It was almost not raining, and then only drizzly mizzly on the 15 GoodGymmers who artived in Queen Square for a lovely Group Run or Walk.

Not only were Gaia and Genevieve back for a second deed, Will and Seb were the first to arrive for their very first visits to GoodGym - we hope to see you both again very soon, in your matching outfits!

The runners outnumbered the walkers this week and 9 GoodGymmers were sandwiched between Run Leaders Vaguely Northern Darren and Richard B as they set off to St Werburgh's Community Centre and the four walkers set about hunting litter on a walk across the city centre.

The runners navigated the flooded subway via the handily-placed Bricks of Dryness (BoDs) and set about tidying the play area in St Werburghs. We definitely didn't touch the plant that had the 'Do not touch' sign on it, but we did clear all of the soil, remove the weeds, and tidy toys up, as requested.

Meanwhile, litter-picking and tidying were happening on the walk up to and around Brunswick Square and, once that was tidier, through parts of the Cemetery where Richard G, Jason and Frances were introduced to the wonders of Renée and Renata by Melanie. The 80s were odd.

Seven runners and four walkers made their way to Riverside Park in the evening sunshine to do what we do best...rid the parks of rubbish with style, panache and a little je ne sais quoi! (one of our new GoodGymers is French and I remembered that I am fluent at French! :-) So bienvenue to Genevieve and benvenuta to Brent GoodGymer Gaia (who's Italian, which is not one of the many languages I speak so had to Google that one.) It felt as if spring had finally arrived this evening and while we worked hard at the task, it was great to hear the chat and laughter while doing good, and seeing passers by smile and acknowledge the work we were doing for our community.

We had rival teams of GoodGymmers in Bristol this evening with the runners heading up to Bramble Farm and the walkers across to Redcliffe. Who would get more soaked was the main question but we didn't care because it was daylight! Jo was taking no chances in her three coats

As the runners, including safari-experienced Freya, helped out around the farm, including very deep mud for the pigs in their pen, the walkers were finding pens of their own on the litter pick by the bus stops - very entertainingly an Avon and Somerset Police pen followed by a Crimestoppers one, and a discarded badge which ironically was for "Be an everyday hero, #choosetoreuse".

Far more excitingly, FOUR discarded penguin wrappers were found, each at a different location and each with a different penguin joke. I say joke, thats quite generous. It did lead to Frances only being able to communicate through penguin "jokes" for a while.

Most unexpected finds included a curtain rail and dumbell, the later proving a very good workout for Arron and his Streetmaster Pro pickers, whilst Caroline's pickers had lost an Important Red Bit that holds the trigger in place and was most impressed that a little bit of stick could substitute. Richard G proved very good at ensuring we still had all seven walkers and herding us all back together - sheepdog-in-training for One Area Activator and Her Dog at the Shindig later this year.

Jason rounded off the task with a pose akin to Roddy the Roadman, which no-one except Melanie had ever heard about.

It was GoodGym Eats at The Stable and top runner (with a new haircut) Richard B was mighty happy when all seven walkers joined him at the big table he'd been occupying all on his own.

See you all again next week?

It was a rainy rainy day but that didn’t stop community groups in Knowle west from coming together to do a massive litter pick. It was great having goodgymers Paul and Mel there. Paul ended up moving a mattress that was fly tipped with parks volunteer of the year Luke. After the park and streets were cleaned we had a fantastic lunch provided for us. Thanks everyone for such a successful event!

We are lucky that we have a lot of opportunities on our doorstep that delightfully include runners having a fun 4.5 km run around the flat and ever-changing harbourside. Especially so when the rain is, again, causing bits of Bristol to disappear under puddles masquerading as lakes.

The walkers made short shrift of the journey to Redcliffe Hill, carrying the lights, litter pickers, bags and hand tools, ready for action and even remembering to take a "before" photo.

Gloves were donned, lights positioned, cameras at the ready and ACTION as the top layer of litter was cleared, the surface dead bindweed attached to live roots was bundled and the revealed second layer of rubbish cleared. And the rain had stopped!

The runners arrived with a sprint finish and squelchy trainers to attack the area from the far side which was less mess so they soon reappeared through the shrubbery.

Big plants hanging over the pavement were cut back and five bags were soon full, just as it started raining and everyone headed back to Workout for the speed dating (unintentionally) and on to the Brewhouse for a nice pot of tea that they may or may not serve after 5.

Comparing injuries seems to have become a thing at GoodGym Bristol, rather than people confidentially letting Melanie know - easy life!

Richard G and Vaguely Northern Darren had pain in opposing hips which caused Frances to burst into song with "Alice the Camel" complete with actions. It’s now our new warm up routine.

The runners set off for a harbour loop, unsure if the wind would be up, down or across the harbour whilst the walkers crossed the bridge to the communal Redcliff Backs flowerbed, recycling station and bin store (or "rubbish not in bin" store as it seemed to have become.

Trowels and forks plus a litterpicker and some loppers were ideal tools along with gloves to get going on the actual litter, leaf litter and weeds. The cunningly sloped flowerbed makes it a great core workout as you try not to slide down!

Arron and Jason invented a new mushroom pose for one of the butterfly lights meaning they had light and no-one was blinded - genius!

Frances was working out what was and what wasn't a weed (hopefully) when the runners arrived, adding and extra 30 metres or so to make Darren's watch record a full 5K.

The extra numbers meant lots more weeders and Chris, Richard B and Ed were soon making - sorry, clearing up - general mess and weeds from around the flower bed.

A quick Athletic Brewing Company alcohol-free beer break followed with the weather having been good at the task - tucked away out of the howling wind with nothing blowing around for us to catch.

Back to Queen Square and Workout with a new game of Top Trumps of Bristol GoodGym cats and kittens. Totally Normal.