After meeting new member Nicola and a mini litter pick around Marston we descended upon the Up in Arms to say farewell and bon voyage to Anwen.

This is the speech that I MEANT to give before I became a blubbering mess......

After 7 years and an amazing 665 good deeds the Queen of Goodgym Oxford is departing for a new European adventure.

The impact that Anwen has had on Oxford cannot be underestimated. She has gathered us to clean food banks, create green spaces, look after community gardens, remove brambles, weed walls, clear litter and even move an organ over a railway bridge.

As I was making my way to the task this evening I passed all the beautiful daffodils that we've planted - a cheerful reminder that Goodgym was here!

We have had many running adventures too - parkruns, races, our View Cones run in memory of our lovely Tim, and marathons in fun places. If Anwen sends you a link to a races and says "fancy it?" you should ALWAYS say yes!!

Anwen you kept us going through Covid (with Trev's help) providing essential food packages and prescriptions for the community and much needed social contact for us too. You have literally supported us through births, deaths and marriages and everything in between.

A thank you should also be said on behalf of the stray and feral cats of Oxfordshire - another example of your capacity to nurture and care.

Oxford's loss is very definitely France's gain and we will miss you. Please raise your glasses to Anwen!!

GoodGym made a return to Meadow Lane this week, supporting a brilliant volunteer‑run project that’s transforming a local playground into a nature‑inspired space for children and the wider community. The aim is to encourage active outdoor play, whilst protecting the local wildlife and promoting biodiversity. We split into two teams to help move the project forward. One group got stuck into cutting back ivy and removing old wire fencing, using hammers to flatten any sharp ends. Clearing this area will open up a new area for children to explore safely. The second team focused on moving logs & branches to build an exciting new den and hideout space for children. We also had a very special guest GoodGymer - Isabella the dog. Isabella took on branch-moving responsibilities and kept morale high!
We’re looking forward to returning next month to continue the transformation, and build more dens!

What's your favorite dinosaur?? This is surely how all Goodgym tasks should start!

This evening we shouldered our litter pickers and bags and headed to one of our most notorious grot spots to give it a flash-mob tidy.

Notable finds this week include a mini neon coloured litter picker, garden rubble (reported to the council), a teeny tiny toothbrush and a pair of insoles. Chat ranged from favorite old school snacks (Sunmaid raisins and club chocolate bars) and what classic novels/plays should be adapted for TV/film next.

It was a hard task to leave litter which we could see through the Nature Reserve fence but we'll be back there in about 10 days time to help tidy up the other side of the fence!

Good work team!

Last night we did another of our monthly spring cleans at OMA. Because we have been CLEANING DEMONS the last couple of months this was actually a relatively quick task.

We dusted, hoovered, mopped, sprayed and wiped and sorted out the fruit and veg. Things we learnt; what turmeric looks like, Henry the hoover has a sister called Hettie.

Great work team! Next month we'll be tackling the big shelf of cardboard boxes, get ready to think "keep, store, chuck, donate".

And we are back for 2026!!

This evening we did our monthly deep clean at the Oxford Mutual Aid food bank. The order of the day was to weed out mouldy veg, scrub the fridges, sweep & mop the floors and scrub and restack an area of shelving.

Pats on the back and gold stars to Angus for scaling the ladder and tackling the window sill - home to dead spiders and muchos dust.

Leaving the hall suitably spruced we headed out into the FREEZING cold for a trot.

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to Goodgym Joshua!