Last night we were asked to return to Cotswold House Eating Disorder Unit to work on the garden. The unit has a pretty courtyard garden filled with aromatic herbs, lavendar and buddleia. It's nicely thought out, with treats for the eyes and the nose, as well as being full of plants which pollinators love. Last year we did a couple of gardening sessions to keep the weeds at bay and as the weather starts to warm up it was high time we returned to give the garden a once-over before the weeds take hold. The pots and planters had been planted up with pansies since out last visit - lovely and cheery - and a general prune of the larger shrubs had obviously been done recently. That meant we didn't need to tackle too much bamboo and could focus on weeding between the paving, digging out long grass encroaching on the borders, and some light pruning and trimming of last year's dead growth to allow the newly emerging shoots to get light and space.

An hour flew by - it's easy to lose track of time when you're busy!

A final (for this season) evening at Oxford Mutual Aid food bank doing our flash mob cleaning.

Since the autumn we've worked our way around every inch of the food bank cleaning areas which rarely get any attention. We've moved stock, crates, and shelving. Swept, bleached, mopped, and then figured out the giant tetris of how to put it all back. We've cleaned the kitchen monthly, including taking out kilos of food waste and scrubbing the fridges, walls and floors. We've restacked storage, loaded deliveries, packed Christmas gifts, and cleaned dozens of delivery crates (prising them apart when necessary!).

It's taken 5 months, but WE DID IT!

Despite being one week late with our International Women's Day tribute (thanks to snow storms) we were not feeling at all blue about our Wednesday evening plans.

Armed with a googlemap of all the women's blue plaques in Oxford, plus litter pickers and bags, we divided up into walkers and runners and set off to explore some of Oxford's female luminaries while litter picking along our route.

Interested in plotting your own exploration of the blue plaques dedicated to women in Oxford? Find them mapped out here.

A delightful way to start Christmas Day with a jaunt around Uni Parks with a goodgym rabble and assorted partners and puppies.

Marry Christmas all!!