On our many meanders around Oxford we noticed that the area around Florence Park was getting really rather grotty. Lots of litter, fly tipping and general detritus needed clearing up.

Enter stage left, GOODGYM

We divided and conquered the roads and footpaths around the park, finding the usual mix of snack wrappers, takeaway containers, drinks cans, masks and, of course, some pants!

Congratulations and big gold stars to Katie on 100 good deeds!!

Welcome to Zoe! Thank you for joining us and we hope to see you again soon at another session.

A fond farewell and good luck to Holly who is DESERTING us to move to London. Be sure to come back and visit us sooooooon!!

Ark-T's Community Hub Days are where they open their doors for a full day of free, drop-in activities and services for everyone. I was helping out with the under-5's stay and play, where we built towers out of blocks, rolled the connect 4 pieces across the hall and just generally had a lot of fun!

On a surprisingly fresh morning, four Goodgymers put their best foot forward to help out at event number 103 for Florence Park Junior Parkrun.

In order to keep all the volunteers warm, Trev brought along his ukulele and instigated a complete rendition of the Hokey Cokey, complete with actions and lots of curious looks as people arrived in time for the start. Fashioning a vegetative hat, Trev also led the 1st timer's welcome for those coming along for their 1st parkrun or 1st parkun in Florence Park, of which there were several. Both Julia and Kieran clapped and cheered on super runners around the 2-lap course. Ben aided in the set up and led the event as the Run Director, armed with a whistle and first aid kit in case of any mishaps (thankfully, neither were required!).

70 youngsters completed the run and more wristbands handed out for those completing their half-marathon (11 junior parkruns) or marathon (21 junior parkruns). It was a super event and thankful for the efficient token sorting and clear up at the end to earn a warm cup of coffee.

Thanks to all those that helped out!!

Did the shopping for an elderly lady.

Our litter pick around Gipsy Lane/Cheney Lane area was just the 1st of February pick-me-up we all needed. Armed with gloves, bags and litter pickers we were on a mission to clean up the mean streets of Headington.

We divided into 2 groups to clean up both sides of Gipsy Lane and then parted ways as one group went down Cheney Lane and the other swung around through some of the residential streets. With both Oxford Brookes University Campus and Cheney School nearby this is a high footfall area, and sadly attracts large amounts of litter.

This week's magical mystery litter pick turned up car parts, food containers, crisp packets, sweetie wrappers, bottles galore, many coffee cups, a teddy bear, items of clothing, a set of keys, a condom wrapper, and a stash of out of date food cans.

GoodGym: Always bring the Can-Do attitude.

Congratulations on your 10th Good Deed Ellie!

I am now back to delivering books for Mrs H :) It was lovely to see her again, and she was excited to hear all about baby Penny. I was sorry to hear that Mrs H hadn’t been well in December, but glad that she’s feeling back to her usual self now.