On this visit Mrs S wanted me to cut back a rose bush which had been growing up her fence but had fallen down after the ties broke. I cut back the fallen part of the bush and reduced the size of the remaining bush to make it tidy. She needs to get some garden twine or wire to secure the bush back against the fence. The referrer may need to support her to do this or help her to access someone who can support her to buy garden supplies. She then asked me to take rose cuttings from the parts of the rose bush we had cut down. We took around 30 cuttings which are now in water and will hopefully root in a few weeks time ready to be planted out.
We then had a nice cold drink and a chat. It's always a pleasure visiting Mrs S.

This evening, 11 GoodGymers returned to a task favourite: Marston Forest Garden. Fred, Muireann, and Ellie went running in the sun through Marston, briefly passing Wasabi (Ellie’s cat!) before joining the rest of the group.

We had a real assortment of tasks to take on. There was clearing with sickles and scythes, transporting compost, weeding (including clearing common hogweed and valerian), and topping up the pond with water as it had become dry. The group divided up and got to work, attempting to dodge the large amounts of bugs and ants that were enjoying the compost. Fortunately we got a briefing to help us identify the various weeds we were tackling.

A big congratulations to Mae who celebrated 10 good deeds this evening! As with all milestones, the garland of joy was worn to mark the occasion.

This evening we were officially paired with the garden at Meadow Ward on the Warneford Hospital site.

This garden offers a therapeutic and peaceful space for patients to enjoy and it needed a bit of TLC.

Armed with a variety of tools and some good old fashioned determination we set to work tackling weeds and invasive plants that had got all too comfortable within the flower beds. Comments of "is this intentional grass or weedy grass??" and "is this a pretty thistle or a pesky one?" could be heard and apps were consulted so we didn't uproot precious plants.

After an hour of focused activity we had filled 2 tonne bags, put the world to rights and somehow managed to dodge the rain!

Good work team! And welcome along Jenny, thank you so much for joining us!

I have been helping Mrs S with weeding and digging out the long border next to her lawn. It is mostly done now but on this occasion rather than finishing it, she wanted me to trim back a large shrub which had become very high and had grown over the pathway. The shrub has been reduced by about half and is now nice and tidy. We had a cup of tea and a chat afterwards and Mrs S is always very kind and welcoming.

The Town & Gown 10k is a very popular race in the Oxford calendar. It usually seems to herald a hot and sunny sunday, but today we had grey skys and quite a chilly wind.

A quartet of Goodgymers were part of the team looking after the bag drop tent. With a record 7,000 runners at the event it was quite the undertaking.

We managed to keep things in order, not break our ankles hopping between the rows of bags, AND reunited all bags to their rightful owners at the end of the race. We were awarded with cups of tea and a very cute certificate.

Well done to Fred for his 10k PB. Lovely to see Muireann too!!

Today Goodgym was at Cutteslowe Greenhouse to join a group of 15 other volunteers and get the long-closed Cutteslowe Greenhouse ready to open.

Our task was to move compost in wheelbarrows, and fill up the raised beds inside the greenhouse! This meant shoveling the pile of old green waste compost into barrows to cart into the greenhouse and pour into the beds, and then pouring on bags of fresh compost to make a top layer. We also needed to transfer dry soil from one bed to another to suit the different plants the team was planning to grow.

The old compost was full of roots and tough to dig. The bags were heavy (and covered in weird green slime). It got so hot in the greenhouse we had to take frequent breaks for water, and some of the old soil was so dry it filled the greenhouse with dust and we had to abandon it until the dust settled.

But all of this is nothing to the unstoppable Goodgym. The Greenhouse project are eager for us to come back, and were so pleased with our work today they let us plant some inaugural lettuce! We are looking forward to visiting again and seeing how big they've grown.