powwow in Queen Square, including celebrating Maria and Richard's Green Man Ultra achievements (30 and 45 miles self navigated!), Alice W set off for Brunswick Cemetery, Alice D set off on the longer route yo the SouthVILLE Centre and Maria headed straight to the Centre. Like Pied Pipers, they were followed by red-shirted runners and much chat was had.

Everyone was very impressed by the Sea Shanty Choir Melanie had laid on in the Cemetery* where we met up with the Council volunteers Jo and Di who had dumpy bags and some tools for our bindweed blitz.

We set to in three areas, determined to unearth the (probably dead) tree that was a cascade if bramble and bindweed, make further progress into the triangle bed (halted by the wasps who seemingly quite like bindweed) and a new section of wall of bindweed that stood no chance in the face of Caroline and Richard G who then invented the game of Bindweed Ball - hours of fun.

Vaguely Northern Darren proved that if you grab the same bundle of bramble theee times it hurts you three times, we discovered the the Polish and Czech for "ow" are the same, that sea shanties are a great accompaniment to bindweed bashing but the singers didn't want to come and get the satisfaction of bindweed pulling this evening - adding "I cant get no satisfaction" to their repertoire.

If Alice asks, of course the tree is still alive and will now grow back.

Back at workout, we celebrated Melanie's 800 good deeds and new 500 t-shirt - who will be next?!

*may have been total coincidence

…in the best possible way! Six intrepid Good Gymmers headed out to new terrain (St George’s Park) for a spot of litter picking. The sun came out for a glorious hour of idyllic rubbish removal around the park. Then we gathered by the tennis courts to celebrate six bags less trash out in the greenery. Keep your eyes peeled for what will hopefully become a more regular Good Gym task.

An elite group of very select Good Gymmers (3 of us) were the only ones to sign up to this task so we had a change of plan and didn’t go down to the lake. Instead we dealt with biblical scenes, as over the weekend someone decided to burn a bush. We trimmed it back so it wasn’t so messy and sticking out sharply into the path then relaxed with some elderflower cordial on the bowling green.