One of GoodGym Bath’s regular missions is helping a local church support some vulnerable members of its community. It lays on a monthly meal - ‘One-to-One’ - at the church for people who would otherwise be eating on their own and also provides a takeaway version for those who can’t make it. Mary and I put the “do good get fit” mantra into practice by hand-delivering them across Odd Down.

The fact that the lunches were roast turkey (and trifle!) may seem surprising for a hot summer’s day but the guests simply love their roasts. As Mrs C said as I handed her a lunch, “I really look forward to these every month, they are wonderful”. When you’re on your own it’s a lot of effort to cook a full-on roast.

We are not just delivering lunches, we are also possibly the only person these people may see during the day. We provide a friendly face and check up on them too.

Indeed, one householder I visited who was struggling in the heatwave welcomed my advice to keep hydrated.

I hope they enjoyed their trifles too!

Four GoodGymers braved the scorching hot sun for our 6th session of the year at Bath Organic Gardens. It was a gentle one, due to the heat! There were many volunteers too, considering. We were put to work mainly doing watering tasks, though interspersed with this we: pinched the tomatoes (we were gentle), removed the flowers from the potatoes, picked some berries and plums! We were climbing ladders, watering tomatoes (with some foul smelling liquid food), shaking trees and of course a good break with a cuppa and biscuit or two. Good work Bennath, Cosmo, Emily and Kate!

“Do not underestimate the bindweed, its need for wreathe and stifle rooted deep in its name”. Jan Wagner

“ Each morning I evict them. Each night more arrive, their leaves small, green shrouds, reminding me the mother root waits deep underground”. James McKean

“ Bindweed was a bane — hellweed, strangleweed, devil's nightcap”. Caroline Mellor

Poets don’t just confine themselves to waxing lyrical about roses - they’re also inspired by one of the most problematic weeds around. While it is no Japanese knotweed, it chokes the plants it grows around and is notoriously difficult to deal with.

Well there is plenty of it at Cleveland Pools where GoodGym Bath has been helping keep the site under control so it will be ready for action when it is brought back into use.

Bindweed’s white trumpet flowers are deceptively pretty in the bushes but they simply had to go. I spent my time untangling their tendrils and pulling them out as best I could. It was a task made trickier by the sloping ground. Let’s hope they don’t pop back up the moment our backs are turned.

While I was battling the “devil’s nightcap”, Paul was busy doing all sorts of odd jobs. In fact he was busy in the week - taking the mower to the slopes and making them look neater than I’d ever seen them. Today he tidied up bits of rusty fencing and other bits and bobs as well as doing a serious amount of sweeping. There was one area with concrete benches which was tucked away - he imagined swimmers relaxing in the shady spot. Maybe some day soon!

We were so happy to return to the glorious Grow for Life walled garden at Newton St Loe today where we all got stuck in to the task of giving the toilet shed a much needed coat of paint; it was great fun with lots of positive chat in a beautiful place. Join us next time as we've been invited back to paint the tool shed too! Big thanks to Meyrick for fab photos 😊

It’s Loneliness Awareness Week and it’s timely that St Philip’s Church in Bath hosts its monthly One-to-One meal - a way to bring people together over a roast dinner. They would otherwise be eating on their own and this is aimed at combating loneliness along with two courses , a coffee and a quiz.

Sadly some One-to-oners can no longer make it to the church so the team reach out to them and provide them with a takeaway roastie so that they can still feel connected.

That’s where GoodGym comes in - we deliver the food door-to-door. If we’re fast enough it arrives hot - but it can always be heated up and still taste as good. This is where GoodGym’s famous “Do Good Get Fit” motto comes into play. I only had four meals to deliver but I travelled 4.6 miles. Not only were the deliveries spread out across Odd Down, the grateful recipients also gave donations so I had to come back with change.

Still what do a few blisters matter when you’re doing good? We’ll be back next month.

I was in town early for the mission, taking some time out for myself and relaxing in Victoria Park reading my latest book on the origins of life in the Universe. Gradually intruding upon this wonderful calm was the growing rumble of thunder, getting louder by the minute.

Looking up at the sky I could see what this fuss was about, there were a fair number of cumulonimbus clouds bubbling up from the east. As a trained meteorologist, I fired up the lightning checker app on my phone (lightningmaps.org if you are interested) and could clearly see the lightning hitting all around the area between Bristol and Bath, and getting closer.

There is a meaning to this story trust me. I quickly scarpered, and besides it was all but time to head to the mission. Back at St John's Court again, to help make the place a brigther and nicer place to live for the elderly residents, I was met there by Emily, Tanya and James.

Ann, our steadfast coordinator at St John's, led us around the back to a couple of new wooden tables and a planting station that needed painting, this being our job for the evening. However, no sooner had we started than the heavens opened, and one of those cumulonimbus clouds I mentioned earlier was now above is and the downpour was merciless. Seeing as it's been quite warm and muggy it may have been nice to stay outside and get drenched (painting was out of the question though). However, I was a real killjoy and told everyone to go inside in case there was lightning (there was thunder after all), as not only was I concerned for the safety of my fellow GoodGymmers, as mission leader, but I didn't want to do a pile of paperwork.

When the rain ceased we had a half hour left of our mission but what we had been painting was now drenched so Ann had us do some weeding at the front.