Tuesday 31st March
Written by Meyrick Williams (He/Him)
We love St John's Court, it's always a popular mission for Bath's GoodGymmers. For half the year though, we don't get to visit, other than the two either side of Christmas to put up/take down their decorations.
The reason for this is that our visits are on Weekday evenings so we have to wait until the clocks change before we can reasonably expect enough daylight to see what we are doing. So it is always a wonderful that our return to St John's coincide with the beginning of Spring.
Big crowd for this one as well, Ruth, Kate, Tanya, Emily, Bennath, Nev and Meyrick rocked up on this lovely sunny evening to help this Retirement home look even better for the residents that live in it.
Ann was on hand, herself a resident, and the job was to tidy up the front of the building - trimming the hedges, clearing weeds and brushing the front yard. With the help of a more than decent supply of gardening equipment we set to and made a great job of this. We'll be back in month to help them even more, looking forward to it!!
Saturday 28th March
Written by Ruth
GoodGym was asked to help at an Easter trail organised by one of our favourite charities, the Nest Project, and - with a name like that - you can be sure eggs were involved. I was so keen I even brought my own bunny ears.
The charity provides clothes and equipment for families with young children. On Saturday they invited everyone to take part in an Easter Egg Hunt in a local park in Bath.
It was a privilege - if a chilly one - to stand at the gate welcoming people and it was a joy to see the children spot the letters making up the secret code word. (Clue - it began with e and ended in egg),
Everyone had a great time and, even better, the event raised £200 towards their wonderful work.
Sunday 29th March
Written by Cosmo Born (Man/Male. )
Emily, Meryick and Cosmo, descended upon Alice Park vegetables garden once more. Often structures are maintained or improved upon. Tools were collected and working out the job were decided, amongst the general chit chat. I, needed a caffeine boost to help me on my way. Wood was weaved, tied in and shortened for a good structure feature to compliment the greenery and look/aesthetic of the community plot. I turned compost, for plants to have soil nutrition as they grow towards their best for summer display and autumn harvest. A warming drink, was provided for refreshment and a good morning work was done. It was good to keep the garden looking its best as we go towards mid summer. Well done guys! (old photo provided as haven't uploaded phone photos.
Saturday 21st March
Written by Ruth
It’s probably not what she planned for her first mission but this GoodGymer was very grateful to Gita for picking off the burdock that had got stuck all over her. When you realise that this tricky plant was the inspiration for Velcro you probably get an idea of the state I was left in when clearing a patch of overgrown land at Cleveland Pools.
Yes, we were back at the site keeping it neat and tidy while work goes on in the background to see what’s needed to bring the lido back into use.
We were assigned a triangle of land near the entrance. Amy took it upon herself to tackle a series of docks with roots almost as tall as she was.
Gita and Louise - also on her first task - took to the weeds like professionals, with assistance from me, while Paul worked with other volunteers to clear the rest of the site. All our efforts were overseen by a group of cormorants who were no doubt far more interested in the local fish population.
Our hard work was rewarded with a drink and homemade rhubarb cake. We plan to be back before too long to try organiser Sally’s next recipe - and help out again, of course.
Sunday 22nd March
Written by Meyrick Williams (He/Him)
What an amazing morning, for the first time this year the skies were blue, the sun was out and the temperature was approaching something you might call 'Spring-like'.
Caution as always though, at this time of year, as it can be deceptive and no one want to be caught in the cold thinking it was going to be warmer. So hoodies and leggings were still de riguer, certainly for me as I cycled down the hill (as fellow meteorologists will concur, it's cooler at the top of the hill than at the bottom).
It was lovely though, that feeling of warm air rushing past my face as a sped down Ralph Allen Drive gradually sinking into the warmer valley air in the centre of Bath.
Sydney Gardens is a beautiful place, much nicer as spring takes hold and the weather warms, we've had some dreary winter days here for sure over the last six months. Today, however, everyone had the same bug, Spring might just be here and we were all going to enjoy it! Joining me (Meyrick) were stalwarts Aaron, Cosmo, Bennath and Nev and there might have even been a spring in our steps as we awaited our instructions from Gill, our guide from the Friends of Sydney Gardens.
This week we learned that one of the pedestrian bridges over the railway was in need of repair, and major repair at that. The authorities would be closing the rail line for a few days in order to do this work (heads up this is the main route from Cardiff to London so not an insignificant impact). Turns out the workmen will need the use of the area where all the sand and woodchip is stored, and so have been clearing it out. In fact they had been on site with diggers to move all the sand up to the play area (doing in one day what normally takes GoodGym several months), but there was much woodchip remaining and we were to help fill barrows of the stuff for relocating to nearby flower beds.
We didn't through all of it, but made a great start and thoroughly enjoyed the coming of Spring.
Saturday 14th March
Written by Ruth
I 'potted' up at Bath Organic Garden on our monthly visit to find Aaron and Cosmo already hard at work on one of the beds. Apparently volunteers are welcomed from 10am (if we can get there).
Our job this time was to rake in some green compost (fast growing nitrogen-rich plants) into some of the plots. But first we had to clear them of stones and weeds. We also found a lot of potatoes - which could make a tasty meal for growers if baked in their home-made oven.
It was a beautiful day and we made good progress. Soon it was time for tea. Organiser Dan supplied some extraordinary biscuits from his skiing holiday. Licorice and strawberry jammy dodgers anyone?
Special mention to Cosmo on his 99th mission - I wonder if he'll dye his hair a new colour to celebrate his 100th.
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