On Wednesday we were asked to help the Oxford Preservation Trust with work at Iffley Glebe.

GLEBE:
noun 1. HISTORICAL a piece of land serving as part of a clergyman's benefice and providing income.

We had a few tasks to take care of:

• Maintaining the ancient wall by weeding all the little plants that start growing in the crevices and end up damaging the wall structure. There were also nettles, sycamore and cottoneaster growing in and beside the wall which needed cutting back or pulling out. This will enable a proper assessment of the wall for repairs to be undertaken.
• A walk around the meadow, moving dead wood on the grass to the edges of the glebe so that as much as possible can be cut.
• Lopping down low hanging branches of trees overhanging the field, so that the tractor can get as close as possible when mowing.

Once suitably covered in bug repellent we set to work, whizzing through the list in record time. The run back to base was a delight, taking in the Thames path, but could have been improved by inhaling slightly fewer midges!

Thanks to Ben for the report title!

Yes I do indeed know a smattering of Shakespeare!

Academic boasts aside, tonight was a lovely task. The chilly wind that had been whipping around Oxford earlier died down just in time for our quintet of Goodgymers to do some gardening.

When we arrived at the Warneford site, Laura the gardener for the area, gave us a couple of options for tasks. We plumped for clearing, pruning and reviving some rose bushes around one of the entrances.

The roses had got rather choked by weeds and brambles and also just needed a good trim and tidy - a springtime haircut if you will! We all set to work and in true Goodgym style managed to blitz a large area and create a large compost pile. What we didn't get to this time hopefully we'll manage to finish off on our next visit in a few weeks.

Post task a few of us headed off for a run, chatting about parkrun tourism, and rewarded ourselves with a go on the zip wire in Southpark for managing to slog up the big hill!

Seven Goodgymers helped with various jobs around Kate's Place in Florence Park. We moved some wood to make a "dead hedge" habitat, lifted some turf to plant some seeds, and weeded around trees. The main task however was transporting many many watering cans (and even a flexi trug bucket) full of water from the tap at Flo's cafe over to the trees and hedges that needed it after the dry spell we have had. Of course, at the end of our session it began to rain!

On Saturday we spruced up the garden at Littlemore Village Hall so that it's ready for them to host outdoor events through the spring and summer months.

We planted trees, pruned hazel, weeded flower beds, watered the plants, and cleaned the outdoor furniture. We were rewarded with sunshine and an abundance of tea and cake. Fun in the sun.