It’s not every GoodGym mission that turns into an educational experience but Cleveland Pools is rather special. Opening in 1817 it is the UK’s oldest public open-air swimming pool. I knew this - I even swam there as a teenager with its big pool, children’s pool and fountain.

What I didn’t know until this visit is that there is a third pool tucked behind the crescent-like architecture. A ladies pool cut off from the main pool where, in its early days, men used to swim in the nude, and allowing women to gather and relax. It now serves as a place to display the history of the site but in my head I could hear the gossip and chatter of a bygone age and see the women bathing and showering and giggling about the boys the other side of the wall.

It was a lovely insight into the history of a lido which may be closed at the moment but has a trust that is striving to revive it.

But enough about history and bringing us up to date - GoodGym were called in to help keep the site neat and tidy, ready for the moment it reopens and - more immediately - spick and span for the World Heritage open day in September.

Five of us dug in - mainly weeding the slopes. Paul had already done his bit by mowing the grass during the week but that didn’t stop him wielding the secateurs. Max and Cosmo went the extra mile, helping a neighbour with some rubbish clearance - and, on her first mission, Laetitia showed the weeds she meant business. Hurrah!

Special mention must be given to the fig and banana cake made by trustee Sally Helvey to sustain the volunteers. Yum!

I love marshalling at Junior Parkrun. It’s simple. Don hi viz vest, a whistle in case of emergency and a giant foam finger and I’m on it - ready to cheer the runners on. The hardest thing being to come up with something new to say to the parkrunners as they pass you.

This Sunday was different. I had a new job - barcode scanner. I stayed up late the night before to make sure the technology (Parkrun app) worked. It didn’t but some intense googling fixed the problem.

I turned up at Odd Down cycle circuit with the responsibility of my new job weighing me down. But it was okay - there were two other barcode scanners there to help and we made a formidable team encouraging the children as they ran and then photographing their barcodes and finish tokens and then popping the tokens in the little pot you see in the photo. It was an eye opener to see how the magic worked.

We clocked up 77 finishers and got to see the pride on their faces as they celebrated their achievement - 2km at speed around the track. My achievement - surviving my first barcode scanning task - was small in comparison.

Three GoodGymmers joined Grow for Life to spruce up their tool shed with a lovely lick of black paint. We always enjoy coming to their wonderful walled garden where they provide social and therapeutic gardening sessions for those living with low confidence, anxiety, depression or isolation. With lots of fun chat including the origins of phrases such as 'cutting the mustard' we can confirm that Bennath, Ruth and Tanya definitely cut the mustard today! With the repainted shed looking very smart we were well rewarded by our hosts with cool melon and iced drinks which were so welcome on a hot day. Great job all and looking forward to the next session in August, sign up to really make a difference to this small Bath charity.

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!