We were 3 of 743 finishers at University Parks Christmas Day parkrun! A chilly but lovely start to the day ❤

*What do you do when the Met Office suggests a 95% chance of rain and you have a litter pick and outdoor pizza planned? *Answer: a speed litter-sweep, quick dip in the Thames (ok, that was only the spaniel) and head off in search of pizza under a roof.

Port meadow was surprisingly clean given our recent sunny spell (well done, Oxford!) but eagle Goodgym eyes still managed to retrieve a small haul of bottle tops, cigarette butts, miscellaneous pieces of plastic, a dirty sock and what looked like a false finger nail. Every little helps and hopefully a small but worthwhile contribution to keeping Port Meadow a beautiful place to relax on a nice summer's day. And we did get our pizza.

Welcome to Goodgym Alice!!

My goodness that was HOT!!!!

visiting Aston's Eyot is always a joy, mainly because it always involves scything - relaxing but also quite sweaty work.

This evening's task was clearing an amazing amount of nettles and thistles to start creating more welcoming spaces for pollinators.

Nettles were duly scythed and we discovered that uphill scything in a heat-wave is really rather hard work! Our clearing were then covered with big tarpaulins to help suppress regrowth.

With frequent stops for water and bug spray we made a huge difference. Its always mega satisfying to see quick results!

Well done team, ice creams all round I reckon.