🏀 The residents at Hartrigg Oaks were keen to try out their ball skills this evening. We warmed up with the giant marble run - always a challenge! - then attempted to get a hole in one (or two, or three, or four) on the mini golf. Seated basketball is always a firm favourite and we upped the ante this time with a bit of passing - some of us harking back to our netball days - before finishing off with the giant football! ⚽

For tonight's run we headed out on mass covering an impressive 1km to get to Scarcroft Allotments. The really fit ones then carried on an extra 300 metres to Wild Things Forest School!

At Scarcroft we were given two tasks. Team 1 were asked to move some sleepers (I'm sure we moved these very same sleepers not long ago...). In goodgym style this took about 5 minutes so we were asked to move some brash and woodchip to keep us busy. It wasn't long before team 2 arrived back having been given the job of carrying sheds down the hill. We then moved onto smashing these up (I think Nikki had had a bad day as given the gusto with which she yeilded a hammer!) The last job (which Rob said would be too difficult - has he ever met us?) was to prise apart the ruins of a burnt out shed. No problem for us!

Meanwhile at the forest school...

The group of 9 that headed over to wild things forest school had a range of physical tasks to get stuck in to. The first was to chop up some old Christmas trees to lay a bed for the wood chip that was to be spread on top. Nicola was shown which areas needed doing and everyone else got to work chopping trees or shifting the bark chip around. Meanwhile Ed got to work with some pallet splitting using a fancy pallet splitting tool. Fortunately, despite a few near misses, no nails ended up in anyone's feet even after Rich joined in with the destruction.

It was then time for a creative team photo, seeing how many people we could fit on a giant tree trunk, before heading over to Scarcroft Green for a beasting from Vicky!

After the beasting we jogged or walked back to base then a few stayed on to quench their thirst.

We had a wonderful new member join our team today setting up the Fulford Social Hall Community Café, but we forgot to take the picture until it was too late! Sorry Gill!

With better than expected weather and a change to the planned task, six hardy Goodgymmers enjoyed a morning of barrowing wood chip, digging out saplings and a little bit of heavy lifting and dog petting thrown in for good measure.

Splitting into two groups, Leanne, Jane and Claire took charge of barrowing the wood chip, whilst I joined Jenna and Elle uprooting the unwanted saplings (the type of tree unfortunately forgotten) to be used to bulk out the dead hedges. There was a little bit of heavy lifting as well as we moved some of the large logs into position in the communal areas.

After an hour of hard work and carefully avoiding the dogs who were trying to help, the barrowing team finally cleared the wood chip pile (after two previous tasks) and the dead hedges were looking good by the time we stopped for hot drinks and cakes.

Valentine's Day litter pick was more of a success than expected as future GoodGymer's showed up due to Duke of Edinburgh awards.

Thirteen GoodGymers made it out despite the rain and cold to distribute over 12 boxes of brochures and leaflets for York International Women's Week.