Our first dark task of the season saw 9 hardy goodgymers gather at Oxford Brookes Campus in Headington. Armed with litter pickers and bags we headed down Gipsy Lane - always a bit of a grot spot. At first glance the area didn't seem that bad but we still managed to amass 6 large bags of litter.

After a successful stroll, chat and litterpick we headed to the pub.

The majority of our group today was women. We stayed in groups and didn't experience any abuse. This, sadly, is not always the experience for women exercising after dark, especially once the clock change and the evenings get darker earlier. Lets lift the curfew.

Tonight saw our first monthly visit of the winter to Oxford Mutual Aid, which is now in its seventh year of countering food poverty in Oxford. Over the winter, Goodgym helps by doing the deep cleaning for which the regular volunteers usually don't have enough time.

With the kitchen out of action after a rat infestation (now dealt with!), we concentrated on the main hall. After a quick introduction from OMA volunteer Martin, we got started shifting shelving, moving boxes, cleaning fridges, and sweeping and mopping the floor. We (or rather Fred) even remembered to take the vital "before" photos we need to make sure everything is put back in exactly the right place afterwards!

A sizeable chunk of the hall is now spick and span, and we'll be back in November to tackle the rest.

Boundary Brook Nature Park on a warm and sunny October Saturday. Helen hosted and we were joined by Lucy and Andrew who volunteer at the nature park. Andrew trapezes (is that a verb?) in Flo Park. Always interesting people and high fliers at GG Oxford. Two tasks were on offer. Lucy and Andrew raked and tidied some recently mown meadow while Helen and I dug up overgrown sedge around a pond to let the light back in. We also felled a willow tree. It was one of those really satisfying "before and after" tasks.

This evening we were back at the Meadow Lane playground. It has been so fun and rewarding to be involved in this project! From removing acres of ivy and brambles and unpicking dangerous metal fencing to digging new flower beds and building dens, no task has been left untried by our gaggle of Goodgymers.

Today we made some more progress on the flower bed designs - removing a few pesky roots and then shoveling and spreading loads and LOADS of ballast. A true shoulder and core workout!

We will be back next week for more digging and spreading so that some hardy plants can take root before the winter.