Another beautiful evening for the DEMOCRACY that is Bristol GoodGym to get together and inflict some good somewhere in the city. With the fabulous progress in de-sycamoring Brunswick cemetery last week, there was a golden (sunlight) opportunity to get a lot more of this time-sensitive task completed. Although every time you turn around another sapling-to-be has emerged from it's underground seed. Much chatter ensued, etymology of words and comparisons with other languages was a hot topic, inspired by the unexpected finding of a really-quite-posh baguette amongst the undergrowth. We left it, in case it was useful, and all headed off to Ciao Amici for GoodGym Eats, it being the first Tuesday of the month - great food with quick service - just what we needed!

A cold start to a beautifully sunny and soon warm Bank Holiday - who’s’ve thought?

A small but select team of GoodGymmers helped local Jo to de-bramble more patches of the cemetery, leaving the plants we want and pulling out the bramble, buttercup and bindweed that has no place here, thank you very much!

Daylight! Sunshine! Smiles all round for our first light evening Group Run/Walk of 2026 after what’s felt like the longest, darkest, wettest winter ever.

Happy GoodGymmers set off to Brunswick Cemetery for Operation Sycamore No More to collect as many sycamore seedings as possible from the thousands that are sprouting. One sycamore tree is enough, thank you!

Left, right and centre, GoodGymmers were crouching, squatting, kneeling and, in Richard B's case, elegantly lounging to gather their bouquets of sycamores with a bit of stickybud to surreptitiously attach to a fellow GGer. Ieva, returning for her second good deed, was definitely the sinner of the biggest bouquet, mainly because the more experienced GGers wither made a pile or speedily bagged their offerings. There may be a prize giving ceremony next week.

Phill and Emma gave some of the tomb-covering ivy a trim whilst Vaguely Northern Darren ferried the trimmings yo the assigned green waste collection point.

The sign that everyone needed a good stretch was a group of GGers standing tall and happening to be chatting, naming no names Caroline, Richard G, Jason, Ed, and Dushyant!

A lovely stroll/run back as the sun set was followed by more chat at Workout whilst the football was on with a few if us continuing to practise our Japanese. More again next week?

We hadn't expected to have to run the gauntlet to get to the city centre but a HUGE St Patrick's Day crowd had decided to party on King Street and Welsh Back (re-named Irish Back for the evening?) - who could blame them at the end of a rare blue sky and sun-filled day?

We fared (see what I did there?) better than the taxis trying to drive the roads and muscled our way through to cross the city centre to Brunswick Cemetery where more golden gravel was waiting to be exposed to the moon/sunlight once again.

Armed with forks and rubble bags, we were soon working on one of the normal paths before diverting onto the thick moss carpet in front of the old mortuary building - rich pickings for the supple of rubble bags and soon green carpet was becoming green waste ready for the Council to pick up.

It was great having Jo along for her second Tuesday but already third good deed as she joined the Northern Slopes task at the weekend.

The runners (Richard B, Richard G and Caroline were outnumbered by the walkers this week. Jason recovering from his first half-marathon at the weekend, Helen back from her travels , Ed showing off yet another volunteer kit top, Melanie pretending once again she knew what was going on and Jo - its lovely to have a balance of walker and runners, even better when the walkers just tip the balance!

After filling all the available bags, it was back to the mayhem of the St Patrick's Day crowds and on to Workout for pots of tea and a pint of Guinness, which is apparently the perfect pairing for chocolate cake.

We're heading the other way next week but hopefully the crowds will be long gone by then!

P.S. Ive written this report without reading glasses so please make corrections if you have edit access!

Another Monday meant another chance to make progress at Brunswick Cemetery - appreciating last Tuesday’s efforts whilst adding more.

We trusted the weather forecast to be wrong and wrong it was - a break in the light rain made for optimum weather to clear moss from the paths though not the grass from the beds.

it was lovely to be joined by Joannafor her first GoodGym task - lovely to meet you and have your help and company.

Joanna joined the walkers whilst the runners disappeared out of sight, skilfully led by Richard Band back marked by Caroline whilst Vaguely Northern Darren did a bit of walk leading but started to deviate into the longer running route instead of the direct walking route so back-marked instead. Jason was resting his legs before his first half-marathon event on Sunday - good luck with the Bath Half, locally known as Running the Bath. And Edhas a volunteering place at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow so we're already speculating in the kit hell be getting - presumably waterproof as its a UK games...

The runners were already deep into the flower bed when the walkers arrived, grateful that David had volunteered to carry a couple of our work lights on his last GoodGym session before travelling on a yoga skills exchange for a fee months - what an adventure!

After a hit of grass re-laying on the tracks left by a vehicle, we moved to the far path for some very satisfying mass-moss clearance with Richard G, Roddy and Caroline filling each others' blue rubble bags at speed with Becky making everything look super tidy before we headed back to Workout for tea and cake. And then it started raining [insert smug face here]