The recent sub zero temperatures may have moved on but GG Cardiff still managed to find and clear some snow during its recent litter pick (in the form of a see through resealable bag). It went into the rubbish bags alongside the usual cans, bottles, vapes and cigarette packets.

7 Goodgymers turned out for the pre group run pick and cleared another 3 bags of litter from the city's streets

Our second group task and a litter pick back on the cards. Unfortunately, we had some last minute moves this week. But January is the month of the litter pick in Cardiff, with our traditional litter pick relay taking place every year where we pick everyday of the month.

Our route tonight took us to the back of the train station,.... Fancy. And then, over the industrial area and to the embankment again.

On the way we had an explosion of coffee from Emma "the gripper" Wilkins and found several strange items, including a bike seat. And it just got stranger as we hit the embankment, and we found lettuce, cabbage, and for the fancy.. Romaine lettuce. As we questioned why they were there, and in such large quantities, we also spotted the parsnips from last week! This is a strange dinner.

There are Swans around the area, although tonight they were all hidden and huddled under the bridge.

But Michael stated "Swans don’t eat parsnips, nor do rats" the title of his new book available soon on download ONLY. 🤣 And please don't write in.... Yes rats can eat parsnips.

As we discussed the the cold, and why wouldn't we? The use of the word nip came up... What a strange word it is.

LEARNING CORNER

Nippy When it comes to the British synonyms for cold, ‘nippy’ is a very popular term.

First Known Use

Verb (1)

15th century, to catch hold of and squeeze tightly between two surfaces, edges, or points : pinch, bite "the dog nipped his ankle"

Noun (1)

1549, something that nips: such as

a archaic : a sharp biting comment b: a sharp stinging cold c: a biting or pungent flavor : tang

But let's end on an additional learning note.... Ducks prefer romaine lettuce..

Nathan and Catherine met up before the Group run to warm up with a litter pick around a city centre church. they caught up on their running plans for the year and the impending mad rush to try and get a 2025 Man vs Horse place. After a bag of rubbish was collected, Catherine headed off to join the main group and Nathan headed home to catch the tail end of the kids bath and bed time.

This fresh (some might say icy cold!) Thursday evening 4 GG-ers went for a lovely riverside run, chat and plog.

....wait, what - Thursday!! Yes we ventured out later this week so as to avoid New Years Eve on our normal Tuesday. Happy new year to you and your family dear reader - I hope 2025 brings you joy and plenty of volunteering!

David challenged the group to find the most unusual item whilst litter picking. We collected a lot of the usual culprits - cans, bottles, cigarette butts, crisp packets....and then we found a pack of discarded parsnips....we pondered about their back story - how did they 'turnip' there? Was it a coincidence our running 'root' had taken us to that part of the 'veg'-etation?

Michael 're-kaled' us with stories to keep our spirits high and our minds off the cold.

After a while our fingers were getting numb......It was time to go, Emma declared we had 'parsnipped' all the rubbish in the bud. We left our 2 full bags to be collected (hopefully they don't 'leek') then ran back to base to 'celery-bate'.

'Peas-out'. x

Our second week of litter picking, and it has to be said that Cardiff is looking good..... And not just because of goodgym.

Da iawn

Tonight four of us met to hit the City Centre and a popular cycle / walk route. We started with a nice catch up outside our meet point, and some great stories from the weekend. Then headed out for a walk along the route surveying the area, then time to turn around....

turn around bright eyes

And the litter pick began, an unknown competition was being held and judged by our designated bag holder..... We found the usual litter along the way (most in a car park), as well as bags of biscuits

Let's get ready to crumble

Was there a winner, of course, it's Cardiff. Always a winner when goodgym get out to do some good.

Due to injury our Activator was unable to run tonight, so we moved our meet up back to Sport Wales for a litter pick.

It really is a perfect start for a tidy up, there's a taxi drop off point, a coach stop and then all of the sport in the park. And with a little more walking, you get to a busy pathway.

There was plenty to pick, from getting in a bush or two to some fallen bollards (these did not fit in a bag so had to stay where they were).

After a good hour and a bit, we all returned to our meeting point for a photo and to put away our three heaving bags of rubbish.